New Work by Frédéric Chopin Recently Discovered in the Collection of the Morgan

Curator Dr. Robinson McClellan has uncovered a previously unknown waltz written in the hand of Frédéric Chopin in The Morgan Library & Museum’s collection, the first discovery of an unknown work by Chopin since the late 1930s.

The Morgan’s manuscript consists of 24 notated measures that the composer asks the pianist to repeat once in their entirety. This work, lasting about one minute, is shorter than any other waltz by Chopin, but is nevertheless a complete piece (which can be heard played by Lang Lang in the video below|)

The manuscript is only slightly larger than an index card (102 x 130 mm, about 4 x 5 inches) and based on other similarly-sized manuscripts by Chopin it is assumed that it was meant as a gift for inclusion in someone’s autograph album. Chopin usually signed manuscripts that were gifts, but this one is unsigned, suggesting that he changed his mind and withheld it.

The Morgan’s Associate Curator of Music Manuscripts and Printed Music Robinson McClellan first came across the manuscript when he began cataloging the Arthur Satz Collection, which came to the Morgan in 2019. Although the piece was identified as “Chopin” in the Satz collection, he found it peculiar that he could not think of any waltzes by Chopin that matched the measures on the page. McClellan called on leading Chopin expert Professor Jeffrey Kallberg of the University of Pennsylvania to work with him to verify the manuscript’s authenticity and to understand the role of the work in Chopin’s musical life. 

Extensive research points to the strong likelihood that the piece is by Chopin. McClellan and Kallberg also enlisted the help of external experts on Chopin as well as the Morgan’s paper conservators, who confirmed that the paper and ink are consistent with what Chopin customarily used. 

“This newly discovered waltz expands our understanding of Chopin as a composer and opens new questions for scholars to consider regarding when he wrote it and for whom it was intended,” said Robinson McClellan. “To hear this work for the first time will be an exciting moment for everyone in the  world of classical piano.”