Robinson McClellan, a curator at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, had been sorting through a collection of cultural memorabilia in the vault when he stumbled upon a pockmarked manuscript the size of an index card, bearing the distinctive name “Chopin” in the top right corner.

Intrigued, McClellan sent a photograph of the piece to Jeffrey Kallberg, a leading Chopin scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

“My jaw dropped,” Kallberg told the New York Times, adding: “I knew I had never seen this before.”

After an extensive examination of the manuscript’s paper, ink, handwriting, and musical characteristics, the Morgan Library has determined that the piece, titled “Valse,” is an authentic, previously unknown waltz by the legendary composer, marking the first such discovery in more than half a century.

Thought to have been composed between 1830 and 1835, shortly after Chopin left Poland, the 48-measure waltz in A minor is a concise piece, lasting only 80 seconds.

The piece has already been recorded by star pianist Lang Lang, who described it as quintessentially Chopin, saying that its striking opening evokes the essence of the harsh winters of the Polish countryside.

That's the sound of a Chopin waltz that was unearthed after nearly 200 years. Here's the story of how an unknown work in the composer’s hand was discovered in a New York museum, the first such find in more than half a century. https://t.co/RXb1FfJOmL pic.twitter.com/yeGxE10EoX

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 27, 2024

Lang Lang said: “This is not the most complicated music by Chopin. But it is one of the most authentic Chopin styles that you can imagine.”

Discovering previously unknown works by Chopin is rare, as the Polish maestro composed fewer pieces compared to many other composers.