The story in the daily NY Times is about a Chopin waltz, previously unknown. It was found in a collection of memorabilia. The manuscript has been authenticated and was played and recorded by Lang Lang.
The "manuscript" seems like an interesting word to me. I think of a piece of letter size paper, don't you? But that's not the case here.
"It was put down on a small sheet of paper, about 4 inches by 5 inches, of a kind commonly used for gifts. The score contains fingerings and dynamic markings, suggesting that Chopin thought the piece might be performed someday."
And don't mind me noticing that there are empty bars in the script. I'd like to see a thumb against the 4x5 piece of paper, wouldn't you?
The New York Times mentions that Chopin often wrote in very small font. But there's no easy path to finding out the size. I would need to go to a library and archives to research this and look at real-size handwritten notes. There are many images online to look at so it is tantalizing.
In contrast Chopin had extremely long fingers. There are pictures of his hand cast and these look extraordinarily long. But then, when I looked at the charts of composers' hands, Rachmaninoff's seems to be those of a giant.
Such an interesting thing to find out that a "lost manuscript" could be something so tiny and written by such large hands.
I must go to Vineland Estates today and see if this view of Toronto on the horizon appears.
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