Variation (music)
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| - | "'''Chopsticks'''" (original name "'''The Celebrated Chop Waltz'''") is a simple, [[collective unconscious|extremely well-known]] [[waltz]] for the [[piano]]. It was written in 1877 by the British composer [[Euphemia Allen]] under the [[pseudonym]] Arthur de Lulli. Allen, who was the sister of a music publisher, was supposedly only sixteen when she composed the piece, with arrangements for solo and duet. | + | In music, '''variation''' is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve [[harmony]], [[melody]], [[counterpoint]], [[rhythm]], [[timbre]], [[orchestration]] or any combination of these. |
| - | The title ''Chop Waltz'' comes from Allen's specification that the [[melody]] be played in two-part harmony with both hands held sideways, little fingers down, striking the keys with a chopping motion. This name suggests the piece should be played in 3/4 (waltz) [[metre (music)|metre]], although it is also commonly heard with the stresses as in 6/8 time. | + | ==See also== |
| - | + | *[[Tune-family]] | |
| - | An equivalent of this rudimentary two-finger piano exercise was known in [[Russia]] in duple meter as "tati-tati" or the "Cutlet [[Polka]]". This version alternates the notes between the hands, as follows——rather than playing them at the same time in harmony. | + | *[[Matrix (music)]] |
| - | + | *[[Developing variation]] | |
| - | A group of Russian composers — [[Alexander Borodin]], [[César Cui]], [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Anatoly Lyadov]], and [[Nikolai Shcherbachov]] (with a modest addition by [[Franz Liszt]]) — [[Classical music written in collaboration|collaboratively composed]] four-hand piano [[Variation (music)|variations on this theme]] for Borodin's daughter Gania. ([[Modest Mussorgsky]] did not participate, thinking that the composition would be meaningless.) The original edition of this collection dates from 1879 under the title ''Paraphrases''; over the next several years it was expanded to a set of 24 variations and 17 other pieces. | + | *[[Musical development]] |
| - | + | *[[Strophic form]] | |
| - | Chopsticks was given a complicated arrangement in 1927 by the British pianist [[Billy Mayerl]] as his Op.79. This was subtitled "a syncopated impression" and published by Keith Prowse Music (3396). Mayerl recorded his version in London on 7 October 1927 for Coumbia Records (Col 4677). | + | |
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| - | In the highly praised 1946 [[William Wyler]] film ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'', a story chronicling the difficulties facing returning servicemen from overseas, the famous song composer [[Hoagy Carmichael]] performs a duet of "Chopsticks" with [[Harold Russell]], a World War II Navy veteran who lost both of his hands in combat and won an [[Academy Award]] for his sensitive portrayal of Homer Parrish. He played the simple piece (including variations) with Hoagy taking the lower part. Mr. Russell's [[prosthetic hook|hooks]] that served as hands seemingly did not deter him from delivering a superb rendition of the tune, complete with a final [[glissando]] up the keyboard. | + | |
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| - | Chopsticks is sometimes confused with ''[[Der Flohwalzer]]'' (the ''Flea Waltz''). | + | |
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In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.
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See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Variation (music)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
