Loh, Ferdinand: Flohwalzer

Everybody knows it, and for many a player it was perhaps the first tentative attempt to coax sounds out of the piano: Chopsticks. The origin of this popular piano piece, like that of most folksongs, cannot be ultimately settled today. Legend has it that it was written by Ferdinand Loh and that the designation of the work 'F. Loh: Walzer' eventually turned into 'Flohwalzer'. But no matter who actually wrote the waltz: It is, without doubt, one of the most famous piano pieces and known all over the world. In France, it is called 'Côtelettes' [Chops], in Great Britain 'Chopsticks', and in Mexico 'Los Changuitos' (Little Monkeys). Technically speaking, however, it is not even a waltz. It is composed in 2/4 time and, with regard to style, rather is a polka or a galop. Eric Mayr transcribed the 16-bar original into a concert version for piano duet.