Chopsticks Variations
David Rubinstein
piano solo
Level: intermediate - advanced
11 minutes.
Chopsticks Variations, originally composed in 2001, has been significantly revised. The 2008 revision uses Finale notation software, much superior to the original in Cubase. Much of the scoring has been revised from the pianistic standpoint. See the comparison photos below.
According to The Book of World-Famous Music, the composition currently known as "Chopsticks" was deposited in 1877 at the British Museum under the title The Celebrated Chop Waltz by Arthur de Lulli, which was the pseudonym of Euphemia Allen, the 16 year-old sister of the publisher Mozart Allen. Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Liszt wrote variations on the theme.
I have a certain fondness for writing pieces based on very few notes, such as One-Note Concerto and Piano Music for Two Fingers. I was intrigued by the notion of working on a theme that many listeners might consider simple-minded or trite. In Chopsticks Variations the world-famous theme is never directly quoted. -DR
Last variation in Cubase Last variation in revised version using Finale notation
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free View a PDF file of the beginning pages. This file is for viewing only and is not enabled for printing.
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Listen to an audio clip of the beginning of the piano version performed by David Rubinstein.
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