Chopsticks (original name The Celebrated Chop Waltz) is an extremely well-known simple waltz for the piano. It was written in 1877 by Euphemia Allen under the pseudonym of Arthur de Lull (alternatively, 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. 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, although it is also commonly heard with the stresses as in 6/8 time.
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. A group of Russian composers — specifically Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Anatoly Lyadov, and Vladimir Shcherbachov (with a modest addition by Franz Liszt) — composed four-hand piano music 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.
In the highly praised William Wyler film of 1946 "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, an authentic WWII Navy veteran who lost both of his hands in combat and won an Academy Award for his sensitive portrayal of Homer.
Mr. Russell's performance is nothing short of brilliant, and he actually played the simple piece (including variations) with Hoagy taking the lower part. Mr. Russell's hooks that served as hands seemingly did not deter him from delivering a superb rendition of the tune, complete with a finale glissando up the keyboard.
