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At-A-Glance

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About this Piece

Three-quarter time was not the only meter that set Vienna’s heart (and feet) beating faster — there were also such duple time items as the quadrille (the equivalent of the American square dance) and the polka (of Czech peasant origin, the polka became the rage in such fashionable capitals as Paris and London, as well as Vienna). The Tritsch-Tratsch Polka is a choice example of the latter breed.

—Orrin Howard