A charming example of Lumbye’s ability to blend Northern European dance styles with the influence of the Viennese waltz. It features delicate ornamentation and a characteristic lilt.
The player must master the subtle rubato required for the mazurka rhythm without losing the overall dance pulse.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Cathinka Polka Mazurka is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Cathinka Polka Mazurka lasts about 4 minutes.
Cathinka Polka Mazurka is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Alhambra, Romantisk Vals by Hans Christian Lumbye, Blanca Vals by Hans Christian Lumbye, Amanda-Vals by Hans Christian Lumbye — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.