David Popper

David Popper (June 18, 1843 – August 7, 1913) was a Bohemian cellist and composer.{{cite Grove|title=Popper, David|first1=Marc|last1=Moskovitz|date=January 20, 2001|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.22113}}

Life

Popper was born in Prague, and studied music at the Prague Conservatory.{{cite book |title=Československý hudební slovník II. M-Ž |editor=Černušák, Gracián |editor2=Štědroň, Bohumír |editor3=Nováček, Zdenko|year=1963 |publisher=Státní hudební vydavatelství |location=Prague |pages=345 |language=cs}} His family was Jewish.Steven Beller, Vienna and the Jews, 1867-1938: A Cultural History, Cambridge University Press (1990), p. 25Evan Burr Bukey, Jews and Intermarriage in Nazi Austria, Cambridge University Press (2010), pp. 7–8 He studied the cello under Julius Goltermann (1825–1876) and soon attracted attention. He made his first tour in 1863; in Germany he was praised by Hans von Bülow, son-in-law of Franz Liszt, who recommended him as Chamber Virtuoso in the court of Prince von Hohenzollern-Hechingen in Löwenberg. In 1864, he premiered Robert Volkmann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33, with Hans von Bülow conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. He lost this job a couple of years later due to the prince's death.

He made his debut in Vienna in 1867, and was made principal cellist at the Hofoper. From 1868 to 1870 he was also a member of the Hellmesberger Quartet.Potter, The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet, p.44 In 1872, he married pianist Sophie Menter, a pupil of Liszt who later joined the staff at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1873, Popper resigned from his post at the Hofoper so as to continue his tours with his wife on a larger scale, giving concerts throughout Europe. Popper's and Menter's marriage was dissolved in 1886.

That year, Liszt recommended Popper for a teaching position at the newly opened string department at the Conservatory at Budapest. In Budapest, he participated in the Budapest Quartet with Jenő Hubay.Campbell, The Cambridge Companion to the Cello, p. 71 He and Hubay performed chamber music on more than one occasion with Johannes Brahms, including the premiere of Brahms's Piano Trio No. 3 in Budapest, on December 20, 1886.Clive, Brahms and His World:A Biographical Dictionary, p. xxvii, xxviii,xxix

Popper died in Baden, near Vienna.

Among his notable students were Arnold Földesy, Jenő Kerpely, Mici Lukács, Ludwig Lebell and Adolf Schiffer (teacher of János Starker).

David Popper was one of the last great cellists who did not use an endpin. An 1880 drawing of Popper playing in a string quartet shows that although he started his cello career without using an endpin, he adopted it later in his life.{{cite book|title=David Popper|first=Steven|last=De'ak|publisher=Paganiniana Publications|year=1980|page=144}} An old edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians described him thus: "His tone is large and full of sentiment; his execution highly finished, and his style classical."

Works

{{listen|type=music|filename=David Popper - Elfentanz (Hans Goldstein, cello).ogg|title=Elfentanz (2:50)|description=Performed by Hans Goldstein (cello) and Mellicia Straaf (piano)|format=Ogg}}

Popper was a prolific composer of cello music, writing four concertos under his own name (the so-called fifth cello concerto of Joseph Haydn, supposedly realized by Popper from the older composer's sketches, is almost certainly another original composition{{cite web |title=Concerto for Cello in C, Hob.VIIb: 5 [attributed work, possibly composed by Popper] |url=https://www.alfred.com/concerto-for-cello-in-c-hobviib-5-attributed-work-possibly-composed-by-popper/p/36-A516502/ |publisher=Alfred Music |access-date=13 May 2025}}), a Requiem for three cellos and orchestra (1891) and a number of smaller pieces which are still played today, including the solo piece Tarantella. His shorter showpieces were written to highlight the unique sound and style of the cello, extending the instrument's range with pieces such as Spinnlied (Spinning Song), Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves), or the Ungarische Rhapsodie (Hungarian Rhapsody), which was published by the Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag.[http://www.hofmeister-musikverlag.com/events/shows.html?sort=title&dir=asc Aufführungstermine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331113054/http://www.hofmeister-musikverlag.com/events/shows.html?sort=title&dir=asc |date=2012-03-31 }} Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag 2011 {{in lang|de}} He also wrote instructional pieces. Popper is also known for his High School of Cello Playing (Op. 73), a book of cello études that is widely used by advanced cello students.

Op. 2, Five Songs for Soprano
Op. 3, Scenes From a Masked Ball, cello and piano
No. 1, Arlequin (Harlequin) in F Major
No. 2, Warum? (Why?) in A Major
No. 3, Erzählung (Story) in E Major
No. 4, Papillon (Butterfly) in D Major
No. 5, Begegnung (Meeting) in F Major
No. 6, Lied (Song) in G Major
Op. 5, Romance, cello and piano
Op. 8, Concerto No. 1 in D minor, cello and orchestra
Op. 10, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Sarabande
No. 2, Gavotte, in D minor
No. 3, Trio-Pastoral
Op. 11, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Widmung
No. 2, Humoreske
No. 3, Mazurka in G minor
Op. 12, Mazurka in D minor, cello and piano
Op. 14, Polonaise de concert, cello and piano
Chanson d'autrefois, cello and piano
Op. 16, Suite for two cellos
March for two cellos
Op. 18, Sérénade orientale, cello and piano
Op. 22, Nocturne in G major, cello and piano
Op. 23, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, [n. d.]
No. 2, Gavotte in D major
Op. 24, Concerto No. 2 in E minor, for cello and orchestra
Op. 27, Preludes for cello solo
No. 1, Andante serioso; [n. d.]
Op. 28, Concert-Polonaise No. 2 in F major, cello and piano
Op. 32, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Nocturne
No. 2, Mazurka in A major
Op. 33, Tarantella, cello and piano
Op. 35, Four Mazurkas, cello and piano
Op. 38, Barcarolle in G major, cello and piano
Op. 39, Dance of the Elves, cello and piano
Op. 40, Three Songs (for Soprano or Tenor)
Op. 41, Nocturne, cello and piano
Op. 42, Three Nocturnes, cello and piano
Op. 43, Fantasy on Little Russian Songs, cello and piano
Op. 46, 2 Transcriptions for Cello and Piano
No. 1, Schlummerlied aus der “Mainacht" by Rimsky-Korsakov
No. 2, Träurmerei aus den “Kinderszenen” by Schumann
Op. 47, Nocturne No.4 in B Minor for cello and piano
Op. 48, Menuetto in D major, cello and piano
Op. 49, Kaiser-Marsch zur Krönung Seiner Majestät Kaiser Alexander III. for Orchestra
Op. 50, Im Walde, Suite for cello and orchestra
No. 1, Eintritt (Entrance)
No. 2, Gnomentanz (Gnomes Dance)
No. 3, Andacht (Devotion)
No. 4, Reigen (Round Dance)
No. 5, Herbstblume (Autumn Flower)
No. 6, Heimkehr (Homecoming)
Op. 51, Six Mazurkas, cello and piano
Op. 54, Spanish Dances, cello and piano
No. 1, Zur Gitarre
No. 2, Serenade
No. 3, Spanische Tänze
No. 4, L'Andalouse
No. 5, Vito
Op. 55, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Spinning Song
No. 2, Hunting Piece
Op. 59, Concerto No. 3 in G major, cello and orchestra
Op. 60, Walzer Suite, cello and piano
Op. 62, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, La Mémoire
No. 2, La Chanson villageoise (Village Song)
No. 3, La Berceuse
Op. 64, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Wie einst in schöner’n tagen (Once in Fairer Days)
No. 2, Tarantelle, in A major
No. 3, Wiegenlied (Lullaby)
Op. 65, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Adagio
No. 2, Menuetto
No. 3, Polonaise
Op. 66, Requiem, for three cellos and piano (originally for three cellos and orchestra)
Op. 67, Pieces for cello and piano
No. 1, Largo
No. 2, Gavotte in D minor
No. 3, [n. d.]
No. 4, Gavotte in D minor
Op. 68, Hungarian Rhapsody, cello and piano
Op. 69, Suite for cello and piano
Largo à l'ancienne mode
Op. 71, Scottish Fantasy, cello and piano
Op. 72, Concerto No. 4 in B minor, cello and orchestra
Op. 73, High School of Cello Playing (Hohe Schule des Violoncellospiels): Forty Études for Cello Solo
Op. 74, String Quartet in C minor
Op. 75, Serenade, cello and piano
Op. 76, Zehn mittelschwere große Etüden [a/k/a Studies (Preparatory to Op. 73)]
Op. 76a, Fünfzehn leichte melodisch-rhythmische Etüden
Op. 81, Gavotte in A Major for Cello and Piano

Works with unknown or no opus number

Joseph Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 5 in C-Major, Hob. VIIb:5 (This work is not written by Haydn, and is in fact written by David Popper){{cite web |last1=Rummel |first1=Martin |last2=Leonovich |first2=Yuriy |title=Cello Concerto in C Major |url=http://davidpopper.org/cello-concerto-c-major |website=David Popper |date=23 September 2021 |publisher=Martin Rummel |access-date=10 August 2023}}
Cadenzas for cello
Joseph Haydn: Cello Concerto in D major
Camille Saint-Saëns: Concerto in A minor, Op. 33
Robert Volkmann: Cello Concerto in A minor
Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
Molique, B.: Cello Concerto in D major
Romance in G major for cello and piano, originally for violin and piano
Chant du soir, cello and piano

Arrangements and transcriptions for cello and piano

Bach, J.S., Arie aus der D-dur Suite
Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2
Campioni, Minuet Pastoral
Cherubini, Ave Maria
Giordani, Caro mio ben
Handel, Largo; Sarabande
Jámbor, Nocturne, Op. 8, No. 1
Jensen, Murmelndes Lüftchen, Op. 21, No. 4
Mendelssohn, Auf Flügeln des Gesanges; Reiselied, Op. 19, No. 6
Pergolesi, Nina (Tre giorni)
Purcell, Aria
Rubinstein, Mélodie, Op. 3, No. 1
Schubert, Du bist die Ruh’; Ave Maria, Op. 52, No. 4; Der Neugierige; Sei mir gegrüsst; Litanei auf das Fest "Allerseelen"; An die Musik
Schumann, Träumerei, Op. 15, No. 7; Abendlied, Op. 85, No. 12; Schlummerlied, Op. 124, No. 16
Svendsen, Romance in G-major, op. 26
Tchaikovsky, Song Without Words, Op 2, No. 3; Chanson triste, Op. 40, No. 2; Barcarolle, Op. 37, No. 6; Perce-Niegre, Op. 37, No. 4; Chant d’automne, Op. 37, No. 10''

Notes

References

{{cite book |last= Campbell|first=Margaret|editor= Stowell,Robin|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Cello|year=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= 0-521-62928-4|pages=70–71 |chapter=Nineteenth-century virtuosi }}
{{cite book |last=Clive |first= Peter|title= Brahms and His World:A Biographical Dictionary|year= 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-5721-9 |pages=xxvii, xxviii,xxix }}
{{cite book | last =De'ak | first=Stephen |title=David Popper|publisher=Paganiniana Publ.|location=Neptune City, NJ|year=1980|isbn= 0-87666-621-7}}
{{Etude}}
{{cite book |last= Potter|first=Tully|editor=Stowell,Robin |title=The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet|year=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= 0-521-00042-4|pages=44 |chapter= From chamber to concert hall}}
{{cite book |editor1-first=Stanley |editor1-last=Sadie |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Tyrrell |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians |edition=2nd |year=2000 |publisher=Grove's Dictionaries |location= New York|isbn= 1-56159-239-0}}