David Popper Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 24 (1862)

David Popper (Prague, June 16, 1843 – Vienna, August 7, 1913) was a Bohemian cellist and composer.

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Cello Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 24 (1862)

I. Allegro moderato - Langsam - Allegro - Andante (0:00)
II. Andante (13:14)
III. Allegro molto moderato - Mosso (20:17)

Antonio Meneses, cello and the Basler Sinfonie-Orchester conducted by Ronald Zollmann

This cello concerto is one of Popper's earliest works. Despite its later opus number, it was premiered on 9 November 1862. The work was reviewed by several newspapers, including the Dresdener-Zeitung and Musik-Zeitung of Berlin, as quoted in the Menter-Popper biography from 1876. Popper revised this concerto in 1879, which he performed with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig on 23 October 1879. The published version appeared in June 1880 both for orchestra and for piano accompaniment.

The first movement is in sonata form, beginning with an orchestral introduction, a partial exposition. The first solo section is quite lyrical, showing Popper's melodic inventiveness. After the second tutti section, the cello comes in with an improvisatory second theme, operatic in nature. Popper does not recapitulate the first theme but goes directly to the second theme in the tonic key. The slow movement is the gem of this concerto. It is in A-flat major in three-part form. It is a direct relative of the Andacht movement from Im Walde, Op. 50. The finale is also in sonata form without the first-theme return. It has thematic similarities with the first movement. The opening motive closely resembles Grützmacher's Third Cello Concerto finale, which was composed just a few years prior to Popper's.

Popper was a prolific composer of cello music, writing four concertos, 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. 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.

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."