Popper - Mazurka No. 2, Op. 12 (Urtext Edition)

David Popper’s Mazurka in D minor, Op. 12, is the second of his six published mazurkas, not counting Reigen from Im Walde, which is also a mazurka. It is the most serious and extended of Popper’s works in the genre, and it appeared in print slightly before the better-known Mazurka, Op. 11. The piece features an arpeggiated figure that Popper seems to have favored, with related gestures appearing in Spanischer Carneval, Op. 54, and Tarantella No. 2, Op. 57. Its striking unison passage, an uncommon texture in cello writing of the period, gives the work further sonorous and technical distinction.

The work is cast in ternary form. The opening section contains almost two complete thematic statements, though the second is abbreviated by a transition into the more lyrical middle section in D major. The mazurka is dedicated to Popper’s friend, the Swiss cellist Emil Hegar, who studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Friedrich Grützmacher and later Karl Davydov. Hegar became principal cellist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1866, taught at the Leipzig Conservatory, and was also the dedicatee of Johan Svendsen’s Cello Concerto and Julius Röntgen’s First Cello Sonata. Among his own students was Julius Klengel, one of the leading cello pedagogues of the next generation.

This edition is based on the Hofmeister edition published in 1879, plate number 7797. The first edition was issued by Gutmann in 1874, though curiously without a plate number. Hofmeister used the same engraving plates as Gutmann but incorporated several small corrections, making it the most reliable source for a performing edition.

Best suited for advanced cellists, this mazurka offers a compelling alternative to Popper’s more familiar short works. It provides excellent material for developing Romantic dance character, expressive intensity, arpeggiated passagework, unison playing, rhythmic flexibility, and dramatic pacing within a substantial concert piece.

ASTA level: 4