Popper - Elfentanz, Op. 39 (Urtext Edition)

David Popper’s Elfentanz, Op. 39, is one of the most frequently performed perpetual-motion works in the cello repertoire. Unlike Davydov’s At the Fountain or Van Goens’s Scherzo, Elfentanz offers no real respite for the bow arm. Its relentless motion demands stamina, fluidity, and precise control, making it one of Popper’s most brilliant and enduring shorter concert works. Remarkably, it is also one of the few shorter pieces that Popper orchestrated himself, alongside his five concertos, Im Walde, and several smaller concert pieces.

Structurally, Elfentanz is a concert etude in sonata form. The first theme is accompanied by punctuating chords in the piano or orchestra, while the second theme presents a lyrical melody in the accompaniment, ornamented by measured tremolo in the solo part. The main technical challenge is maintaining a relaxed bow arm and hand throughout the work, preserving clarity, endurance, and evenness of tone to the end. The extremely high passages, which appear twice, add another level of difficulty, with intonation and coordination becoming especially challenging at the prescribed tempo.

Popper’s original version has remained the standard, despite Gaspar Cassadó’s later truncated version from the late 1940s, in which Cassadó recomposed the piano part in his own harmonic language. The work’s brilliance and charm also inspired violin transcriptions by Emile Sauret and Karel Halíř, both of which preserve the original octave of the most demanding passages. Popper’s friend, the Brazilian cellist-composer Frederico Nascimento, was likely influenced by Elfentanz when composing his own Danse des Elfes in 1888.

This edition is based on the first editions published by D. Rahter: the 1881 version with piano, issued as score and part under plate number 2207, and the 1882 orchestral version, issued as score and parts under plate number 2262. The cello line in the orchestral score differs slightly in pitch from both the printed solo part and the cue line in the piano version, and it contains very few dynamics. The orchestral version is not simply a direct orchestration of the piano version, since the two versions occasionally differ harmonically and in register. All editorial changes and deviations from the original text are clearly indicated in the score.

Best suited for advanced performers, Elfentanz is ideal for recitals, competitions, auditions, and encore programming where brilliance, stamina, and polish are required. It offers focused work on bow-arm endurance, measured tremolo, high-register accuracy, left-hand coordination, and the light, sparkling character essential to Popper’s virtuoso style.

ASTA level: 6