Popper - Romanze, Op. 5 (Urtext Edition)

Unlike many cello-composers of the preceding generation, David Popper devoted much of his creative output to short character pieces. Although he composed several larger-scale works, including five concertos, two fantasies, and a rhapsody, the majority of his music consists of concise, expressive works for cello and piano. Romanze, Op. 5, was Popper’s first independently published short piece and already shows the lyrical warmth, emotional directness, and idiomatic cello writing that would become hallmarks of his style.

Composed in 1864 and published in 1867 by E. W. Fritzsch, Romanze was performed by Popper in late 1866 and early 1867, including at least one performance with its dedicatee, the pianist Anna Mehlig. The piece was also issued in arrangements for violin and viola. It remains unclear whether the Romanze was conceived as a romantic gesture to Mehlig or simply as a tribute to friendship, but its emotional intensity foreshadows the later Widmung, dedicated to Popper’s first wife, the pianist Sophie Menter.

This edition is based on the first edition published by E. W. Fritzsch, plate E.W.F. 5 (60) L. All deviations from the original text are indicated with editorial markings.

Well suited for lessons, recitals, studio classes, and Romantic character-piece study, Romanze gives cellists an opportunity to develop lyrical phrasing, sustained tone, expressive pacing, tasteful rubato, and a warm singing sound within a compact and emotionally direct concert work.

ASTA level: 3.5