The second movement of David Popper's Cello Concerto No. 2, "Andante maestoso," was recorded almost in a single take at the end of the first recording day for this album.
Composer Biography
David Popper, born in Prague's old Jewish quarter, was the son of a synagogue cantor and showed prodigious musical talent from a young age.
Composer's Artistic Vision
David Popper, a cellist, aimed to transfer the precision and charm of the Franco-Belgian violin school, exemplified by violinists Charles-Auguste de Bériot and Henri Vieuxtemps, to his own instrument.
Compositional Technique
David Popper's Hohe Schule des Violoncellspiels (High School of Violin Playing), a four-volume work of ten études each, is still considered a standard work in instructional literature for the cello.
Performer Biography
The WDR Funkhausorchester Köln, founded in its current form in 1947, is Europe's only symphony orchestra specializing in a wide range of entertainment music, including musical, operetta, film music, and jazz-related genres.
Composition History
David Popper's first Cello Concerto was composed during a period when he was a solo cellist at the Vienna Court Opera, a traveling virtuoso, and a member of the Hellmesberger Quartet.
Performer Biography
Wen-Sinn Yang, the cellist on this recording, won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition in 1991 and has performed with renowned conductors like Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons.
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