The Bohemian cellist and pedagogue David Popper (1843-1913) wrote prolifically and quite effectively for his instrument. His magnum opus, the High School of Cello Playing Op. 73, is a collection of 40 solo etudes that add up to a veritable bible of Romantic cello technique. Although the pieces are designed for students to overcome specific challenges contained in solo and orchestral repertoire, they are more inventive and melodically attractive than their didactic aims suggest. I’d go so far as to say that you can listen to the studies in large stretches, or even all 40 in a single sitting, without getting bored. Perhaps this is as much due to the cellist as the composer.
Dmitry Yablonsky commands the technique and taste to play the Popper etudes like music rather than mere exercises. Listen to his elegant, unflappable handling of No. 7’s perpetual motion writing in all registers. Notice how easily he dispatches No. 13’s cruelly exposed octaves and double notes. Also note the veiled beauty Yablonsky brings to No. 28’s high-lying passagework, and the perfect poise with which he articulates No. 37’s relentless mordents. These are but a few examples that attest to Yablonsky’s mastery. Given that Martin Rummel’s pioneering boxed set devoted to Popper’s complete etudes is not easy to locate and is relatively expensive, Yablonsky and Naxos pretty much have the field to themselves. Highly recommended. [2/26/2009]
