Romantic
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
20th century
21st century
Solo repertoire
Piccolo
Alto flute
Bass flute
Popp Wilhelm
Akimenko, Theodore
Albeniz, Isaac
Andersen, Joachim
Barnett, John Francis
Bazzini, Antonio
Beach, Amy
Bellini, Vincenzo
Bizet, George
Blahetka, Leopoldine
Blodek, Wilhelm
Boehm, Theobald
Bonis, Mel
Borne, François
Brahms, Johannes
Briccialdi, Giulio
Bruch, Max
Caplet, André
Chaminade, Cécile
Chopin, Frédéric
Danzi, Franz Ignaz
Debussy, Claude
Demersseman, Jules-Auguste Edouard
Donizetti, Gaetano
Donjon, Johannes
Doppler, Albert Franz
Du Puy, Édouard
Dvořák, Antonin
Elgar, Edward
Fauré, Gabriel
Foote, Arthur
Franck, César
Frühling, Carl
Fürstenau, Anton Bernhard
Gade, Niels Wilhelm
Ganne, Louis
Génin, Paul Agricole
German, Edward
Glière, Reinhold
Godard, Benjamin
Gounod, Charles
Grandval, Clémence
Hahn, Reynaldo
Hüe, Georges Adolphe
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk
Jadassohn, Solomon
Kohler, Ernesto
Kreisler, Fritz
Kuhlau, Friedrich
Lefebvre, Charles Edouard
Liszt, Franz
Maier, Amanda
Massenet, Jules
Mendelssohn, Fanny
Mendelssohn, Felix
Mercadante, Saverio
Meyer-Olbersleben, Max
Molique, Wilhelm Bernhard
Morlacchi, Pietro
Mouquet, Jules
Nielsen, Carl
Paganini, Niccolo
Périlhou, Albert
Pierné, Gabriel
Popp, Wilhelm
Rabboni, Giuseppe
Reger, Max
Reichert, Matthieu Andre
Reinecke, Carl Heinrich Carsten
Ries, Ferdinand
Rietz, Julius
Rossini, Gioacchino
Saint-Saëns, Camille
Sarasate, Pablo de
Schubert, Franz
Schumann, Clara
Schumann, Robert
Sibelius, Jean
Silcher, Friedrich
Strauss, Richard
Taffanel, Claude Paul
Tulou, Jean-Louis
Vitali, Tomaso Antonio
Wagner, Siegfried
Widor, Charles Marie Jean Albert
Russisches Zigeunerlied, Op. 462, No. 2
Russisches Zigeunerlied, Op. 462, No. 2
Wilhelm Popp: Russisches Zigeunerlied (Air Bohemian Russe), Op. 462, No. 2 for flute and piano was written around 1890-1892, as part of a set titled Trois Morceaux Caractéristiques. Popp was known as the "Czerny of the Flute." This piece uses "showy" but accessible virtuosity.
The piece is a "Zigeunerweise" (Gypsy-style) work that follows the formal structure popularized by Sarasate and Liszt. It begins with a slow, soulful Lassan (Lament) that showcases the flute's lower register and expressive vibrato, followed by a high-speed, technical Friska (Fast Dance) featuring rapid tonguing and chromatic runs.
During the early 1890s, Wilhelm Popp was nearing his 500th opus mark. He was under contract with several major German publishers to produce a constant stream of "Salon Music" to satisfy the massive demand for home music-making. This was the era of musical exoticism. Popp’s choice of a "Russian Gypsy" theme was a strategic response to the popularity of Russian and Eastern European folk music in German concert halls during the late Romantic period.
Hans-Jörg Wegner (flute), Christiane Kroeker (piano), 1993, Thorofon Records / Zebralution
Air Bohemian Russe
Popp Wilhelm
Wilhelm Popp (1828–1903) was a German flutist and a phenomenally prolific composer of the Romantic era. While his name is less known today than that of his contemporaries, his compositions were immensely popular in the late 19th century, particularly among amateur and domestic musicians.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1828, Popp began his musical career as a flutist. He was a student of the renowned flutist and composer Louis Drouet. He established himself as a talented performer but quickly found his calling in composition.
Popp was a commercially successful composer who understood the market for accessible, appealing music. He primarily wrote for his own instrument, the flute, producing over 500 works.
His music falls under the "salon" music genre—light, charming, and technically accessible pieces designed for performance in a home or light concert setting.
He frequently used descriptive and nationalistic titles, such as "Gruß aus Ungarn" (Greetings from Hungary), Op. 407, and various polkas, mazurkas, and character pieces that catered to the popular tastes of the day.