1. Zur Guitarre
2. Serenade
3. Spanischer Karneval
4. L'Andalouse
5. Vito (Orchestrated by Jacobus Hendrik Oushoorn in May 1906)

Other early editions: 1 and 2. violin and piano (Rahter, plates 2760-2761, arr. Kühns), 1 and 2. piano (Rahter, September 1886, plates 2615-2616, arr. Kirchner); 5. violin and piano (Rahter, September 1910, arr. Carl Hermann)

Popper’s Spanish Dances were issued by Rahter in two installments: the first three dances in 1883 and the final two in late 1886 or early 1887. Unlike the Spanish-themed pieces of Sarasate and other contemporaries, these are entirely Popper’s own melodies, not arrangements of popular songs. The first two numbers (Zur Guitarre and Serenade) are dedicated to the Russian cellist Alexander Verzhbilovich (1850–1911); although the first page of No. 1 lacks a dedication, it appears on the title page. The two pieces also bear consecutive plate numbers (2446 and 2447). The third number, Spanischer Carneval (plate No. 2490), is dedicated to Count Guillermo Morphy (1836–1899), a Spanish aristocrat, music critic, musicologist, and composer. The final two dances (plate Nos. 2670 and 2671) are dedicated to the Bohemian-born cellist Heinrich Grünfeld (1855–1931).

The earliest known recording of Zur Guitarre was made by Beatrice Harrison in 1915 with Walter B. Rogers conducting an orchestral version of unknown provenance. To this day, the number of recordings of Zur Guitarre, Spanischer Carneval, and L’Andalouse remains small, in the single digits. By contrast, Serenade is the most frequently recorded dance, with both historic and contemporary renditions, followed by Vito.

Overview of the Five Dances

No. 1 Zur Guitarre – In the style of a bolero (rounded binary form).

No. 2 Serenade – In the style of an Andalusian serenade (ABA). Without careful interpretation, this piece can sound too similar to the preceding dance. It is more introverted and serious than Zur Guitarre. According to Stephen Deák, Glazunov orchestrated the Serenade for Verzhbilovich, although no such score has yet been found in either the Glazunov or Verzhbilovich papers at the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg. By contrast, Glazunov’s orchestration of Popper’s Sérénade orientale, Op. 18, survives in manuscript and has been published.

No. 3 Spanischer Carneval – In the style of a jota navarra (rondo form). The most technically demanding piece of the set, it features abundant double stops and harmonics (both natural and artificial). Its form is also the most striking, each return of the A theme varying in orchestration, texture, and dynamics.

No. 4 L'Andalouse – In the style of a seguidilla (ABA). Includes extended piano solos clearly conceived as tutti sections.

No. 5 Vito – In the style of a zapateado (ABA). A lively earworm with simple, playful melodies. Popper provided an ossia for the 16th-note run in the retransition section, audible in older recordings. Many modern cellists opt for the more difficult passage in the main text.

(Excerpted from the preface to the orchestral version by Yuriy Leonovich)