Movements: 1. Nocturne No. 2, 2. Mazurka No. 3 in A major

Other early editions: 1. violin and piano (Rahter, July 1883, plate 2409, arr. Sauret); orchestrated by Yuriy Leonovich as part of the Popperiana Suite

Both the nocturne and mazurka genres owe much of their modern popularity to Frédéric Chopin. Popper composed four pieces titled Nocturne and six titled Mazurka (not including the Reigen movement from Im Walde). Op. 32 includes one mazurka that reflects a distinctly Chopinesque style, while its nocturne departs somewhat from Chopin’s model. This nocturne, the second published under that title, may be viewed as a kind of proto-Requiem. Its rhythmic patterns, melodic contours, and harmonic language anticipate elements that later emerge more fully in Popper’s Requiem, Op. 66. Dedicated to the German composer and virtuoso pianist Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889), the work is marked by a simplicity and inward poetry that give it a reflective, almost sacred character.

The form of the Nocturne resists straightforward categorization, though rounded binary provides the most reasonable description. Measures 1 through 34 comprise the A section, and measures 35 through 70 form the B section. A false return occurs in E major at measure 45, after which the main theme appears in D major and then D minor. The true return to the theme in the tonic B-flat occurs at measure 64.

The Mazurka, Popper’s third published work in the genre and dedicated to Colonel Jean Palansky, is more formally direct, presenting a ternary (ABA) structure. The A section is simple and largely diatonic, mostly undulating between tonic and dominant. The B section introduces a raised fourth scale degree, first in F-sharp minor and then in D major. In measures 29, 33, 37, and 41 the solo line contains twelve notes per measure in three-quarter time; however, the final five or seven notes (depending on the bar) appear as sixty-fourth notes. This notation indicates that the latter part of each measure is intended to accelerate, functioning somewhat as proto-feathered notation.

(Excerpted from the preface to the Urtext edition published by Yuriy Leonovich)