George Bernard Shaw, well known as one of the most ferocious music critics with the sharpest tongue in the London of his time, groaned when he heard the name “Popper”. He claimed he'd had to listen to David Popper’s 'Mazurka' no less than 14,000 times in two concert seasons, and as if that were not enough, Popper’s 'Papillon' was played as an encore every time.

It was not long before “the inevitable Popper” ceased to be an object of ridicule. In 1911, two years before his death, David Popper complained in a letter that there was hardly another living artist whose name was so seldom mentioned in public as his.

Little has changed up to now. Popper has not really been forgotten, but his former popularity has given way to the acquaintance of a few specialists. Only cello players acknowledge Popper as one of the greatest in their field, the 'old Maestro', as Casals called him. His compositions are only rarely played, and this is unfortunate, for Popper wrote masterpieces for his instrument, and they should be welcomed today as a valuable addition to the cello repertoire.