Mazurka de Salon

This Mazurka de Salon for flute and piano with its delightful elegiac and virtuoso passages is a character piece full of contrasts; moderate in difficulty, it represents a valuable addition to the repertoire for ambitious amateur players. Along with his younger brother Carl (1825–1900), Albert Franz Doppler (1821–1883) was one of the most celebrated flautists of the nineteenth Century. Their virtuoso duo playing was greatly admired and they captivated audiences in the musical capitals of Europe with works they had composed themselves. In 1842 the brothers were founder members of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. After spending some time as principal flautist at the Bucharest Opera (1835) and in the orchestra of the Hungarian National Theatre (1841), Franz Doppler decided to return to Vienna, where he worked as principal flautist and conductor at the Court opera and was appointed professor at the Conservatoire in 1865. Awarded the Franz-Joseph medal by the Kaiser in 1881, he died in Baden near Vienna in 1883.