Popper was born in Prague, and studied music at the Prague Conservatory. His family was Jewish. He studied the cello under Julius Goltermann (1825–1876), and soon attracted attention. He made his first tour in 1863; in Germany he was praised by Hans von Bülow, son-in-law of Franz Liszt, who recommended him as Chamber Virtuoso in the court of Prince von Hohenzollern-Hechingen in Löwenberg. In 1864, he premiered Robert Volkmann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33, with Hans von Bülow conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. He lost this job a couple of years later due to the prince's death.
He made his debut in Vienna in 1867, and was made principal cellist at the Hofoper. From 1868 to 1870 he was also a member of the Hellmesberger Quartet. In 1872, he married pianist Sophie Menter, a pupil of Liszt. She later joined the staff at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1873, Popper resigned from his post at the Hofoper so as to continue his tours with his wife on a larger scale, giving concerts throughout Europe. Popper's and Menter's marriage was dissolved in 1886.
That year, Liszt recommended Popper for a teaching position at the newly opened string department at the Conservatory at Budapest. In Budapest, he participated in the Budapest Quartet with Jenő Hubay. He and Hubay performed chamber music on more than one occasion with Johannes Brahms, including the premiere of Brahms's Piano Trio No. 3 in Budapest, on December 20, 1886.
Popper died in Baden, near Vienna.
Among his notable students were Arnold Földesy, Jenő Kerpely, Mici Lukács, Ludwig Lebell and Adolf Schiffer (teacher of János Starker).
David Popper was one of the last great cellists who did not use an endpin. An 1880 drawing of Popper playing in a string quartet shows that although he started his cello career without using an endpin, he adopted it later in his life.
Popper was a prolific composer of cello music, writing four concertos, a Requiem for three cellos and orchestra (1891) and a number of smaller pieces which are still played today, including the solo piece Tarantella. His shorter showpieces were written to highlight the unique sound and style of the cello, extending the instrument's range with pieces such as Spinnlied (Spinning Song), Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves), or the Ungarische Rhapsodie (Hungarian Rhapsody), which was published by the Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag. He also wrote instructional pieces. Popper is also known for his High School of Cello Playing (Op. 73), a book of cello études that is widely used by advanced cello students.
An old edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians described him thus: "His tone is large and full of sentiment; his execution highly finished, and his style classical."
Op. 2, Five Songs for SopranoOp. 3, Scenes From a Masked Ball, cello and pianoNo. 1, Arlequin (Harlequin) in F MajorNo. 2, Warum? (Why?) in A MajorNo. 3, Erzählung (Story) in E MajorNo. 4, Papillon (Butterfly) in D MajorNo. 5, Begegnung (Meeting) in F MajorNo. 6, Lied (Song) in G MajorOp. 5, Romance, cello and pianoOp. 8, Concerto No. 1 in D minor, cello and orchestraOp. 10, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, SarabandeNo. 2, Gavotte, in D minorNo. 3, Trio-PastoralOp. 11, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, WidmungNo. 2, HumoreskeNo. 3, Mazurka in G minorOp. 12, Mazurka in D minor, cello and pianoOp. 14, Polonaise de concert, cello and pianoChanson d'autrefois, cello and pianoOp. 16, Suite for two cellosMarch for two cellosOp. 18, Sérénade orientale, cello and pianoOp. 22, Nocturne in G major, cello and pianoOp. 23, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, [n. d.]No. 2, Gavotte in D majorOp. 24, Concerto No. 2 in E minor, for cello and orchestraOp. 27, Preludes for cello soloNo. 1, Andante serioso; [n. d.]Op. 28, Concert-Polonaise No. 2 in F major, cello and pianoOp. 32, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, NocturneNo. 2, Mazurka in A majorOp. 33, Tarantella, cello and pianoOp. 35, Four Mazurkas, cello and pianoOp. 38, Barcarolle in G major, cello and pianoOp. 39, Dance of the Elves, cello and pianoOp. 40, Three Songs (for Soprano or Tenor)Op. 41, Nocturne, cello and pianoOp. 42, Three Nocturnes, cello and pianoOp. 43, Fantasy on Little Russian Songs, cello and pianoOp. 46, 2 Transcriptions for Cello and PianoNo. 1, Schlummerlied aus der “Mainacht" by Rimsky-KorsakovNo. 2, Träurmerei aus den “Kinderszenen” by SchumannOp. 47, Nocturne No.4 in B Minor for cello and pianoOp. 48, Menuetto in D major, cello and pianoOp. 49, Kaiser-Marsch zur Krönung Seiner Majestät Kaiser Alexander III. for OrchestraOp. 50, Im Walde, Suite for cello and orchestraNo. 1, Eintritt (Entrance)No. 2, Gnomentanz (Gnomes Dance)No. 3, Andacht (Devotion)No. 4, Reigen (Round Dance)No. 5, Herbstblume (Autumn Flower)No. 6, Heimkehr (Homecoming)Op. 51, Six Mazurkas, cello and pianoOp. 54, Spanish Dances, cello and pianoNo. 1, Zur GitarreNo. 2, SerenadeNo. 3, Spanische TänzeNo. 4, L'AndalouseNo. 5, VitoOp. 55, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, Spinning SongNo. 2, Concert ÉtudeOp. 59, Concerto No. 3 in G major, cello and orchestraOp. 60, Walzer Suite, cello and pianoOp. 62, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, La MémoireNo. 2, La Chanson villageoise (Village Song)No. 3, La BerceuseOp. 64, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, Wie einst in schöner’n tagen (Once in Fairer Days)No. 2, Tarantelle, in A majorNo. 3, Wiegenlied (Lullaby)Op. 65, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, AdagioNo. 2, MenuettoNo. 3, PolonaiseOp. 66, Requiem, for three cellos and piano (originally for three cellos and orchestra)Op. 67, Pieces for cello and pianoNo. 1, LargoNo. 2, Gavotte in D minorNo. 3, [n. d.]No. 4, Gavotte in D minorOp. 68, Hungarian Rhapsody, cello and pianoOp. 69, Suite for cello and pianoLargo à l'ancienne modeOp. 71, Scottish Fantasy, cello and pianoOp. 72, Concerto No. 4 in B minor, cello and orchestraOp. 73, High School of Cello Playing (Hohe Schule des Violoncellospiels): Forty Études for Cello SoloOp. 74, String Quartet in C minorOp. 75, Serenade, cello and pianoOp. 76, Zehn mittelschwere große Etüden [a/k/a Studies (Preparatory to Op. 73)]Op. 76a, Fünfzehn leichte melodisch-rhythmische EtüdenOp. 81, Gavotte in A Major for Cello and PianoWorks with unknown or no opus number
Cadenzas for celloJoseph Haydn: Cello Concerto in D majorCamille Saint-Saëns: Concerto in A minor, Op. 33Robert Volkmann: Cello Concerto in A minorRobert Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129Molique, B.: Cello Concerto in D majorRomance in G major for cello and piano, originally for violin and pianoChant du soir, cello and pianoArrangements and transcriptions for cello and piano
Bach, J.S., Arie aus der D-dur SuiteChopin, Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2Campioni, Minuet PastoralCherubini, Ave MariaGiordani, Caro mio benHandel, Largo; SarabandeJámbor, Nocturne, Op. 8, No. 1Jensen, Murmelndes Lüftchen, Op. 21, No. 4Mendelssohn, Auf Flügeln des Gesanges; Reiselied, Op. 19, No. 6Pergolesi, Nina (Tre giorni)Purcell, AriaRubinstein, Mélodie, Op. 3, No. 1Schubert, Du bist die Ruh’; Ave Maria, Op. 52, No. 4; Der Neugierige; Sei mir gegrüsst; Litanei auf das Fest "Allerseelen"; An die MusikSchumann, Träumerei, Op. 15, No. 7; Abendlied, Op. 85, No. 12; Schlummerlied, Op. 124, No. 16Svendsen, Romance in G-major, op. 26Tchaikovsky, Song Without Words, Op 2, No. 3; Chanson triste, Op. 40, No. 2; Barcarolle, Op. 37, No. 6; Perce-Niegre, Op. 37, No. 4; Chant d’automne, Op. 37, No. 10