Albert Franz Doppler lived from 1821-1883. He is a Hungarian musician known for being an influential flautist, composer, and conductor of his time. His musical career began at a very young age, and he made his official debut at the age of thirteen in Vienna. Doppler held many notable positions throughout his lifetime including flautist at several theaters like the German Town Theater and The Hungarian National Theater. He also taught at the Vienna Conservatory. Doppler wrote pieces mainly for the flute and for opera performances. He often traveled and performed concerts with his brother and fellow flutist, Karl Doppler​

His Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, op. 26 was written in 1870 during the Romantic Era. Doppler originally composed the piece for two flutes and piano, presumably for performances by him and his brother, and it was rewritten for flute and pian Doppler is well known for using Hungarian folk music in his pieces, and Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy is no exception. This piece includes several different sections that portray vastly different characteristics of Hungarian music. It opens with a mysterious, floating melody in D minor. The flute sounds almost improvisatory while the piano has short interjections. The middle section is a contrast of the opening with a light, flowing melody in D major. The third section of the piece returns to d minor and is a march/dance like section with heavy accents in the flute. Finally the piece closes with a cadenza like section in D major and an allegro flourish to the end. The entire piece is meant to show of the virtuosity and flexibility of the flutist.

Program Note by Rachel Ollestad