Müller: Clarinet Quartets Nos. 1 and 2

Featuring

Friederike Roth
David Gorol
Andres Mehne
Martin Smith
Erika Le Roux
Wenzel Fuchs

Berolina Ensemble
Ivan Müller

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

The Berolina Ensemble, founded in 2009, focuses on bringing works by composers forgotten by musical history to modern concert halls.

Compositional Technique

Müller's Souvenir de Dobbéran, Op. 28, was a prototype of the 'musical postcard' genre, a concept later adopted by composers like Saint-Saëns and Elgar.

Instruments

Müller's new clarinet, with its innovative key mechanism and thirteen keys, was so influential that leading virtuosi like Heinrich Baermann and Johann Simon Hermstedt had similar instruments made.

Instruments

Iwan Müller's most significant contribution was the invention of his 'clarinette omnitonique,' which developed the limited clarinets of Mozart's era into the modern concert clarinet.

Composition History

The clarinet concertos by Weber and Spohr, which are still considered substantial works today, were written for instruments based on Müller's innovations.

Composer Biography

Iwan Müller, born in 1786 in Reval (now Tallinn), was a clarinet virtuoso and composer whose name has largely disappeared from concert programs today.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Müller's compositions, totaling 112 works, consistently prioritize the presentation of 'his' clarinet, showcasing his melodic gift, harmonic richness, and musical economy.