Müller / Konzert Nr. 1 D-moll [KA]

Müller, Iwan
(1786 -1854)

Konzert Nr. 1 D-moll

für Klarinette in B und Orchester

Klavierpartitur und Stimme

© 2012
ee 212020
ISMN M-700196-64-6

Iwan Müller, born in Reval (Tallinn, Estonia) in 1786, was more than just one of the greatest clarinet virtuosi of his time, and his efforts in the technical improvement of the instrument would influence its future development. Despite the equivocal opinions of his nouvelle clarinette expressed by an authoritative Paris Conservatory commission in 1812, Müller’s developments in clarinet design became widely accepted during the course of the 19th century.

Müller’s life was shaped by continual travels across Europe. The reasons for this lifestyle were not limited to his acclaimed solo concerts or new engagements as clarinetist with important orchestras – working with the most disparate instrument makers to make the aspired acoustical and fingering improvements on his instrument was also a consistent goal. This is mirrored in Müller’s extensive legacy of compositions, almost all for clarinet. Predominantly written for his own appearances and stamped with a high virtuosity, they demonstrate not only the capabilities of the clarinetist himself, but also those of Müller’s instrument with its expanded key system.

Müller had developed the basic ideas for his new clarinet while still quite young. His Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 1 in D minor originated from that time, and he premiered the work himself in 1810 in Munich. During the same year the orchestra material appeared in print (PN 790), including parts for solo clarinet, 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. Carrying the dedication “Composé et Dédié à son Ami N. Simrock,” these materials form the basis of this new edition of the work for clarinet and piano. In similar clarinet concerti of the time Spohr or Weber may outstrip Müllers invention, yet the work – alone through its imposing orchestral introduction and the bravura attitude of the solo part – remains an eloquent testimony to his untiring and resolute creativity. Müller died in Bückeburg in 1854.

Performance material in preparation.