Rediscovered Müller

July 7, 2010

Christopher's latest publication with Edition HH, an editorial collaboration with Nikolai Jaeger, restores to the repertory the Flute Concerto op. 19 by August Eberhard Müller (1767-1817).

Familiar to flautists as the author of the 1817 flute method Elementarbuch für Flötenspieler, and to everyone else as the true author of a keyboard sonata misattributed to Mozart (K. Anh. 136 but really Müller's op. 26, as edited by Christopher also for Edition HH), Müller is known to have written eleven flute concertos, each re-affirming his reputation as a Mozartian (Müller even made a flute version of his role model's Clarinet Concerto K622: see Christopher's Bärenreiter edition).

The present concerto, published here for the first time since 1801, is unusually in the minor mode, but remains highly virtuosic; extracts from Müller's flute tutor, offering advice on execution, both musical and technical, are presented in the Introduction.

Nikolai Jaeger unearthed the piece in the course of his ongoing researches into forgotten flute repertoire, and Christopher was delighted to agree to a joint edition, which was tested in May at the work's modern première, given by Nikolai and Staatskapelle Weimar, of which he is principal flute, under conductor Martin Hoff. Of particular interest to the modern performer are Nikolai's suggested cadential embellishments included in the edition.

A full score and parts are available from Edition HH, as well as a keyboard reduction; for sample pages see Edition HH's brochure.