August Eberhard MÜLLER (1767-1817)
Flute Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 in G Minor (1794) [21:42]
Flute Concerto No. 3, Op. 10 in D Major (1795) [23:55]
Flute Concerto No. 10, Op. 30 in G Major (1809) [28:17]
Tatjana Ruhland (flute)
Southwest German Chamber Orchestra of Pforzheim/Timo Handschuh
rec. 2014, Laurentiuskirche, Oberderdingen, Germany
CPO 777956-2 [73:54]
Initially, Müller had difficulty in becoming recognized as a composer, organist or flautist of repute since he was overshadowed by the fame of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. After his death he fell from popularity and his name was little heard of. It will neither surprise, nor disappoint anyone to find that his compositions have similarities to those composers’ styles and contain many of their qualities.
When a child, growing up at Rinteln (a small university town south-west of Hanover) his musical talents were spotted by Johann Sebastian Bach’s son, Johann Christoph Bach, then head of the local court chapel. Bach gave him lessons in piano and organ. At the age of 21 he married an organist’s daughter at Magdeburg where he followed his father-in-law as organist. It was at this time (1788) that he began composing in earnest, initially with works for piano and organ. He went to Berlin to give concerts (as a composer-pianist) starting in Spring 1793. Following his initial Berlin concerts, he was noticed by the press and this in turn brought interest from Berlin’s publishers. Müller soon provided them with orchestral compositions including a number of Flute concerti. It is not clear where he gained the extra training and expertise in harmony, but from the concerti on this disc he was certainly extremely proficient in orchestration. As a skilled musician, he had taught himself the flute, so maybe his excellently crafted orchestrations are the result of self-teaching also. He often took on the role of soloist when the concerti were introduced. Mozartian in concept, the concerti follow the standard format of having a middle slow movement of a Largo, Romance or Andante.
Flute Concerto No. 1 opens with a jolly and bright Allegro that is very Haydnesque in style. The flute playing is crisp with elegantly measured phrases floating above the ensemble. A ponderous Largetto has an ABA structure. Two episodes of contrasting character are found in the bright Rondo, where statements by the flute are echoed by the ensemble. Concerto No.3 was premiered in Leipzig’s Gerwandhaus around 1795 and again is similar to the Mozartian model. Concerto No. 10 is memorable for the close of the first movement with its long and sophisticated flute cadenza that Ruhland plays with virtuosic polish. It leads me to the realisation that Müller must have become an extremely skilled flautist by this time, 1809. The second movement is, in essence, a number of well-composed variations on the British National Anthem ‘God Save the Queen’, first adopted for theatre performance by Arne in 1745; Müller follows Bach, Beethoven and Haydn in this respect. The notes explain that Müller could have had a political motive in introducing a British anthem, since Napoleon hated the British and his French occupation of Leipzig in 1806 had brought an end to the concert enterprises Müller had introduced in the city, thus his annoyance could be expressed by celebrating the English.
The booklet notes by Bert Hagels in German and English provide the collector with interesting background detail on Müller and the three works. A running commentary for each movement (with timings) gives a description of the music’s construction.
These polished performances under Timo Handschuh are engaging. He is resident conductor at Theater Ulm where a wide range of operatic repertoire is covered. The conductor and flautist here breathe as one and bring out the nuances of detail found in the scores. Flute soloist, Tatjana Ruhland, was trained in Munich and New York, and has been winner of a number of international competition awards. Back in 2017 she was particularly admired for her Penderecki Flute Concerto recording with Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra on Coviello Classics [COV 91610]. Ruhland specializes as a chamber orchestra player and so is appropriately chosen as soloist for this recording; she gives a sensitive interpretation and the nice contrasts in the pieces introduce good colour. Long phrases are handled without any noticeable loss of energy. The flute placing on the sound stage is given generous space to allow focus, and a well-balanced perspective is provided for the rest of the instruments.
Raymond J Walker
