Alexander Müller (1808 – 28 January 1863) was a German pianist, teacher, conductor and composer.

Biography

Alexander Müller was born in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, and studied with

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

. In 1833 he met

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, and the two men became friends. In 1834 Müller moved to

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where he worked as a piano teacher, pianist and conductor. He took over the Listesche Singinstitut, founded by Anton List, and established a mixed choir in 1837, the Müllerschen Gesangverein. From 1852 to 1863 Müller served as leader for the General Music Society's subscription concerts series. Richard Wagner took refuge with Müller when he fled after the May uprising in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1849 and moved to Zurich. Müller died in Zurich. Notable students include Fanny Hünerwadel, Wilhelm Baumgartner and Johann Carl Eschmann.

Works

Müller's compositions are mostly lost. However, they included two operas ''Die Flucht nach der Schweiz'' (1841) and ''Die Mühle von St. Alderon oder die beiden Galeriesklaven'' (1851) that premiered in Zurich. Other compositions include a ''Tempo di Mazurka'', for piano solo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Alexander 1808 births 1863 deaths German classical composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) German writers about music Musicians from Erfurt 19th-century German classical composers German male classical composers 19th-century German male musicians