Fabian Müller (*12 February 1964 in Zurich) is a Swiss

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Fabian Müller is one of the leading Swiss composers of his generation. He originally comes from

Lengau Lengau is a municipality in the district of Braunau am Inn in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borde ...

in the canton of Aargau and grew up in Zurich as the son of Peter and Hella Müller-Heuer (daughter of Walter Heuer), a central figure in the area of German orthography. He first studied the cello with Claude Starck at the Zurich Conservatory, but then increasingly dedicated his energies to composition. He studied composition with Josef Haselbach at the Zurich Conservatory. After completing his studies, he spent four summers at the courses of the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

(Colorado). While there, he studied with Jacob Druckman, Bernard Rands and

George Tsontakis George Tsontakis (born Astoria, Queens, New York City, October 24, 1951) is an American composer and conductor. Early life and education He was born in New York City, and is of Greek descent. Tsontakis studied composition with Hugo Weisgall and ...

. He received decisive encouragement from David Zinman, who made a recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, including "Nachtgesänge" with Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman, the Cello Concerto (1999), played by Müller's wife, the Taiwanese cellist Pi-Chin Chien and two further orchestral works. Müller's works are played internationally by well-known orchestras and ensembles and have been heard in halls such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Zurich, the

Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre The Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne (or KKL for ''Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern'') is a multi-functional building with a concert hall that is esteemed for its high-profile acoustics. It was built according to the plans of the archite ...

, the Philharmonie St. Petersburg and the Teatro Colón. He wrote commissioned works for the Lucerne Festival, the Interlaken Music Festival and the Vestfold Festspillene in Norway. His works have been performed at the

Festival de musique de La Chaise-Dieu The La Chaise-Dieu Music Festival is a classical music festival that takes place every year at the end of August. It is essentially devoted to sacred music and takes place mainly in the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu. In 2016, the Festival celebrated its ...

in France, at the

in Colorado and at the Festival Internacional de Ushuaia in Argentina. Fabian Müller was artistic director of the International Music Festival Lenzburgiade in Switzerland from 2009-2013 and he is very interested in ethnomusicology. He spent ten years (1991 to 2002) preparing the publication of th
Hanny Christen Collection
a ten-volume anthology of folk music with over 10‘000 tunes from the 19th Century, which initiated a new era for the traditional music of his country.

Recent works

Müller's recent works include the opera «Eiger», based on a libretto by the Swiss author Tim Krohn, commissioned by the TOBS Theater Orchestra Biel Solothurn, and a concerto for

heckelphone The heckelphone (german: Heckelphon) is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. The idea to create the instrument was initiated by Richard Wagner, who suggested it at the occasion of a visit of Wilhelm Heckel in 1879. In ...

and orchestra for the Swiss oboist Martin Frutiger. Other recently written works include «Canto» for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra ZKO, as well as a Concerto for vibraphone and orchestra and «Clatterclank» for snare drum and string orchestra for Evelyn Glennie. Recent works also include the Cello Sonata No. 2 and «Dialogues Cellestes», a double concerto for two cellos and orchestra commissioned by the cellist Antonio Meneses, and the Concerto per Klee, a homage to Paul Klee, for solo cello and Chamber Orchestra for Steven Isserlis. His «Concerto for Orchestra» was presented on a tour throughout Switzerland (season 08/09) with the «Austrian-Hungarian Haydn-Philharmonic Orchestra» conducted by

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...

and his work «Taranis» for large orchestra, was premiered by the

Bern Symphony Orchestra The Bern Symphony Orchestra (Berner Symphonie-Orchester) is a Swiss orchestra based in Bern. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Kursaal'' in Bern, and also acts as the orchestra of the Bern Theatre, for opera and dance performances. ...

in the season 08/09 and was on tour in Germany conducted by Andrey Boreyko in spring 2009.

Awards

* 1996 Jacob Druckman Prize * 2006 Award of the Canton of Zurich * 2012: Art Award of Zollikon * 2016: Nomination for the «Swiss Music Prize» by the Federal Office of Culture * 2021: Rimbaud for Film music (Festival «Les Rimbaud du Cinema», Paris) * 2021: Award for the best Film music (SMR13, 6ème Festival International du Film Indépendant)

Work list

Orchestral works

* ''«Mother Earth» (大地之母) for large orchestra (2022)'' commissioned by the One Song Orchestra (灣聲樂團); conducted by Che-yi Lee * ''«La Folia-Variations» for large orchestra (2016)'' Premiere: 3. June 2017; Taiwan, Tainan Shinyin Culture Centre; Symphony-Orchestra of the Tainan National University of Arts; Kai-Hsi Fan *''«abendsfrüh» Intermezzo for Orchestra (2010)'' Premiere: 12. January 2011; Bern, Kultur-Casino; Neues Zürcher Orchester; Martin Studer-Müller *''Concerto for Orchestra (2007/2008)'' Premiere: 26. April 2009; Bern, Kultur-Casino
Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn-Philharmonie
Conducted by:

; Commission of the "Klubhaus-Konzerte" 2009 *''Taranis (2006) for large Symphony-Orchestra'' Premiere: 19. November 2008; La Chaux-de-Fond, Salle de Musique;

, Conducted by: Dmitry Liss *''Eiger (2004)'' Premiere: 27. August 2004; Interlakner Musikfestwochen; Latvian National-Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by: Andris Nelsons *''Balada y Bulerias (2003)'' Premiere: 2. May 2005; Philharmony St. Petersburg; Akademic Symphony Orchestra St. Petersburg, Conducted by: Marc Andreae *''Gayatri-Rhapsody (1997)'' Premiere: 3. December 2004; Tonhalle Zurich; Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Conducted by: Peter Oundjian *''Intrada (1997)'' Premiere: 1. May 2006; Festival Ushuaia, Argentina; Dvorak Symphony Orchestra (Prague), Conducted by: Claude Villaret

Works for Solo and Orchestra

* ''Concerto for heckelphone and orchestra (2020)'', dedicated to Martin Frutiger * ''Concerto for pan flute and orchestra (2017)'' Premiere: Konzil Konstanz; Urban Frey, pan flute,

Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz The Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz is a professional classical orchestra, based in Konstanz on Lake Constance. Origin The orchestra was founded in 1932 as the "Theatre and Concert Orchestra" by Hans Rüdinger. After the closure of all ...

, conducted by: Ari Rasilainen * ''Concertino for piano 4 hands, violoncello and String orchestra'' UA: Duo Vilma & Daniel Zbinden, Pi-Chin Chien, VDO Kammerorchester, Leitung Jonas Janulevicus *''Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra (2014)'' Premiere 7. October 2014 at Tonhalle Zurich; Dame Evelyn Glennie, Weinberger Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by: Gábor Takács-Nagy *''Clatterclank for Snare Drum and String Orchestra (2014)'' (Homage to Jean Tinguely); Premiere 7. October 2014 at Tonhalle Zurich; Dame Evelyn Glennie, Weinberger Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by: Gábor Takács-Nagy *''«Sirimadi» for Violoncello and Orchestra (2011)'' Premiere: 1. June 2012; Bangkok, Music Auditorium (MACM Hall); Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted by: Claude Villaret; Program-music Inspired by a Buddhist tale from Thailand. Commissioned for the anniversary «80 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Thailand» in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. *''«Dialogues Cellestes», Double Concerto for 2 Violoncelli and Chamber Orchestra (2009)'' Premiere: 18. Februar 2011; Bangkok, Music Auditorium (MACM Hall); Soloists: Antonio Meneses & Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted by: Claude Villaret *''«Concerto per Klee» for Violoncello and Chamber Orchestra (2007)'' Premiere: 23. August 2007; Paul Klee Museum, Bern; Steven Isserlis, Violoncello, Weinberger Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by: Gábor Takács-Nagy *''«Lied des Einsamen» for Alto-Saxophone and String Orchestra (2005); Homage to Dag Hammarskjöld'' Premiere: 30. March 2007; International Saxophone Festival, Theatre Stettin, Poland; Harry White, Alto-Saxophono, Philharmonic Orchestra Stettin *''Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra (2005)'' Premiere: 23. July 2008; "Domleschger Sommerkonzerte"; Soloist: Adrian Oetiker, Bündner Chamber Philharmonic, Conducted by: Marcus Bosch *''Suite for Violoncello and String Orchestra (2004)'' Premiere: 17. May 2004; National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan; Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello, Academy of Taiwan Strings *''Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1999)'' CD-recording 2002; Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello,

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

, London, Conducted by: David Zinman *''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1993)'' Premiere: 14. March 1997; Philharmonic Orchestra Posen (Poland), Soloist: Tomasz Tomaszewski, Conducted by: Marc Andreae.

Orchestral songs

*''«Am Anfang - Drei Versuche die Welt zu erfinden», for Soprano, String Orchestra and Cembalo (2010)''; Songs of texts by Tim Krohn; Premiere: Lutherse Kerk, Amsterdam; Barockensemble De Swaen, Amsterdam *''«Nachtgesänge» for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra (1999); after poems by Hermann Hesse'' Premiere: 12. January 2001; Tonhalle Zurich; Malena Ernman, Mezzo-Soprano,

Tonhalle Orchester Zurich Tonhalle is a German word meaning "tone hall", a concert hall. It may refer to: *Tonhalle Düsseldorf *Tonhalle Orchester Zürich *Tonhalle, Zürich The Tonhalle is a concert hall in Zurich, home to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, one of Switzer ...

, Conducted by: David Zinman

String Orchestra

* ''«Canto» for String orchestra (2015)'' Premiere: 1. March 2016; Tonhalle Zurich; Zurich Chamber Orchestra * ''«Pentaptychon» - Five alpine Images for String orchestra (2015)'' Premiere: 18. September 2015; Kammerorchester65; Alexandre Clerc *''«Ein Berner namens...» Humorous encore-piece for String orchestra (2012)'' Premiere: 1. September 2012; Stadttheater Bern;

Camerata Bern Located in Bern, Switzerland, the Camerata Bern was founded in 1963 as a conductorless, flexible chamber orchestra. The Camerata Bern performs early Baroque to contemporary classical music. The group tours extensively worldwide and is releasing ...

*''Weinberger Divertimento (2008)'' Premiere: 23. August 2008; Rainhalle, Rieden, St.Gallen, Switzerland; Weinberger Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by:

Gábor Takács-Nagy Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) (). Budapest), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz ...

*''Vokalise (2006)'' Premiere: 8. Februar 2007 St. Peter church, Zurich; Helvetica Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by: Alexandre Clerc *''Labyrinth (2005)'' Premiere: October 2005; USA-Tour; Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by:

Howard Griffith Howard Griffith (born November 17, 1968) is a former American football fullback who spent 11 seasons in the NFL (1991–2001). While at the University of Illinois, Griffith set the NCAA record for touchdowns in a game with eight. It occurred o ...

*''Rhapsody for String Orchestra (1990)'' Premiere: 26. July 1991; Bielersee Festival, Switzerland; Nordböhmische Philharmonie, Conducted by: Jost Meier

Chamber Music (selection)

* ''Zwiegespräch – Musikalische Reflexion zur Kantate « Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen» BWV 20 von J. S. Bach.'' Premiere: 20. January 2017; Reformierte Kirche Trogen AR; Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello, Bernhard Röthlisberger, Clarinet *''Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 3 (2013)'' Premiere: 13. July 2013; Taiwan, Kaoshiung; Pi-Chin Chien, violoncello, Bernhard Parz, piano *''Sonata for Viola and Piano (2012)'' Premiere: 31. May 2012; USA, Rochester NY, 40th International Viola Congress, Eastman School of Music; Viacheslav Dinerchtein, Viola *''«The mysterious Mr. Harley Quin» for violin, viola and piano (2011)'' Character piece inspired by the same figure by Agatha Christie for violin, viola and piano (2011). Commissioned by the Festival «Cully Classique» 2011; Premiere: 25. June 2011; Martyn Jackson, violin, Andrii Malakhov, viola und Joaquim Carr, piano *''String Quartet No. 3, «Über die Zeit» (2011)'' Premiere: 27. May 2011, Basel, Stadt Casino, Hans Huber Hall; Nathan Quartet *''String Quartet No 4, «1 for 4, 4 for 1» (2011)'' Premiere: 19. October 2014; Bern; Carmina Quartet *''Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 (2011)'' Premiere: 25. February 2013; Cremona; Antonio Meneses, Violoncello, Olga Zadorozhniuk, Piano *''«Munchs Traum(a)» for Violin solo (2010)'' Premiere: 5. June 2010; Vestfold International Festival 2010, Norway; Henning Kraggerud, Violin *''String Quartet No. 2, «The Helvetic» (2010)'' Premiere: 26. January 2011; Stadthaus Winterthur; Carmina Quartet *''Duo for Violoncello and Guitar (2009)'' Premiere: 27. October 2009; Zurich; Mattia Zappa, Violoncello, Admir Doçi, Guitar *''Harlekin-Fantasy for Clarinet and String Quartet (2003)'' Premiere: 25. April 2004; Castle of Lenzburg; Lux Brahn, clarinet, Sarastro Quartet *''Duo for Violin and Violoncello (2002)'' Premiere: 9. May 2004; Kongresshaus Zurich; Tomasz Tomaszewski, Violin, Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello *''String Quartet No. 1 (2001)'' Premiere: 25. April 2004; Castle of Lenzburg; Sarastro Quartet *''Saxophone Quartet (2000)'' Premiere: 29. August 2001;

Raschèr Saxophone Quartet The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet is a professional ensemble of four saxophonists which performs classical and modern music. The quartet was founded in the United States in 1969 by prominent classical saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr and his daughter, Ca ...

*''String Trio (1997)'' Premiere: Tonhalle Zurich; Zurich String Trio

Transcriptions (selection)

*''

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

: Baal Shem, Transcription for violin and String Orchestra (2014)'' *''20 Transcriptions for Clarinet and String Orchestra of Lieder by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Grieg''; Premiere: 15. October 2013; Radio Studio Zurich; Fabio Di Càsola, clarinet; Zurich Chamber Orchestra, led by: Willi Zimmermann, concert master *'' Johan Svendsen: Romance, Op. 26 for String Quintet (2013)'' Premiere: 22. May 2013; Castle of Lenzburg, Festival Lenzburgiade, Engegård Quartet (Norway) *''

Paul Juon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

: Suite op. 89, for Violin, Violoncello and String Orchestra (2013) (orig. Piano Trio)'' Premiere: 27. November 2013; National Concert Hall, Taipei; Tan Chen, Violin, Pi-Chin Chien, Violoncello, Academy of Taiwan Strings *'' Schubert: 7 Lieder, arranged for Soprano und String Orchestra (2009)'' Premiere: 5. September 2009;

Sandra Trattnigg Sandra Trattnigg (born 14 November 1976, Klagenfurt) is an Austrian opera and concert soprano. Life Trattnigg was born in Klagenfurt in South Carinthia in 1976 and has been living in Zürich since 2005. She received her musical training at t ...

, Soprano, Weinberger Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by: Gábor Takács-Nagy *''

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

: Sommernachtstraum, Scherzo for String Orchestra (2007)'' *'' Niccolò Paganini: Moto perpetuo Op. 11 for String Orchestra (2006)'' *'' Max Bruch: Swedish Dances for Violin and String Orchestra (1992) (orig. Violin & Piano)''

Stage works

* ''«Eiger» Opera in one Act (2019/20); After a Libretto by Tim Krohn'' Premiere: 17. December 2021; Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn TOBS; Barbara-David Brüesch, Regie; Alain Rappaport, stage design; Musical direction:

Kaspar Zehnder Kaspar Zehnder (born 27 August 1970 in Riggisberg, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss conductor and flutist. He studied classical languages at the Lyceum in Bern and music at the University of the Arts Bern. His music teachers included Heidi Indermühle ...

* ''«Der letzte Ta...kt» Short Opera (2009); After a Libretto by Peter Zeindler'' Premiere: 17. Oktober 2019; Kammertheater Stok, Zurich; "Oper im Knopfloch"

Discography

* 2020: «Strings on the Move» Concertino for piano 4 hands, cello and string orchestra; Pi-Chin Chien, violoncello, Piano Duo Zbinden, Klaipeda Chamber Orchestr
Estonian Recording Production ERP
* 2019: «Tea for Two Cellos» Pi-Chin Chien & Fabian Müller, violoncell
Solo Musica
* 2016: «Am Anfang - Drei Versuche die Welt zu erfinden»; Christiane Boesiger, Soprano, Zurich Ensembl
ARS Produktion
* 2015: «Concerto per Klee» for Violoncello and String orchestra & 2 horns; Pi-Chin Chien, violoncello, Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Ruben Gazaria
ARS Produktion
*2014: «Taiwan Rhapsody» and «Six Taiwanese Songs», romantic musical settings for cello and orchestra; Pi-Chin Chien, violoncello, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wen-Pin Chien
Sony Classical
*2013: Portrait-CD: Eiger (2004), Concerto for Orchestra (2007/08), «Dialogues Cellestes», Antonio Meneses & Pi-Chin Chien, violoncello, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Claude Villaret
/ ARS Produktion
*2013: "Munchs Traum(a) for Violin Solo (2010), Henning Kraggerud, violine
/ SIMAX Classics
*2013 Fabian Müller: 20 Transcriptions of songs by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Grieg for clarinet and string orchestra; Fabio Di Casola, clarinet, Zurich Chamber Orchestra
/ Sony Classical
*2007 Chamber music for cello and piano by Paul Juon, Othmar Schoeck and Fabian Müller; Pi-Chin Chien, cello, Adrian Oetiker, pian
/ Musiques Suisses
*2006 Portrait-CD; Fabian Müller: Piano Concerto, Labyrinth, Suite for cello and string orchestra, «Lied des Einsamen», Pi-Chin Chien, cello, Adrian Oetiker, piano, Harry White, saxophone, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Ruben Gazarian, conductor
Musiques Suisses
*2004 Fabian Müller: Chamber music for strings; Petersen Quartet; Tomasz Tomaszewski, violin; Pi-Chin Chien, cello; Andreas Wylezol, double-bass; «20th Century Portraits»
/ Capriccio
*2003 Fabian Müller: Five Intermezzi for alto-saxophone solo, Harry White, saxophone; Deutsche Grammophon *2002 Portrait-CD; Fabian Müller: «Nachtgesänge», Cello Concerto 1999, Intrada, Gayatri-Rhapsody; Malena Ernman, mezzo-soprano; Pi-Chin Chien, cello; Philharmonia Orchestra, London; David Zinman, conductor
col legno
*1995 Fabian Müller: Violin Concerto 1993, Suite Vaudoise, Rhapsody for String Orchestra, «Nachtgesänge»; MDS Classics

External links

Official website

«New Music?», Interview with art historian Margaret Jardas

Interview at Glarean (German)

Review by Phillip Scott, Fanfare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Fabian 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Swiss classical composers 1964 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Swiss male classical composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians 20th-century Swiss composers 21st-century Swiss composers