The Gebrüder Müller (“Müller Brothers”) was the name of two noted

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

)

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s both composed of four brothers.

Players in the senior quartet

The elder brothers were the sons as well as pupils of the principal musician to the Duke of Brunswick, Ägidius Christoph Müller (1765–1841), and were all of them born in the city of Brunswick. Karl (Carl) Friedrich Müller (1797–1873) was

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

in the quartet and was also

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

to the Duke. Theodor Heinrich Müller (1799–1855) was the viola player. August Theodor Müller (1802–75) played the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, and Franz Ferdinand Georg Müller (1808–55) was the second violin. They were especially educated by their father for quartet work, and were conceded to have brought the art of string quartet playing to a degree of perfection previously unknown. The Müller brothers were ambitious for greater fame than could be obtained within their own limited environment, but their employer, the Duke of Brunswick, had stipulated that none of his musicians should participate in any musical performance outside that connected with his own corps. So in 1830 they resigned their employment. Their first appearance outside Brunswick was in

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, where they met with such success that they were invited to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where they were received with great enthusiasm. An extended tour throughout Germany followed, and in 1837 they performed in

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. Other tours made them known throughout the world. They confined their programmes almost entirely to the works of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

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 ...

, and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, and were also a very important influence in cultivating

music appreciation Music appreciation is a division of musicology that is designed to teach students how to understand and describe the contexts and creative processes involved in music composition. The concept of music appreciation is often taught as a subset of ...

The younger Müller quartet

The so-called younger Müller quartet was formed in 1855 by four sons of Karl Friedrich Müller. This quartet existed till 1873. * 1st violin: Karl Müller-Berghaus (14 April 1829 – 11 November 1907), also known as a conductor and a composer. As he took a position of a conductor in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, his place in the quartett was taken by

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

. * 2nd violin: Hugo Müller (21 September 1832 – 26 June 1886). * Viola: Bernhard Müller (24 February 1825 – 4 September 1895). * Cello: Wilhelm Müller (1 June 1834 – September 1897).Riemann, Hugo
''Riemanns Musik-Lexikon.''
10th ed., p. 862. Max Hesses Verlag, Berlin. 1922.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller German string quartets Musicians from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick