Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller (1 December 1850 – 26 February 1926) was a Danish

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 def ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. His compositional style was influenced by Danish folk music and by the work of

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

;

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

; and his Danish countrymen, including J.P.E. Hartmann.

Early years

Lange-Müller was born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

, Denmark to an affluent family with a background in politics. He spent his childhood

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, reading

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, and studying

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

with prominent teachers, including G. Matthison-Hansen. Poor health prevented him from attending school until 1871, when he entered conservatory to study composition. After a year, however, his father decided that he should follow his professional path and enrolled him in

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. The University of Copenhagen c ...

to study

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He was not suited for a life in politics though, and by 1874 he had become fully immersed in his compositional career. It was at this time that he and several colleagues founded Copenhagen's Concert Society.

Middle years

For the next quarter of a century, Lange-Müller produced a huge quantity of music, comprising some seventy-seven opus numbers. And, for several years, he conducted the Concert Society he helped to establish. However, he suffered from severe

migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...

s (later linked to chronic

eye disease This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ...

), which made working at length very difficult for him. Therefore, what he could compose quickly tends to display the best of his compositional skill. Accordingly, his songs for unaccompanied voice and small chamber pieces are his most popular works. They also comprise the bulk of his musical output. Of his larger works, he completed two

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, and an

orchestral suite A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to f ...

( In the Alhambra) which are still performed today. In 1887, he became Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. In 1892, he married Ruth Block, with whom he had three children.

Late years

After 1900, Lange-Müller composed very little. He spent most of his time in his secluded home in Sophienberg, entertaining his grandchildren. He died on 26 February 1926, four days after a serious street accident in Copenhagen.

List of Works (incomplete)

:Pictures From Nighttime (Piano suite ca. 1864) :*Op. 1 Sulamith and Salomon (1874) *Op. 3 In the Alhambra (orchestral suite - 1876) *Op. 4Three poems by Bergsøe (1875) :::November Mood (ca. 1876) *Op. 5 Choir (Tonernes flugt, Novemberstemning... 1876) *Op. 6 Eight songs of Ingemann (Sulamith's song: Queen in the Garden, Giant's song, Sulamiths song: in breach sill, ... 1876) *Op. 7 Tove (opera- 1878) *Op. 8 12 piano pieces *Op. 9 Niels Ebbesen (baritone, men's chorus, and orchestra - 1878) *Op. 10 Twelve choir and quartet songs *Op. 11 Songs set to texts by Thor Lange (Why leaning willow tree, Kosakken ...) *Op. 13 I have a master named Sebald (1880 drama) *Op. 14 Six Danish songs (At sunset, Fresh weather, Earth is sick... 1882) *Op. 15 Fulvia (playwright) *Op. 16 Five Norwegian Songs *Op. 17 Symphony No. 1 in d-minor ("Autumn" - 1879/1882) *Op. 18 Six folktales by Thor Ling (Skin from bright sunshine, willow-tree bends, Small red rowanberry ... 1882) *Op. 19 Mood pieces from Russia (1882) *Op. 20 Four poems by Tolstoy (An edge of the misty moors, deep in the twilight, As shadows along the sky, With the snow buried ... 1883) *Op. 21 Three psalms (choir and orchestra, 1883) *Op. 22 Spanish students (1883) *Op. 23 Songs of Drachmann (1884) *Op. 24 Songs by Ernst von der Recke *Op. 25 Once upon a time (1887 drama) *Op. 26 Meranerreigen (piano) *Op. 27 Six Lieder (1885) *Op. 28 Five French Songs *Op. 29 Two Lieder (for mezzo-soprano, choir, and orchestra) *Op. 30 Lady Jeanna (opera - 1891) *Op. 31 THABOR *Op. 33 Symphony No. 2 in d-minor (1889/1915) *Op. 34 Eight folktales by Thor Ling (shepherd draws on his sleeve, High up in the mountains, All my love, All of the herbs are sprouting, it is the gentle summer... 1888) *Op. 36 Three cantatas (1888) and a string quartet- Album Leaves (1889) *Op. 38 Three Songs from Polish and Russian (In the forest I, II woods, guardian angels - 1890) *Op. 39 Three fantasies for violin and piano (1895) *Op. 40 Songs by Karl Gjellerup *Op. 41 By Bosphorus (1891 drama) *Op. 42 Peter Plus (playwright) *Op. 43 Serenade for violin and piano (af musikken till Paul Heyes drama 'Die Schlimmen Brüder) *Op. 44 Duchess of Burgundy (playwright) *Op. 47 Weyerburg (orchestral suite in 1894) *Op. 48 "Letizia" (1898 drama) *Op. 49 Dance and intermezzi (piano pieces) *Op. 50 Vikingeblod (opera 1900) *Op. 53 Piano Trio in f-minor (1898) *Op. 54 Three songs by the sea *Op. 55 Medieval (melodrama 1896) *Op. 56 Seven forest pieces (piano pieces) *Op. 57 Four songs of "Cosmus" (The sun pops out as a rose, I sing about a king, ... - 1898) *Op. 59 Renaissance (melodrama 1901) *Op. 63 Romance for violin and orchestra (1899) (also available in a version for piano and violin) *Op. 64 Seventeen stories and songs by Thor Ling (1899) *Op. 65 Three Madonna songs (1900) *Op. 66 Piano Fantasy in c-minor *Op. 67 Prolog by English Concert Association 1 - concert (Choir and Orchestra 1902) *Op. 68 Muted Melodies (piano pieces) *Op. 69 Violin Concerto in C major (1904) *Op. 71 Cantata to Hans Christian Andersen's 100th anniversary (1905) *Op. 72 Agnete and Havmanden (choir and orchestra, 1908) *Op. 75 Nine songs of Ernst von der Recke (1908) *Op. 77 Wanderer songs (I walk along the path the Lord is coming up, as a subdued tone of ...) Clock signals to the Copenhagen Town Hall (1905) Summer night at the Sound (band) In Memorian (Orchestra 1914) Lamentazione (Orchestra 1914)

References

* * * * The Nordic Sound: Explorations into the Music of Denmark, Norway, Sweden. By John H Yoell * Nordic Art: from the Middle Ages to the third millennium. By Frederick Key Smith

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lange-Muller, Peter Erasmus 1850 births 1926 deaths 19th-century Danish classical composers 19th-century Danish classical pianists 19th-century Danish male musicians 20th-century Danish classical composers 20th-century Danish classical pianists 20th-century Danish male musicians Danish male classical composers Danish Romantic composers Danish male classical pianists Musicians from Frederiksberg