Wenzel Müller (26 September 1767 – 3 August 1835) was an Austrian

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

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. He is regarded as the most prolific opera composer of all time with his 166 operas.

Life and career

Müller was born in Markt Türnau, in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. He studied with

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer and violinist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) His best-known works include the German singspiel '' Doktor un ...

and performed as a theatre musician in his youth. In 1786 he became

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

at the

Theater in der Leopoldstadt The Theater in der Leopoldstadt (also: Leopoldstädter Theater) was an opera house in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the ''Schauspielfreiheit'' (ending of the court's monopoly on entertainment) ...

Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; ; "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna () in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th district), forms a large island surrou ...

, Vienna. After several years at the German theatre in Prague from 1807 until 1813, he returned to Leopoldstadt, where he worked until 1830. Under his leadership, the theatre became one of the most important venues in Viennese musical life. He died in

Baden bei Wien Baden (Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from Baden (disambiguation), other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden (district of Austria), Baden District in t ...

. He was a popular and prolific composer, producing more than 250 works. Although he wrote several popular stage works (mostly

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

e), his

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

s are his enduring legacy. Often possessing witty music and lyrics or expressing a great deal of tenderness, Müller's songs were immensely popular and some of the works he wrote with

Ferdinand Raimund Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Austria, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and playwright. Life and work Raimund was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturn ...

remain in the Viennese repertory. His opera ' provided the theme for

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's "

Kakadu Variations "Kakadu Variations" is the nickname given to Ludwig van Beethoven's set of variations for piano trio on the theme "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu" by Wenzel Müller. The ''Variations'' was published in 1824 as Opus 121a, the last of Beethoven's pia ...

" for piano trio, Opus 121a. He is said to have composed what has been falsely known as

Mozart's Twelfth Mass, K. Anh. 232 ''Mozart's Twelfth Mass'' is a commonly used title for a setting of the mass formerly attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Under this title, which was given to it by an English publisher, the piece attained great popularity in the 19th century a ...

, the Missa in G major K. Anh. 232 (C1.04). Müller was married twice, and his second wife was Magdalena Valley Reining. He had children named

Therese Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese *Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg *Therese of Br ...

(1791–1876), Caroline (1814–1868), Ottilia (1816–1817), Carl (born 1815) and Joseph (born 1816), all of whom became opera singers. On 3 August 1835, Müller died of natural causes in

, Austria, at the age of 67.

Stage works

References

Sources

Peter Branscombe Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 – 31 December 2008) was an English academic in German studies, a musicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history. Background Peter John Branscombe was born in Sittingbourne, Kent, on 7 December 19 ...

"Müller, Wenzel."
''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

(1992), and

External links

Short biography
at aieou
Selected works
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Wenzel 1767 births 1835 deaths People from Svitavy District Moravian-German people Austrian classical composers Austrian people of German Bohemian descent Austrian opera composers Austrian male opera composers People from Leopoldstadt