August Müller (double bass player)

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August Müller (born April 26, 1808 in Darmstadt ; † November 26, 1867 there ) was a German double bass virtuoso.

August Müller was born in Darmstadt and took lessons from his father Christian Müller (1771-1859), who worked as a double bassist and bassoonist in the Darmstadt court orchestra.

In 1827, nineteen-year-old August Müller also became a member of the Darmstadt court orchestra and, with the exception of a brief guest performance in London, remained employed there all his life. He often appeared as a soloist in concerts and inter-act music. The musician, also known as “Bassmüller from Darmstadt”, went on many art trips to other European countries, including a. to France, Great Britain and Russia.

Even during his lifetime, Hector Berlioz set him a literary monument in his writings . August Müller is considered to be the rediscoverer of the Mozart aria Per questa bella mano KV 612 for bass and obbligato double bass. He performed it publicly in 1842 together with the singer Josef Staudigl at the celebrations for the unveiling of the Mozart monument in Salzburg . Müller made a significant contribution to the playing technique of the double bass with the "heavy bow" he designed.

Only a few compositions by August Müller are known. He was the co-editor of a collection of orchestral passages ( Practical Exercises for Contra-Bass ). He wrote a number of articles on the double bass for the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik .

August Müller died of complications from pneumonia.

Individual evidence

  1. See, for example, Silvio Dalla Torre on an article by August Müller in: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , No. 29, 7 October 1848.