Iwan Müller
1786 - 1854
Estonian composers on this site are a little like Number 9 buses. None for ages then two in a matter of days. Iwan Müller hailed from Reval in Estonia and made his name at the Imperial Russian Court just down the road in St Peterburg.
Müller, aside from being a prolific composer of music for the clarinet was also something of an innovator. He added leather to the pads used to stop the holes making them more airtight and a metal clasp to hold the clarinet’s reed in place.
Having made these changes to create what became known as the Müller System for the clarinet, he set about creating a body of music to use for his new instruments.
Among which are these pieces:
When I did Estonian music, it seemed to me to mostly choral and/or folk, not so much classical material, so this is interesting. Reval is an old name for Tallinn I think?
Much enjoyed ... good music with a fascinating back story. See you later ...