Johanna Müller-Hermann (1868-1941)

Johanna Müller-Hermann once held a significant place as a
composer and teacher in Vienna, yet has been largely forgotten
over the decades since her death in 1941. Radio 3 has been
working to unearth her music and story through its Forgotten
Women Composers project, in collaboration with the Arts and
Humanities Research Council and Dr Carola Darwin. This week, Dr
Darwin and Professor Robert Evans join Donald Macleod to explore
this fascinating composer and her times. Their series includes
many specially recorded works by Müller-Hermann that have sat
neglected in dusty archives for decades.


Müller-Hermann was greatly celebrated in her own lifetime and
moved in eminent musical circles. She studied with Zemlinsky,
befriended Alma Mahler, and also corresponded with Arnold
Schoenberg. She went on to teach at Austria’s New Vienna
Conservatory where students travelled from as far away as America
and the UK to study with her. She became a pivotal figure in
Vienna’s cultural scene and her music was regularly performed and
published during her lifetime. Music Featured: String Quintet in
A minor, Op 7 (excerpt) Piano Sonata, Op 8 (Allegro enérgico)
Herbst, Op 20 No 3 (Vier Lieder) Wie eine Vollmondnacht, Op 20 No
4 (Vier Lieder) Zwei dreistimmige Frauenchöre, Op 10 Piano
Sonata, Opus 8 (excerpt) Cello Sonata, Op 17 (Moderato) String
Quartet in E flat, Op 6 (Moderato) Intermezzo in D, Op 3 No 4
(Fünf Klavierstücke) Vier Lieder, Op 2 Violin Sonata in D minor,
Op 5 (Moderato serioso) UK Broadcast Premiere String Quartet in E
flat, Op 6 (excerpt) Die stille Stadt, Op 4 No 1 Heroic Overture,
Op 21 (excerpt) Alle die wachsenden Schatten, Op 9 No 3 (Drei
Chöre) Violin Sonata in D minor, Op 5 (excerpt) UK Broadcast
Premiere Heroic Overture, Op 21 String Quintet in A minor, Op 7
(Adagio con expressione) Piano Quintet in G minor, Op 31
(excerpt) Zwei Lieder, Op 11 Cello Sonata, Op 17 (excerpt) Epilog
zur einer Tragodie ’Brand‘ – symphonic fantasy, Op 25 Intermezzo
in D minor, Op 3 No 3 (Fünf Klavierstücke) Impromptu in D minor,
Op 3 No 5 (Fünf Klavierstücke) In Memoriam, Op 28 No 5
(Herbstlieder) Novelette in A flat, Op 3 No 2 (Fünf
Klavierstücke) Violin Sonata in D minor, Op 5 (Allegretto
amabile) UK Broadcast Premiere Piano Quintet in G minor, Op 31
(Adagio sostenuto) Drei Gesange, Op 33 String Quartet in E flat,
Op 6 (Allegro con spirito) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced
by Luke Whitlock


For full track listings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page for Johanna Müller-Hermann
(1868-1941) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001h57j


And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z