Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller
Encyclopedia
Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller (1 December 1850 – 26 February 1926) was a Danish
composer
and pianist
. His compositional style was influenced by Danish folk music and by the work of Robert Schumann
, Johannes Brahms
, and of fellow Danish countrymen, including J. P. E. Hartmann.
, reading poetry
, and studying music
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 to study political science
. 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.
s (later linked to chronic eye disease, 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 violin concerto
, and an orchestral suite (In the Alhambra) which are still widely performed today. In 1892, he married Ruth Block, with whom he had three children.
Clock signals to the Copenhagen Town Hall (1905)
Summer night at the Sound (band)
In Memorian (Orchestra 1914)
Lamentazione (Orchestra 1914)
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. His compositional style was influenced by Danish folk music and by the work of Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, and of fellow Danish countrymen, including J. P. E. Hartmann.
Early years
Lange-Müller was born in Fredericksberg, Denmark to an affluent family with a background in politics. He spent his childhood paintingPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, reading poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and studying music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
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 to study political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. 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 migraineMigraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s (later linked to chronic eye disease, 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
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
are his most popular works. They also comprise the bulk of his musical output. Of his larger works, he completed two symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, a violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
, and an orchestral suite (In the Alhambra) which are still widely performed today. 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 LangeThor LangeThor Næve Lange was a Danish author.-Biography:He was born in Copenhagen. About 1877 he went to Moscow as Danish consul. His works include translations from ancient Greek, Old French, and Russian, and he made a good translation of Longfellow's Golden Legend . He also compiled Skildringer fra den...
(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 mezzosoprano, 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. 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 ...)
- November Mood (ca. 1876)
Clock signals to the Copenhagen Town Hall (1905)
Summer night at the Sound (band)
In Memorian (Orchestra 1914)
Lamentazione (Orchestra 1914)