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