Richard Mühlfeld, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetRichard Mühlfeld
German clarinettist
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Bad Salzungen, Thuringia, Germany
About Richard Mühlfeld
- Richard Bernhard Herrmann Mühlfeld (February 28, 1856 – June 1, 1907) was a German clarinettist who inspired Johannes Brahms and Gustav Jenner to write chamber works including the instrument.
- The pieces that Brahms wrote for him are the Clarinet Trio, the Clarinet Quintet, and the Clarinet Sonatas. Mühlfeld originally joined the Meiningen Court Orchestra (Hofkapelle) as a violinist and changed to the clarinet three years later.
- Following the completion of Brahms's String Quintet No.
- 2 in G Major, Op.
- 111, the composer decided to end his compositional career.
- After Brahms listened to Mühlfeld play Weber's Clarinet Concerto No.
- 1 in F Minor, Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and some of Ludwig Spohr's works, his sound quality and musicianship inspired Brahms to start composing again.
- Brahms later wrote letters to an old friend, Clara Schumann, about the skill level he saw in this clarinettist's playing.
- Mühlfeld and Brahms soon became close friends.
- In appreciation of Mühlfeld's relationship to him, Brahms gave him a set of fine silver teaspoons with a monogram to the musician. Although Mühlfeld played the Quintet along with the Trio in a concert at London, the debut for those pieces were held at the Court of Meiningen in November 1891, with the Joachim Quartet playing the Quintet's strings part.
- Both Sonatas were held for the Meiningen Circle at the Palace of Berchtesgaden in the summer of 1894, with Johannes Brahms playing piano.
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