Thomas Müller

Pogrom

Thomas Müller (b. 1939) studied piano and composition in Dresden and worked as an opera conductor across East Germany before pursuing further composition studies at the Berlin Academy of Arts, developing his idiom by incorporating aspects of serial music. Until the late 1980s, a busy schedule of performances and talks saw him travel to West Germany, Czechoslovakia and the USSR while also conducting local ensembles in the city of Halle and teaching as part of Halle's groundbreaking composition classes for young people. After 1990 he focussed on composition and university teaching. Pogrom - Kammermusik for Speaking Voice, Wind Quintet and Piano, written to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, was premiered in Berlin in 1985. Throughout its long and eventful history, Edition Peters has consistently sought to support contemporary music, making it accessible in high-quality scores. The years in which Germany, and the publishing house itself, were divided between East and West form an important chapter in the company's story. The output of composers from the East German firm - then known as VEB Edition Peters, Leipzig - forms a unique and valuable part of the company's identity and, more widely, of European cultural history. Their works are compositionally and aesthetically diverse, while sharing a communicative creative drive. The artistic independence of the music created in East Germany between 1949 and 1990 makes this repertoire well worth rediscovering.