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Fürstenau Anton Bernhard
Akimenko, Theodore
Albeniz, Isaac
Andersen, Joachim
Barnett, John Francis
Bazzini, Antonio
Beach, Amy
Bellini, Vincenzo
Bizet, George
Blahetka, Leopoldine
Blodek, Wilhelm
Boehm, Theobald
Bonis, Mel
Borne, François
Brahms, Johannes
Briccialdi, Giulio
Bruch, Max
Caplet, André
Chaminade, Cécile
Chopin, Frédéric
Danzi, Franz Ignaz
Debussy, Claude
Demersseman, Jules-Auguste Edouard
Donizetti, Gaetano
Donjon, Johannes
Doppler, Albert Franz
Du Puy, Édouard
Dvořák, Antonin
Elgar, Edward
Fauré, Gabriel
Foote, Arthur
Franck, César
Frühling, Carl
Fürstenau, Anton Bernhard
Gade, Niels Wilhelm
Ganne, Louis
Génin, Paul Agricole
German, Edward
Glière, Reinhold
Godard, Benjamin
Gounod, Charles
Grandval, Clémence
Hahn, Reynaldo
Hüe, Georges Adolphe
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk
Jadassohn, Solomon
Kohler, Ernesto
Kreisler, Fritz
Kuhlau, Friedrich
Lefebvre, Charles Edouard
Liszt, Franz
Maier, Amanda
Massenet, Jules
Mendelssohn, Fanny
Mendelssohn, Felix
Mercadante, Saverio
Meyer-Olbersleben, Max
Molique, Wilhelm Bernhard
Morlacchi, Pietro
Mouquet, Jules
Nielsen, Carl
Paganini, Niccolo
Périlhou, Albert
Pierné, Gabriel
Popp, Wilhelm
Rabboni, Giuseppe
Reger, Max
Reichert, Matthieu Andre
Reinecke, Carl Heinrich Carsten
Ries, Ferdinand
Rietz, Julius
Rossini, Gioacchino
Saint-Saëns, Camille
Sarasate, Pablo de
Schubert, Franz
Schumann, Clara
Schumann, Robert
Sibelius, Jean
Silcher, Friedrich
Strauss, Richard
Taffanel, Claude Paul
Tulou, Jean-Louis
Vitali, Tomaso Antonio
Wagner, Siegfried
Widor, Charles Marie Jean Albert
Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Kuhlau’s „Elverhøj“, Op. 120
Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Kuhlau’s „Elverhøj“, Op. 120
A.B. Fürstenau: Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Kuhlau’s „Elverhøj “, Op. 120 was written most likely around 1838 and published in 1839 by Peters.
The work is based on a popular melody from the opera Elverhøj (The Elf-Hill, or Elfin Mound) by the German-Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau. Kuhlau's opera premiered in 1828 and quickly became the Danish national opera. The theme used by Fürstenau is "Kong Christian stod ved høien mast" (King Christian stood by the high mast), the Danish royal anthem.
Like many of Fürstenau's works, this piece was written as a virtuosic showcase for the flute, designed for use in concerts and salons by skilled performers, testing technical capabilities with elaborate variations on the popular melody.
Therefore, it was likely premiered by Fürstenau himself in a concert or salon setting around 1839.
Tzu-Chin Yen (piano), live performance, 29 September, 2017 at the Taichung National Theater
Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Kuhlau’s „Elverhøj“
Fürstenau Anton Bernhard
Anton Bernhard Fürstenau (1792–1852) was a leading German flutist, composer, and music educator of the Romantic era. He was considered Germany's most famous flute virtuoso in the first half of the 19th century.
Born in Münster, Germany, Fürstenau received his first flute lessons from his father, Caspar Fürstenau, also a respected flutist and composer. He appeared publicly by the age of seven and became a member of the Oldenburg court orchestra at twelve.
Joint concert tours with his father took him across Europe, including Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. In 1815 in Prague, he met Carl Maria von Weber, with whom he formed a deep friendship.
In 1819, Fürstenau accepted the prestigious position of Principal Flute in the Dresden Court Orchestra, where Weber was the director. In 1826, he accompanied the already seriously ill Weber on his journey to London, where Weber ultimately passed away.
Fürstenau was an extremely prolific composer who published over 140 works for the flute, including concertos, duets, fantasies, and variations, all designed to demonstrate the instrument's technical capabilities. He was a master of the nine-keyed flute and remained skeptical of the technical innovations of Theobald Boehm, the inventor of the modern key system. Nevertheless, he sent his son, Moritz Fürstenau, also a talented flutist, to Boehm in Munich to study his method.