Robert Mueller is
a gifted young American Pianist who has won a solid reputation
for vigor, clarity, and sensitively controlled musicianship. In
both Europe and America he is recognized as an able interpreter
of modern music as well as of the works of classic and romantic
composers. In the United States he has appeared with the San
Francisco Symphony, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the University
of Miami Symphony, and other orchestra and chamber ensembles.
His Town Hall and Carnegie Hall recitals brought extraordinary
critical acclaim. In the fall of 1956 his European tour included
such cities as Helsinki, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Vienna,
Rome, Milan and other music enters. 1961-1962 will mark his
fifth United States tour, including plans for Asia, the Near and
Far East and South America.
Born in Decatur,
Illinois, Mueller studied under Moissaye Boguslawski in Chicago
and with Egon Petri at Cornell University. At the ages of
sixteen and seventeen he appeared with the New York City
Symphony and in recitals. During the war he spent three years in
the U.S. Army Air Corps, during which time he qualified as a
pilot, served as instructor in navigation, gave occasional
recitals, and appeared with orchestra and on Hollywood canteen
shows. Immediately upon completion of his Air Force service in
1946, he resumed music study under Harold Logan in San
Francisco. Since his recital debut there in 1950, Mr. Mueller
has been especially active as a concert artist in the cities of
the West Coast. He won the San Francisco Music Critic Award in
1953 and the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Award in 1955. He
has also appeared repeatedly with the Campion Festivals,
featuring old and contemporary music.
Mr. Mueller has
consistently championed the cause of contemporary composers by
including one or more of their works in many of his programs.
The New York premiere of Boris Bacher's Piano Sonata, Opus 39,
for example, which Mr. Mueller presented in Town Hall,
introduced an important work of a young German composer who has
been active in the United States. In the San Francisco area and
elsewhere Mr. Mueller has also introduced works of young
Californian composers. Apart from his professional activities,
Mr. Mueller is an avid collector of phonograph records. His
collection exceeds 3,000 catalogued recordings, some of which
are extremely rare. He is an amateur photographer and often
takes several cameras with him on tour for both still
photography and motion pictures. His oriental art collection
would be envied by many museums specializing in the Ming and
Sung dynasties. When not on tour Mr. Mueller lives in Berkeley,
California.
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Biography supplied by the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra, featuring
"Robert Mueller, Pianist." Approximate date: 1960.
