Friedrich Dülon

Friedrich Ludwig DULON ( born August 14, 1769 in Oranienburg, † July 7, 1826 in Würzburg; spelling of the surname also Dülon ) was a German flutist and composer. Since early childhood blindness, he was one of the most famous flute virtuoso of the late 18th century.

Life and work

DULON, son of a music-loving tax officials, already lost in the first weeks of life due to faulty treatment by an ophthalmologist his sight almost completely ( the distinction between light and dark was it still possible). His father, who played flute himself, taught his son the beginning itself, whose musical talent thus noticed that he nachspielte flute concertos by Quantz, he heard from his father on the crest. Later he also received flute lessons from the also -blind flutist Joseph Winter and of the Stendal organist Angerstein lessons in piano playing and basso continuo. At the age of 9 years, he dictated his first compositions and resigned a year later as a soloist in Stendal. At the age of 13 years, concerted DULON, accompanied by his father, with great success in various German cities. His memory enabled him to be able to learn feigned works within a few hours. At the age of 40 years he had more than 300 concerts in his repertoire.

DULON was acquainted with many musicians of his time. Johann Philipp KirnBerger and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach campaigned for DULON and encouraged him to compose. On the other hand, suggested Dulons game Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach himself to compose his Hamburger Sonata in G Major Wq 133. Friendly relationship was DULON with Karl Hermann Heinrich Benda ( concert master at the royal opera Potsdam, son of Franz Benda ) and Johann Georg Tromlitz. In the summer of 1789 Friedrich Hölderlin took in Tübingen flute hours at DULON. Schubart devoted DULON a 9- strophiges poem " The blind flute player Dülon on the journey "; whose first verse is:

After concert tours that took him to Switzerland to Holland and England, DULON was hired in 1792 as " Russian imperial chamber musician " for an annual salary of 1,000 rubles to St. Petersburg. In 1798 he returned to Germany and performed there, among others, in Leipzig and Berlin. After his father's death his sister was his companion. Even in the early years of the 19th century took DULON even smaller concert tours and otherwise lived in Stendal and Würzburg. The poet Christoph Martin Wieland wrote dictated by him autobiography " Dulons, the blind flute player's life and opinions, edited by himself " down, which was 1807/1808 published in two volumes at Gessner in Zurich.

DULON left a number of his own works, in particular solo and duo compositions for flute.