The Steinmüller family of horn players was prominent in the second half of the 18th century. Thaddäus Steinmüller (1725–1790) was a horn player in the orchestra at the court of Prince Esterházy under Joseph Haydn from 1762. Some scholars regard him as the inspiration for Haydn's first horn concerto. His sons Joseph, Wilhelm and Johann also became horn players. In 1783/84 they went on a concert tour, performing in many German cities with works by Rosetti, Hoffmeister and their own compositions.
Concerto in E major for Horn and Orchestra
The concerto was probably composed for this 1783 tour by Joseph Steinmüller (1763–1808) and performed with the participation of his brothers. In 1784 Wilhelm (1765–1798) and Joseph found employment at the Swedish court in Stockholm. Numerous solo appearances are documented, and the E major concerto was heard there as well.
It was printed in 1798 by the Spehr publishing house in Braunschweig (Brunswick). Decades later it still appears in music catalogues as performance repertoire. In form and structure it follows the concertos of Mozart, Hoffmeister and Rosetti.
