Anton Bernhard Fürstenau

Anton Bernhard Fürstenau
Anton Bernhard Fürstenau as lithographed by Joseph Kriehuber in 1830.
Born	(1792-10-20)20 October 1792 Münster
Died	18 November 1852(1852-11-18) (aged 60) Dresden
Nationality	German
Occupation	Composer
Notable work	List of compositions
Style	Romantic

Anton Bernhard Fürstenau (born 20 October 1792 in Münster; d. 18 November 1852 in Dresden, Germany) was a German flutist and composer. He was the most famous virtuoso in Germany on his instrument and the most important Romantic flutist of the first half of the nineteenth century. His son Moritz Fürstenau (1824–1889), whom he later sent to study with Theobald Boehm in Munich, was one of his numerous students. Skeptical as for the technical advancements of the flute, he remained faithful to the nine key flute until his death.

Anton Bernhard Fürstenau received his first flute lessons from his father, the flautist Kaspar Fürstenau (1772–1819). As early as the age of seven he performed publicly for the first time and five years later he became a member of the Oldenburg State Court Orchestra. Joint concert tours with his father took him to Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Vienna and in 1815 to Prague where he met Carl Maria von Weber, with whom he was friendly connected until his death.

In 1817 Fürstenau became a member of the municipal orchestra in Frankfurt where he received further instructions on harmony and composition lessons with a musician named Volweiler. In 1820 he joined the court orchestra in Dresden as first flutist, led by von Weber at the time. In 1823 he went to Denmark, following to Bavaria in 1824 again on tour. In 1826 he continued with his concert tours in Paris and then to London with von Weber, who was already seriously ill at that time.