Family of Robert Gerson MULLER-HARTMANN and Rebecca Elisabeth ASCH

Husband:	Robert Gerson MULLER-HARTMANN (1884-1950)
Wife:	Rebecca Elisabeth ASCH (1890-1981)
Children:	Dietrich MULLER-HARTMANN (1918-2000)
	Rudolf Josef MULLER-HARTMANN (1915-1997)
	Susanne MULLER-HARTMANN (1914-1982)
Marriage	18 Dec 1912	Hamburg, Germany

Husband: Robert Gerson MULLER-HARTMANN

Name:	Robert Gerson MULLER-HARTMANN1,2
Sex:	Male
Father:	Joseph MULLER (1849-1903)
Mother:	Jenny HARTMANN (1849-1924)
Birth	11 Oct 1884	Hamburg, Germany3
Occupation	c. 1920 (age 35-36)	Teacher; Hamburg, Germany
	Address: Bernuth Conservatory
Occupation	btw 1923 and 1933 (age 38-49)	Lecturer; Hamburg, Germany
	Address: Hamburg University
Occupation	btw 1931 and 1933 (age 46-49)	German Radio
Immigration	1937 (age 52-53)	to London, England
Residence		Dorking, Surrey, England
	Address: Westdene, St Paul's Road
Death	15 Dec 1950 (age 66)	Dorking, Surrey, England4,5
	Cause: Cerebral Haemorrhage
Probate	3 Apr 1951	Dorking, Surrey, England
	Address: Westdene, St Paul's Road To Elisabeth £461 13s 5d

Wife: Rebecca Elisabeth ASCH

Name:	Rebecca Elisabeth ASCH6
Sex:	Female
Father:	ASCH (1850-1928)
Mother:	Betty Persche HEINEMAN (1865-1938)
Birth	22 May 1890	Hamburg, Germany7
Immigration	1937 (age 46-47)	to London, England
Travel	20 Jan 1956 (age 65)	Southampton, Hampshire, England
	Ryndam from NY
Residence	1956 (age 65-66)	Hampstead, Middlesex, England
	Address: 19e Maresfield Gardens NW3 Electoral roll
Departure		New York, USA8
Arrival	20 Jan 1956 (age 65)	Southampton, Hampshire, England9
Death	1981 (age 90-91)	Israel
	Address: Kfar Giladi

Child 1: Dietrich MULLER-HARTMANN

Name:	Dietrich MULLER-HARTMANN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Rachael Ω (c. 1920-c. 2000)
Birth	27 Dec 1918	Hamburg, Germany
Immigration	c. 1937 (age 18-19)	to Israel
Death	2000 (age 81-82)	Israel

Child 2: Rudolf Josef MULLER-HARTMANN

Name:	Rudolf Josef MULLER-HARTMANN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Living COHEN ( - )
Birth	31 Jul 1915	Hamburg, Germany
Immigration	c. 1937 (age 21-22)	to Israel
Death	25 Jan 1997 (age 81)	Israel
	Cause: Cancer Address: Kfar Giladi

Child 3: Susanne MULLER-HARTMANN

Name:	Susanne MULLER-HARTMANN10,11,12,13
Sex:	Female
Birth	16 Jul 1914	Hamburg, Germany14,15,16
Immigration	1937 (age 22-23)	to London, England
Residence	11 Oct 1947 (age 33)	Dorking, Surrey, England17
	Address: Graigelly, Ladygate Road
Travel	16 Oct 1947 (age 33)	New York, USA
	Queen Elizabeth from Southampton
Occupation	16 Oct 1947 (age 33)	Secretary
Travel	2 Dec 1947 (age 33)	Southampton, Hampshire, England
	Queen Mary from NY
Departure		New York, USA18
Arrival	2 Dec 1947 (age 33)	Southampton, Hampshire, England19,20
Residence	1956 (age 41-42)	Hampstead, Middlesex, England21
	Address: 19e Maresfield Gardens NW3 Electoral roll
Death	Jun 1982 (age 67)	Camden Town, Middlesex, England22
	Cause: Cancer
Departure		Southampton, Hampshire, England23

Note on Husband: Robert Gerson MULLER-HARTMANN - shared note

After the outbreak of war in September of 1939 the British government became very concerned with identifying enemy aliens. Robert Müller-Hartmann had only just begun trying to build a new life in England, but by May of 1940 the political climate was such that a policy of mass internment of Jewish refugees was begun and Churchill ordered, Collar the lot. In what must have been a horrendous and unimaginable time for his family and friends, he was forced to leave Dorking, sent by boat and interned in a camp on the Isle of Man with thousands of others. Müller-Hartmann was released from the camp on the Isle of Man in the autumn of 1940.

 

The 1934 Hamburg directory listing for their residence was Tonküstler, GBorst, Wolterst 32.

 

Robert and Lisbeth Müller-Hartmann arrived in London in 1937, jobless and with little money. They first lived at 7 Durweston Mews, near Crawford Street, but within a short time they too made the move to Dorking and lived with the Hornsteins at a house on Ladygate Road with the Welsh-derived name Craigelly.

 

In later years Müller-Hartmann also kept an address in London, 68B Belsize Park Gardens (1939-1950s directories).

 

Robert Müller-Hartmann was a kind, polite and truly gentle man. He had an excellent command of the English language, but like his wife, of course, he spoke with a heavy German accent. Having an innate ability to distinguish subtleties in musical tones, others sometimes found it humorous that he had difficulty choosing between words that sounded similar, e.g. than and then, when conversing in English. He was very literate and read voraciously; Charles Dickens was his favourite author. A lover of opera, he also loved teaching people about opera while playing arias on the piano. Perhaps, in common with almost all other exiled Jewish musicians, he seemed somewhat embittered that circumstances prevented him from being perceived as more successful.

 

http://dearmuller-hartmann.com/DearMuller-Hartmann/SKW.htmlSettled in Eng., 1933, becoming a close friend of Vaughan Williams, whose The Pilgrim's Progress he partially translated into German. Vaughan Williams, Imogen Holst (sole daughter of Gustav Holst) and Genia Hornstein helped him find work and establish a new life in a foreign land. Robert Müller-Hartmann was a significant composer in his own right. His works included Sym. (1927), ov., Leonce and Lena (1922), Variations on a Pastoral Theme (1925), Sinfonietta (1943), Craigelly Suite (1944), chamber music, pf. pieces, and songs.

 

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote these letters to fellow composer Robert Müller-Hartmann between 1938-1950. The two were first introduced by mutual friends Imogen Holst and Genia Hornstein through associations with the Bloomsbury House in London and the Dorking & District Refugee Committee. Müller-Hartmann was a Jewish German refugee who fled with his family to England in 1937 to escape Nazi oppression.

 

Over the next twelve years he and Vaughan Williams developed a strong friendship and Müller-Hartmann became an important collaborator with Vaughan Williams. The last project they worked on together was the German translation of Vaughan Williams's life-long creative dream, his opera The Pilgrim's Progress.

 

The letters give a rare glimpse into Vaughan Williams's thoughts during these important times in his later years. Robert Müller-Hartmann was a significant composer in his own right but certainly remains under-recognized.

 

In early 1950, while Müller-Hartmann was working on the German translation of The Pilgrim's Progress, the three Müller-Hartmanns moved to their own home in Dorking on St. Paul's Road called West Dene, a short walking distance from Craigelly. Only months after moving to West Dene, at a relatively young age, Robert Müller-Hartmann died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage on December 15, 1950. The funeral was in Dorking and his friend Yanya Hornstein gave the eulogy.13 Vaughan Williams was extremely saddened and deeply affected by the death of his fellow composer and close friend, a relationship formed late in his life, and he would miss his ideas, his opinions and their regular talks. Undoubtedly his loss evoked emotions akin to those he felt in 1934 after the death of Gustav Holst.

Note on Wife: Rebecca Elisabeth ASCH - shared note

There is a family story that Lisbeth's parents gave their daughter a rather elegant and elaborate wedding reception in order to give her a good sendoff since she was marrying a 'poor musician'.

 

Lisbeth Müller-Hartmann was an intelligent and physically beautiful woman. Although in reality she was emotionally caring, she was somewhat reserved and perceived by most as cool perhaps due to her personal situation. She spoke English well and also learned Hebrew so that she could write to her grandchildren in Israel. Typical of her generation, she was primarily a housewife and took good care of her husband and daughter.

 

After Robert Müller-Hartmann's death, Lisbeth and Susanne remained at West Dene for several years. Thereafter, they moved to London where they lived together at 19E Maresfield Gardens until Susanne became very ill with cancer. Toward the end of Susanne's illness, when she was no longer able to care for her mother, the elderly Mrs. Müller-Hartmann moved to Israel to live out the remainder of her days with her sons and grandchildren and died in 1981. Susanne died in June of 1982 at the age of sixty-eight.

 

Arrived 20 Jan 1956 Southampton departing for NY

Sources

1	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;).
	Ancestry.com.

2	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2007;).
	Ancestry.com.

3

Ibid.

4	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;).
	Ancestry.com.

5	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2007;).
	Ancestry.com.

6	Ancestry.com, "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;). Class: BT26; Piece: 1348; Item: 60.
	Ancestry.com.

7	Ibid. Class: BT26; Piece: 1348; Item: 60.

8	Ibid. Class: BT26; Piece: 1348; Item: 60.

9	Ibid. Class: BT26; Piece: 1348; Item: 60.

10	Ancestry.com, "London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;).
	Ancestry.com.

11	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2007;).
	Ancestry.com.

12	Ancestry.com, "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;). Class: BT26; Piece: 1231; Item: 55.
	Ancestry.com.

13	Ancestry.com, "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;). Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715,
	Ancestry.com.

14	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2007;).
	Ancestry.com.

15	Ancestry.com, "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;). Class: BT26; Piece: 1231; Item: 55.
	Ancestry.com.

16	Ancestry.com, "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;). Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715,
	Ancestry.com.

17	Ibid. Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715,

18	Ancestry.com, "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;). Class: BT26; Piece: 1231; Item: 55.
	Ancestry.com.

19	Ibid. Class: BT26; Piece: 1231; Item: 55.

20	Ancestry.com, "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;). Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715,
	Ancestry.com.

21	Ancestry.com, "London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;).
	Ancestry.com.

22	Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2007;).
	Ancestry.com.

23	Ancestry.com, "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957" (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;). Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715,
	Ancestry.com.