German Composer, Master in Opera. Classical and Romantic era
Carl Maria von Weber's brief biography – his life and major works. He is best known for founding the Romantic school of opera after producing his famous Der Freischütz.
Died: London, 5 June 1826
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1844), German composer of the Romantic era, is best remembered for establishing the Romantic school of opera with his Der Freischütz, his famous opera produced in Berlin, and recognized throughout Germany as instrumental in helping found a truly German national opera style, already challenged earlier by Mozart.
Carl Maria (Friedrich Ernst) von Weber, born on 18 November 1786, was a son of a musician. His was cousin of Constanze Weber, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From childhood, he received a strong musical education from his family-operated traveling Weber Theatre Company, his own mother performing so that by age 13, he successfully produced his opera Das Waldmadchen (The Forest Maiden.)
Suggested Listening:
Carl Maria von Weber : Der Freischutz - Overture. YouTube, uploaded by Classical Music Only. Accessed November 18, 2022.
Carl Maria von Weber: Der Freischütz (English Subtitles). YouTube, uploaded by Queen City Opera. queencityopera.org. Accessed November 18, 2022.
Der Freischütz J277 : Overture - Simone Young, conducting. NHK Symphony Orchestra. YouTube, KiatMac Pattaya. Accessed November 18, 2022.
Weber: Euryanthe – Ouvertüre ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Daniel Smith. YouTube, hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) ∙
Daniel Smith, conductor. Accessed November 18, 2022.
Weber - Overture to the Opera "Oberon" (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). Barenboim, conducting. YouTube, uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed November 18, 2022.
He studied music in Salzburg, Munich and Vienna. In Salzburg, his teacher was Joseph Haydn's younger brother, Michael Haydn. He became a court composer at Breslau in 1804. His brilliant works for clarinet and orchestra,
with two concerti and a concertina, date from 1811. He was also one of the finest pianist in his time.
With support and intellectual stimulation from his musical friends and contemporaries, including Giacomo Meyerbeer and Gottfried Weber, and the encouragement of concert and operatic successes in Munich, Prague and Berlin, he settled down for three years as opera director in Prague.
Weber was appointed conductor of the Dresden Court Opera in 1816, where he did much to establish German opera. It was also during this time that he married the singer Caroline Brandt. After his successful Der Freischutz (The Marksman or The Free-Shooter)in Berlin, Euryanthe followed in Vienna, marking a major development with the way in which spoken dialogue, traditional in German opera, was replaced by continuously composed classical music.
In 1824 Covent Garden commissioned an English opera from him, the successful Oberon. At 40, he died two year later in London and was buried there. Some years later, Wagner arranged for his remains to be re-buried in Dresden, Germany.
Carl Maria von Weber's Major Works:
- Symphony No.1 1807
- Symphony No.2 1809
- Incidental music to the play, Turandot 1809
- Piano Concerto No.1 1810
- Opera Abu Hassan 1811
- Clarinet Concerto No.1 1811
- Clarinet Concerto No.2 1811
- Piano Concerto No.2 1812
- Clarinet Quintet 1815
- Invitation to the Dance for Piano 1819
- Opera Der Freischütz 1821
- Opera Euryanthe 1923
- Opera Oberon 1826
Weber represents an important foundation of 19th-century
classical music German Romanticism in spite his early death. He lived at the same time with Ludwig van
Beethoven in the early part of the 19th century. Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler were
particularly indebted to him.
Resources:
Kennedy, Michael & Joyce, and Tim Rutherford-Johnson, Editors. Oxford Dictionary of Music. OUP. 2012
Stanley, Sadie, Editor. The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music. Macmillan Publishers, London. 1994.
Note: This piece is an abridged version of my original article written for Suite101.com, in November, 2007. / Tel.
(c) November 2009. Updated November 18, 2022. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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