Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 November 1786 in Eutin - 5 June 1826 in London) was a German Romantic composer.

Life and work

He was born in Eutin, a small town near Lübeck in northern Germany, under the full name Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst George Look von Weber. His father was a military officer, who, however, played the violin, and his mother had sung on stage. His four cousins, daughters of his father's brother, were also well-known singers. One of them, Constanze, became Mozart's wife, creating a family link between Mozart and Carl Maria Von Weber.

Childhood

Weber was in fragile health as a child, suffering in particular from a congenital hip ailment. He accompanied his parents on the numerous trips they made, and in which his father gave violin concerts. These trips helped him to become familiar with the stages and the public. His father wanted Weber to be a child prodigy, just like Mozart had been, who in those years was going through the final stage of his life. Thus, Weber learned to sing and play the piano from a very young age, despite the fact that he could not walk until he was four years old.

Haydn's brother, Michael Haydn, also a musician, gave him free classes in 1798 in Salzburg, a city with a great musical tradition where the family had settled. Shortly after his mother died and the family moved to Munich. There Weber composed the first work of his that was published. He took composition and singing classes and soon began playing the piano in public. His father strongly encouraged him to compose and Weber wrote several works that, however, did not last.

Three years later, the family returned to Salzburg, and Weber resumed his studies with Haydn's brother. In 1803 he was appointed conductor of Breslau, a medium-sized city in eastern Germany, when he was not yet 18 years old. In this position he acquired great scenic knowledge, which over time made him the composer with the greatest mastery of theatrical techniques. Following an accidental ingestion of an acid used in the printing shops, he damaged his voice in such a way that he could no longer sing.

Consecration

Monument to Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden produced by Ernst Rietschel

Over the next few years, Weber held various jobs, where he continued to train. At the same time he composed several works, including operas, which, however, did not have the desired success. In 1811 he undertook a concert tour, in which he established friendships with various influential people. In Munich he performed the opera Abu Hassan that he had written in previous years, and finally one of his works had a favorable reception by the public. The following year his father died and in 1813 he accepted the post of conductor in Prague, where he stayed for three years. There he composed some of his best works for his piano and performed them with great success.

From Prague he went to Dresden, where he held the same position as conductor. There he returned to opera music and made various compositions within this genre. Later he set to work on his most famous opera, Der Freischütz ( The Poacher ), which he finished in the mid-1820s. It opened to triumphant success. in Berlin the following year. Also in Vienna and Dresden the work was a great success. However, Weber's financial conditions in his position did not improve as a result. Even so, he did not accept more advantageous offers in other cities, since he wanted to be faithful to his commitments. He wrote a second opera, Euryanthe, which also met with great success (1823), and composed many other of his works. During these years, contacts with the intellectual elite of the moment were forged, immersing himself in the ideals of beauty and the sublime that would characterize his work.

Transfer to London

At the end of his days and his health began to fail, Weber was commissioned from London's Covent Garden to compose an opera in English, which would be his third great stage work: Oberon. He immediately set to work and learned the language to such a degree of perfection that a single textual error was found in the entire opera. A few months before the premiere he moved to London where his health worsened during rehearsals. Shortly after the premiere of the opera, which was received with great acclaim, Weber died in the house of his host, due to a lung condition on June 5, 1826.

In addition to his three operas, considered by many to be true masterpieces of stage music, Weber wrote many other compositions. His works for piano solo and for piano and orchestra, his two symphonies, his quintet for clarinet are particularly well-known. and his famous concertos for clarinet and orchestra and his well-known Concertino for horn and orchestra (Weber), which stands out because it uses special elements: there are notes that must be played and sung at the same time. This generates a third note, thus forming a chord. It must also be taken into account that at that time the French horn did not have valves or pistons.

He also composed two masses, eight cantatas, numerous songs and other works of a diverse nature.

Influences

With The Poacher, based on German national folklore and a combination of legendary and supernatural elements, Weber created the romantic school of German opera. Weber's musical innovations include the use of leitmotivs and sung recitatives (as in Euryantha) instead of the usual spoken dialogue of German opera. Weber was much admired for the brilliant orchestral coloring of it. He exerted a great influence on other composers, such as Wagner, Mendelssohn or Berlioz, especially on the German composer Richard Wagner who came to affirm that there had never been a more German musician than Weber.

Works

Der Freischutz, J. 277 - Obertura Interpreted by the Skidmore College orchestra. Courtesy of Musopen Great concertant duo for clarinet and piano - 1. Allegro with Fuoco Interpreted by William McColl (clarinete) and Joeseph Levine (piano) Great concertant duo for clarinet and piano - 2. Andante with Moto Interpreted by William McColl (clarinete) and Joeseph Levine (piano) Great concerting duo for clarinet and piano - 3. Allegro Interpreted by William McColl (clarinete) and Joeseph Levine (piano) Concert for fagot in fa mayor, first move (piano transcription) Interpreted by Kat Walsh (fagot) and Amy Crane (piano)

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Operas

• Der Macht der Liebe und des Weins (The power of love and wine1798; lost)
• Das Waldmädchen (The girl in the woods, 1800)
• Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn (Peter Schmoll and his neighbors, 1803)
• Rübezahl (1804-1805; unfinished)
• Silvana (1810)
• Abu Hassan (1811)
• Der Freischütz (The poaching hunter1821)
• Die drei Pintos (The Three Pintos1820-1824; unfinished, finished by Gustav Mahler
• Euryanthe (1823)
• Oberon (Oberón1826)

Incidental Music

• Turandot (1809)
• König Yngurd (King Yngurd1817)
• Donna Diana (1817)
• Heinrich IV, König von Frankreich (Henry IV, King of France1818)
• Lieb' um Liebe (Love for love1818)
• Der Leuchtthurm (The lighthouse1820)
• Beautiful (1820)
• Den Sachsen-Sohn vermählet heute (The Saxon son gets married today, 1822)

Sacred music

• Mass in my bemol, J. Anhang 8 (Grosse Jugendmesse(1802)
• Missa sancta n.o 1 in my bemol, Op. 75a, J. 224 (Freischützmesse(1817-18)
• Missa sancta n.o 2 in sun, Op. 76, J. 251 (Jubelmesse(1818-19)

Vocal works with orchestra

• Cantatata Der erste Ton for choir and orchestra, Op. 14, J. 58 (1808 / revised 1810)
• Recitative and rumdo Il momento s'avvicina for soprano and orchestra, Op. 16, J. 93 (1810)
• Hymn In seiner Ordnung schafft der Herr for soloists, choir and orchestra, Op. 36, J. 154 (1812)
• Cantatata Kampf und Sieg for soloists, choir and orchestra, Op. 44, J. 190 (1815)
• Scene and Aria de Atalia Misera me! for soprano and orchestra, Op. 50, J. 121 (1811)
• Jubel-Cantata for the 50th royal jubilee of King Federico Augusto I of Saxony for soloist, choir and orchestra, Op. 58, J. 244 (1818)

Orchestral music

• Symphony No. 1 at do (1806-7)
• Symphony No. 2 en do (1807)
• Oberture for Peter Schmoll, Op. 8, J. 54 (1807)
• Oberture for Beherrscher der Geister, Op. 27, J. 122 (1811)
• Jubel-Obertura, Op. 59, J. 245 (1818)
• Kleiner Tusch, J. 47a (1806)
• Walzer, J. 149 (1812)
• Deutscher, J. 185 (1815)
• Tedesco, J. 191 (1816)
• Marcia vivace, J. 288 (1822)
• Marcia, J. 307 (1826)

Concert music

• Concert for piano n.o 1 in do mayor, Op. 11, J. 98 (1810)
• Concert for piano n.o 2 in my major bemol, Op. 32, J. 155 (1812)
• Konzertstück en fa menor para piano y orchestra, Op. 79, J. 282 (1821)

• Concert for fagot in Fa mayor, Op. 75, J. 127 (1811 / revised in 1822)
• And the Hungarian rum (Andante e Rondo Ongarese) for fagot and orchestra in do menor, Op. 35, J. 158 (1813), revised J. 79 (1809) to violate

• Concerts for clarinet and orchestra:
  • Concert for clarinet n.o 1 in smaller fa, Op. 73, J. 114 (1811)
  • Concert for clarinet n.o 2 in my major bemol, Op. 74, J. 118 (1811)
  • Concertino for clarinet and orchestra in do menor/mi bemol mayor, Op. 26, J. 109 (1811)

• Grand popurrí for cello and orchestra in re mayor, Op. 20, J. 64 (1808)
• Variations for cello and orchestra in re menor, J. 94 (1810)

• Concertino for trompa and orchestra in my minor, Op. 45, J. 188 (1806 / revised in 1815)

• Sicilian Romance for flute and orchestra, J. 47 (1805)

• Six variations on the subject A Schüsserl und a Reind'rl for viola and orchestra, J. 49 (1800 / revised 1806)
• He walked and snorted Hungarian for rap and orchestra, J. 79 (1809) - Listen to the interpretation of viola with organ (or orchestral reproduction) here.

• Adagio y rondó para harmonicordio y orchestra en fa mayor, J. 115 (1811)

Chamber music

• Romance for trombone and piano (uncertain attribute)
• Melody for clarinet in major fa, J. 119 (1811)

Piano

• Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 24
• Sonata for piano n° 2, Op. 39
• Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 49
• Sonata for piano No. 4, Op. 70
• Invitation to dance, Op. 65, J. 260 for four-hand piano