Carl Maria von Weber

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About Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was a German composer, conductor and critic, whose work was crucial to the development of Romantic opera, and still reverberates two centuries later. Born in Northern Germany, Weber spent his early career primarily conducting opera and composing Catholic sacred music, but his collaboration with German virtuoso clarinettist Heinrich Baermann brought him international recognition—the clarinet concerti No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73 and No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, and the Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34—which enabled him to produce the operas that would heavily influence Meyerbeer and Wagner. Der Freischütz, premiered in 1821 and widely regarded as the first Romantic German opera, was followed two years later by Euryanthe and the London premiere production of his opera Oberon in 1826. In addition to dramatic and concert music, Weber composed one of the earliest song cycles Die Temperamente bei dem Verluste der Geliebten, Op. 46 (1816), and his interest in folksong drew him to what were then considered authentic Asian melodies rather than popular pseudo-Turkish tunes. A virtuoso instrumentalist, Weber’s piano music inspired Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn; Berlioz, Debussy and Stravinsky also cited him as an influence. Hindemith composed Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943) in tribute.

HOMETOWN
Eutin, Oldenburg, Germany
BORN
1786
GENRE
Classical

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