Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernest von Weber (?November 19 1786 – June 5 1826) was a German composer, born in the town of Eutin, near Lübeck. He was a critical figure in the development of musical Romanticism, and influenced many composers of his and of subsequent generations, including Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. He was best known in the 19th century for his operas, including Der Freischütz, an international sensation at the time, and Euryanthe, Oberon, King of the Fairies, Silvana, and Die drei Pintos. His numerous overtures, with their adventurous use of tone color, influenced the development of the symphonic poem.

Analysis

The finale of Der Freischütz breaks down so obviously that no one thinks of it as anything but a perfunctory winding-up of the story, though it really might have made quite a fine subject for musical treatment. In 1990, Tom Waits (music), Robert Wilson (direction), and William S. Burroughs (libretto) collaborated on a reinterpretation of the source material called The Black Rider, which is much more bleak.

Related Topics:
Tom Waits - Robert Wilson - William S. Burroughs - The Black Rider

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In Euryanthe, Weber attained his full power, and his inspiration did not leave him in the lurch where this work needed large musical designs. But the libretto was full of absurdities; especially in the last act, which not even nine remodellings under Weber's direction could redeem. Yet it is easy to see why it fascinated him, for, whatever may be said against it from the standpoints of probability and literary merit, its emotional contrasts are highly musical. Indeed it is through them that the defects invite criticism.

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Oberon is spoilt by the old local tradition of English opera according to which its libretto admitted of no music during the action of the drama. Thus, Weber had in it no opportunity for his musical stage-craft; apart from the fact that the action itself is entirely without dramatic motive and passion, since the characters are simply shifted from Bordeaux to Baghdad whenever Oberon waves his wand.

Related Topics:
Bordeaux - Baghdad

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Many attempts have been made to improve the libretti of Euryanthe and Oberon, but none are quite successful, for Weber has taken a great artist's pains in making the best of bad material. All that can be said against Weber's achievements only reveals the more emphatically how noble and how complete in essentials was his success and his claim to immortality. His pianoforte works, while showing his helplessness in purely musical form, more than bear out his contemporary reputation as a very great pianoforte player.

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Weber's works have a pronounced theatrical tendency which, in the case of such pieces of gay romanticism as the Aufforderung zum Tanz and the Concertstück, is amusing and by no means inartistic. In respect to orchestration, Weber is one of the greatest masters. His treatment of the voice is bold and interesting, but very rash; and his declamation of words is often incorrect. His influence on the music of his own day is comparable to his influence on posterity; for he was not only a most efficient director but a very persuasive journalist; and (in spite of the inexperience that made him disapprove of Beethoven) for all good music other than his own he showed a growing enthusiasm that was infectious.

Related Topics:
Aufforderung zum Tanz - Orchestration - Journalist - Beethoven

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Later on in the century, Weber's grandson Karl passed sketches of Weber's unfinished comic opera Die drei Pintos to Gustav Mahler for completion. Mahler's completed version was premiered in 1888. In the 20th century, Paul Hindemith used some of Weber's themes in his Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber.

Related Topics:
Die drei Pintos - Gustav Mahler - 1888 - Paul Hindemith - Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber

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