Carl Maria von Weber

[HaydnFan]

Any thoughts? What do you think of his music? Any recommendations?

How does he stack up against his contemporaries, Beethoven and Schubert?

[Rutradelusasa]

I think his has fantastic music.
I really love Der Freischütz, an amazing opera which gets you right on the first numbers, I still have to find a recording that does Euryanthe justice, but it is fine music with bad libretto and Oberon suffers the same problems as Euryanthe, albeit with excellent recordings from Gardiner and Kubelik with Mr. Birgit "The Powerhouse" Nilsson on board.

He has some lovely concertos, most notably the ones for the clarinet and the horn concertino. I also love his piano music, I've played some of it (on recitals, all of it at home ) and I find it really fantastic.

Somehow I can't figure a comparison between these great man, I simply love Weber's music. His symphonies certainly aren't of Beethoven's or Schubert's last ones' stature, but it has fine music.

I recommend the Virgin Veritas' recording of the Clarinet Concertos, Harmonia Mundi's recording of the Gran Duo Concertant for clarinet and piano (you'll find that he wrote most felicitously for this instrument), I can't make a definite recommendation of Der Freischütz, but Kleiber (son, on DG) and Jochum (also on DG) seem to be the standart choices, for Oberon go with Gardiner (english version, on Philips) or with Kubelik (also DG, you can't get better singing on Reiza's, the soprano, big scene and aria "Ozean! Du Ungeheuer" (Ocean!, Thou Mighty Monster) than Nilsson on this one, but you have to endure Domingo's awful german).

[]s

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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[This message has been edited by Rutradelusasa (edited 09-20-2006).]

[Hofrat]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
Any thoughts? What do you think of his music? Any recommendations?

How does he stack up against his contemporaries, Beethoven and Schubert?

Dear Haydn;

This thread has links to the thread on the Romantic era since Weber's opera "Der Freischutz" is considered by many to be the first opera of the Romantic era.


Hofrat

[Fidelio]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
Any thoughts? What do you think of his music? Any recommendations?

How does he stack up against his contemporaries, Beethoven and Schubert?

Sorry, just doesn't come anywhere near the great Beethoven.

Although he visited Vienna four times while Beethoven was there, it was only on his last visit that he came into close contact with him. Weber called on Beethoven in Baden in October 1823. It seems this meeting went well, as Weber had presented a highly successful production of Fidelio at Dresden in April.
Weber had not always been enthusiastic about LvB music. In a letter to the swiss publisher Hans Georg Nageli, Weber writes "The fiery, indeeed almost unbelievable gift for invention which inspires is coupled with such confusion in the ordering of his ideas that only his earlier compositions appeal to me, the more recent ones strike me merely as a bewildering chaos".



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Fidelio

Must it be.....it must be

[Peter]

Originally posted by Hofrat:
Dear Haydn;

This thread has links to the thread on the Romantic era since Weber's opera "Der Freischutz" is considered by many to be the first opera of the Romantic era.


Hofrat

Indeed Hofrat, and again for those who would claim Beethoven as a Romantic, no one has ever suggested Fidelio as the first Romantic opera. Indeed it isn't the first of anything, but in the tradition of the French heroic rescue operas (and certainly the finest of those).

In Weber we do have one of the pre-Romantics whose operas had a direct impact on Wagner - although he often wrote music in sonata form, he rightly claimed that his music had no kinship with Beethoven's.

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'Man know thyself'

[sjwenger]

Paul Hindemith seemed to like it : }

And I like Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on a theme by Carl Maria von Weber.

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[HaydnFan]

So far, I have only really heard the overture of Der Freischutz but it is excellent and the beginning, obviously very predictive of the music of Wagner.

Actually, this beginning theme is so appealing to me that I think it would sound nice as a clarinet concerto, with that instrument replacing the prominantly featured horn (plus, obviously, variations on the melody)...yes, it would have made a fine concerto. Try listening to it and imagining a clarinet...

...if only. Ah well, it is not as if we can get Weber to adapt the piece at this stage!

[Hofrat]

Originally posted by Peter:
Indeed Hofrat, and again for those who would claim Beethoven as a Romantic, no one has ever suggested Fidelio as the first Romantic opera. Indeed it isn't the first of anything, but in the tradition of the French heroic rescue operas (and certainly the finest of those).

Dear Peter;

As I understand, "Fidelio" was the serious opera written in singspiel style. Until then, only comedies were written in singspiel. But I may be mistaken.


Hofrat

[Hofrat]

Originally posted by Hofrat:

Dear Peter;

As I understand, "Fidelio" was the serious opera written in singspiel style. Until then, only comedies were written in singspiel. But I may be mistaken.


Hofrat

Dear Peter;

Sorry once again. That should have read, "Fidelio" was the first serious opera written in singspiel style.


Hofrat

[Teresa]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
Any thoughts? What do you think of his music? Any recommendations?

How does he stack up against his contemporaries, Beethoven and Schubert?

I like him - his dances are very nice.

[robert newman]

I like Weber very much and have to hand here 'Oberon' (on a vinyl recording - 2 LP's - from DG - Chor und Symphonie-Orchester des Bayeroschen Rundfunks/Rafael Kubelik from 1971). Weber had a remarkable childhood and education. Yes, he was extremely talented. And a very important figure in promoting a German language opera. (He was greatly encouraged in this idea by Gottfried Weber - no relation - amongst others).

[This message has been edited by robert newman (edited 09-20-2006).]

[Sorrano]

Rutradelusasa, I have not seen much of Weber's piano music. Can you give me an idea of what's out there that you have played and liked?

[Rutradelusasa]

Originally posted by Sorrano:
Rutradelusasa, I have not seen much of Weber's piano music. Can you give me an idea of what's out there that you have played and liked?

I got to know his piano music when I bought a cd with his concertos and other piano/orchestra pieces. I then bought the Dover book with his piano pieces (yeah, Dover and Naxos, call me cheap :P) and was amazed by the Polacca Brillante, so I played that.
Since then (2001), every time I sit at the piano I grab something of his to play. The Invitation to the dance is fabulous and the sonatas have great moments. I've also played (on recitals) other of his pieces, and the Rondo Brillante always makes a good impression, also being a most fun piece to play. The 4th (last) sonata is the one I also play most, it's in E minor and it's first movement is impressive.
I recommend the book itself (quite cheap and fairly edited) and Ohlsson's recordings of the sonatas (on Arabesque), but try before you buy.
His piano music is quite different from that of Beethoven and Schubert, it has great panache and brilliance and many beautiful moments, but they are children of their time, don't expect Beethoven's development of the style or Schubert's way of handling big monuments of the piano writing.
It's best to let go and enjoy, it's still wonderful music.



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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by Rutradelusasa:

Originally posted by Sorrano:
Rutradelusasa, I have not seen much of Weber's piano music. Can you give me an idea of what's out there that you have played and liked?

I got to know his piano music when I bought a cd with his concertos and other piano/orchestra pieces. I then bought the Dover book with his piano pieces (yeah, Dover and Naxos, call me cheap :P) and was amazed by the Polacca Brillante, so I played that.
Since then (2001), every time I sit at the piano I grab something of his to play. The Invitation to the dance is fabulous and the sonatas have great moments. I've also played (on recitals) other of his pieces, and the Rondo Brillante always makes a good impression, also being a most fun piece to play. The 4th (last) sonata is the one I also play most, it's in E minor and it's first movement is impressive.
I recommend the book itself (quite cheap and fairly edited) and Ohlsson's recordings of the sonatas (on Arabesque), but try before you buy.
His piano music is quite different from that of Beethoven and Schubert, it has great panache and brilliance and many beautiful moments, but they are children of their time, don't expect Beethoven's development of the style or Schubert's way of handling big monuments of the piano writing.
It's best to let go and enjoy, it's still wonderful music.

Thanks for the recommendations! I've always enjoyed listening to his concerti, especially with the clarinet. I will have order the sonatas and see how I like them (speaking of the books). Weber has fascinated me and of the contemporaries of Beethoven is one I like probably best.

[Agnes Selby]

Just a few notes on Carl Maria von Weber and
his ancestry.

It has been suggested that his father, Franz Anton Weber had no claim to the
preposition "von" placed before his patronymic.

Franz Anton von Weber traced his ancestry to one Johann Baptist Weber, ennobled by Ferdinand II in 1622. Franz Anton von Weber was the older brother of Fridolin Weber, the father of Mozart's wife, Constanze.

Franz Anton von Weber's second wife was Genoveva Brenner whom he met in Vienna when his two sons studied there with Joseph Haydn. Genoveva was a friend of Josepha Weber, Constanze Mozart's sister. Genoveva Brenner, together with Josepha Weber, studied singing in Graz under an Imperial scholarship.

Carl Maria von Weber's mother died in Salzburg. At the time Carl Maria von Weber was studying with Michael Haydn. She was
buried in Leopold Mozart's grave in St. Sebastian Cemetery on 13th March, 1798.
This is the grave which was recenty opened
in order to compare the DNA from the supposed skull belonging to Mozart with the DNA of Nannerl's daughter.

The eldest son of Franz Anton von Weber left Germany with the wife of a Baron whose childrens' tutor he had become. They travelled to Australia which must have seemed to the couple as a refuge at the end of the world. Their graves are to this day tended by their Australian descendants.

Regards,
Agnes Selby.