CARL MARIA WEBER

Rođen: 18. studenoga 1786. u Eutinu u Oldenburgu

Umro: 5. lipnja 1826. u Londonu
Njemački skladatelj Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber rođen je 18. studenoga 1786. u Eutinu u Oldenburgu, a
umro je u Londonu 5. lipnja 1826., iscrpljen teškim pokusima za izvedbu svoje opere Oberon. Kad je umro nije
navršio ni 40 godina.
Uz operna, pisao je klavirska i instrumentalna djela, pjesme, mise i zborove. Njegova izvanredna skladba Poziv na
ples otvorila je put modernom valceru i Johanu Straussu. Na početku svoga puta Weber je poput svoga oca, rođaka
Mozartove žene Constanze, provodio buran život siromašnog plemića - skorojevića i avanturista, često mijenjajući
zanimanja i gradove. Ali on je sinu dao prvu temeljnu glazbenu poduku. Poslije Carl uči kod Michaela Haydna i
drugih poznatih teoretičara i izvođača.
Napredovao je tako brzo da je početkom 19. stoljeća sa 17 godina bio jedan od najslavnijih virtuoza glasovira.
Weber je usavršio sviranje, revolucionirao klavirsku tehniku klasičara i najavio pojavu niza slavnih pijanista poput
Thalberga, Liszta i Chopina. Zaslužan je i za nov odnos prema dirigentskom umijeću. Kao direktor opere u
Breslauu (kasnijem Wroclavu) Weber ubjedinjuje sve pojedinosti predstave, postiže jedinstvo dramsko-scenske i
glazbene radnje te ga smatraju prvim modernim opernim dirigentom. Velike dirigentske uspjehe postigao je u Pragu
gdje organizira njemačku operu i često ravna u Dresdenu, odakle se glas o njemu širi Europom.
Osim Oberona, od jedanaest njegovih scenskih djela najčešće se izvodi opera Ulomak iz opere Strijelac vilenjak.
Kao autor koji je stvorio njemačku romantičnu operu i time pridonio cjelokupnom razvoju operne umjetnosti, Weber
bi sigurno da je imao više sreće s tekstovima na tom području ostavio i važnija ostvarenja.
von Weber Carl Maria, kompozitor
Iako je bio tipičan predstavnik romantičarskih svestranih umjetnika, Carl Maria von Weber u glazbenoj je povijesti
važan prvenstveno kao autor prve prave njemačke nacionalne opere. Freischütz odnosno Strijelac vilenjak značaj
dobiva prvenstveno u kontekstu u kojem je nastao, a taj je agresivna dominacija talijanske opere diljem Europe.
Nakon čestih promjena radnih mjesta, od Beča preko Karlsruhea, Breslauua, Stuttgarta, Manheima, Dresdena i
Praga, 1817. godine Weber preuzima njemačku operu u Dresdenu te odlučuje stvoriti nacionalnu njemačku operu
kao protutežu talijanskoj. Četiri godine kasnije nastaje Strijelac vilenjak i s velikim se uspjehom praizvodi u Berlinu.
Zbor lovaca jedan je od najpoznatijih zborskih ulomaka u sveukupnoj opernoj literaturi. Odlučnost neustrašivih ljudi
koji žive u šumi i od šume te se suprotstavljaju demonskim silama tako tipičnima za njemačke legende i mitove,
potencirana je jednostavnom odrešitom i lako pamtljivom melodijom čiji karakter potcrtava ansambl od osam
rogova u pratnji.

He studied in Salzburg (with Michael Haydn), Munich (J.N. Kalcher) and Vienna (Abbé Vogler), becoming
Kapellmeister at Breslau (1804) and working for a time at Württemberg (1806) and Stuttgart (1807). With help from
Franz Danzi, intellectual stimulation from his friends Gänsbacher, Meyerbeer, Gottfried Weber and Alexander von
Dusch and the encouragement of concert and operatic successes in Munich (especially Abu Hassan), Prague and
Berlin, he settled down as opera director in Prague (1813-16). There he systematically reorganized the theatre's
operations and built up the nucleus of a German company, concentrating on works, mostly French, that offered an
example for the development of a German operatic tradition. But his searching reforms (extending to scenery,
lighting, orchestral seating, rehearsal schedules and salaries) led to resentment. Not until his appointment as Royal
Saxon Kapellmeister at Dresden (1817) and the unprecedented triumph of Der Freischütz (1821) in Berlin and
throughout Germany did his championship of a true German opera win popular support. Official opposition
continued, both from the Italian opera establishment in Dresden and from Spontini in Berlin; Weber answered critics
with the grand heroic opera Euryanthe (1823, Vienna). His rapidly deteriorating health and his concem to provide
for his family induced him to accept the invitation to write an English opera for London; he produced Oberon at
Covent Garden in April 1826. Despite an enthusiastic English reception and every care for his health, this last
joumey hastened his decline; he died from tuberculosis, at 39.
Weber's Romantic leanings can be seen in the novel emotional flavour of his music and its relevance to emergent
German nationalism, his delicate receptivity to nature and to literary and pictorial impressions, his parallel activities
as critic, virtuoso pianist and Kapellmeister, his dedication to the evolution of a new kind of opera uniting all the arts
and above all his wish to communicate feeling. His role as a father-figure of musical Romanticism was
acknowledged by those who succeeded him in the movement, from Berlioz and Wagner to Debussy and Mahler. His
melodic and harmonic style is rooted in classical principles, but as he matured he experimented with chromaticism
(the diminished 7th chord was a particular favourite). He also was among the subtlest of orchestrators, writing for
unusual but dramatically apt and vivid instrumental combinations (clarinet and hom, muted and unmuted strings
etc). All his most successful music, including the songs and concertos, is to some degree dramatically inspired.
Weber won his widest audience with Freischütz, outwardly a Singspiel celebrating German folklore and country
life, using an idiom touched by German folksong. Through his skilful use of motifs and his careful harmonic, visual
and instrumental designs notably for the Wolf's Glen scene, the outstanding example in music of the early Romantic
treatment of the sinister and the supernatural - he gave this work a new creative status. Euryanthe, despite a weak
libretto, makes a further advance in the unity of harmonic and formal structures, moving towards continuous, freely
composed opera. In Oberon Weber reverted to separate numbers to suit English taste, yet the work retains his
characteristically subtle motivic handling and depiction of both natural and supernatural elements. Of his other
works, some of the German songs, the colouristic Konzertstück for piano and orchestra, the dramatic clarinet and
bassoon concertos and the virtuoso Grand duo concertant for clarinet and piano deserve special mention.

Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826)

Carl Maria von Weber, a cousin of Mozart's wife Constanze, was trained as a musician from his childhood, the son
of a versatile musician who had founded his own travelling theatre company. He made a favourable impression as a
pianist and then as a music director, notably in the opera-houses of Prague and Dresden. Here he introduced various
reforms and was a pioneer of the craft of conducting without the use of violin or keyboard instrument. As a
composer he won a lasting reputation with the first important Romantic German opera, Der Freischütz.

Operas
The opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman), first staged in Berlin in 1821, blends many of the ingredients
typical of German Romanticism, simple peasant virtues mingling with the magic and latent evil of the forest,
where the hero's magic bullets are forged at midnight. The grand heroic-Romantic opera Euryanthe is better
known for its overture as is the opera Oberon, written for London in 1826.

Orchestral Music
Weber's two concertos and the concertino for clarinet were Recommended Recordings
written for the clarinettist Heinrich Baermann. Weber also Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Concertino
wrote two piano concertos and a Konzertstück for piano and Naxos 8.550378
orchestra for his own use, as well as a useful Horn Invitation to the Dance
Concertino and Bassoon Concerto. His Aufforderung zum Naxos 8.550081
Tanze (Invitation to the Dance) is well known in an Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
orchestral version of a work originally written for piano. Polonaise brillante, Op. 72
Konzertstück, Op. 79
Naxos 8.550959
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Dances and Marches from Die Drei Pintos,
Turandot & Silvana
Naxos 8.550928

Chamber Music
Weber's chamber music includes a Clarinet Quintet and a Recommended Recording
Grand Duo Concertant for clarinet and piano, successors to Grand Duo Concertant Op. 48
the concertos and concertino for Baermann. Quintet Op. 34 / Variations Op. Posth & Op.
33
Naxos 8.553122

Piano Music
Aufforderung zum Tanz (Invitation to the Dance) is a Recommended Recordings
charming programme piece following the progress of an Piano Works Vol. 1
invitation to dance, as a young man escorts his partner to the Sonata, Op. 24 / Variations Opp. 2 & 40
dance-floor and engages in polite conversation. Weber's Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65
other piano compositions include four sonatas for the Naxos 8.550988
instrument. Piano Works Vol. 2
Sonata, Op. 39 / Variations Opp. 6 & 55
Grande Polonaise, Op. 21
Naxos 8.550989
Piano Works Vol. 3
Sonata, Op. 49 / Variations, Opp. 5, 7, 9
Momento capriccioso, Op. 12
Naxos 8.550990
Piano Works Vol. 4
Sonata, Op. 70 / Variations, Op. 28 Les
Adieux, Op. 81 / Rondo brillante Polacca
brillante
Naxos 8.553006