Weber
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
CARL MARIA VON (vā' ber), a German composer; born in Eutin , Germany, Dec. 18, 1786. His father was a musician, and had him carefully educated. He learned for a time painting and engraving, but music was his passion , and he began to compose at the age of 12. He made various musical tours with his father, and about 1803 visited Vienna , where he became acquainted with the celebrated Haydn and the Abbé Vogler, from whom he received valuable help in his studies. He had now become widely known, and filled successively the offices of chapel-master at Breslau and Carlsruhe, and director of the opera at Prague, making in the meantime other professional journeys in Germany. At the close of 1816 he settled at Dresden, where he was the founder and director of German opera. In 1822 he went to Berlin , to bring out his "Der Freischütz" (The Free-Archer), the most celebrated of his compositions, and which at once gave him rank with the great masters of his art. In 1826 Weber visited London to superintend the production of his "Oberon," which he had composed for Covent Garden Theater, and was brought out, conducted by Weber himself, April 12, 1826. Soon after, unmistakable symptoms of pulmonary disease presented themselves, and the health of the great composer sank rapidly, and his illustrious career closed on June 5, 1826 , when he was found lifeless in his bed. Of his other compositions ons may be named the operas of "Das Waldmädchen" (The Forest Maiden), recast under the titles of "Sylvana," "Rübezahl ," and "Euryanthe."
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The life Collier's set out in 1921 still stands in outline, though two details have been corrected: Weber was born in mid-November 1786, not December, and the "celebrated Haydn" who taught him was Michael Haydn at Salzburg, Joseph's younger brother, rather than the famous Joseph in Vienna. "Der Freischütz" reached the stage in Berlin in June 1821, a year earlier than the date given here, and it remains the work on which his reputation rests as the founder of German Romantic opera. What has grown since 1921 is the standing of his instrumental music: the two clarinet concertos and the Concertino are now staple repertoire for every clarinettist, and the unfinished comic opera "Die drei Pintos", completed by Gustav Mahler, has had modern revivals. A scholarly complete edition of his works has been in progress since the late twentieth century.
Written for this edition, 2026.