Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Music #354 - Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber

/VAY-ber/   (1786 – 1826)

... a leading pioneer of the German Romantic and nationalist movement
- his opera Der Freischütz marked the beginning of German Romantic opera and the liberation from Italian influences

Der Freischütz (The Marksman or The Freeshooter) opera

- the first great Romantic opera in Germany, showing how a nationalist style of opera could be founded on folk tunes and folk tales  
- based on a folk tale set (of ghost stories) in the forests of Bohemia, portraying the struggle of good and evil and evoking the beauty of nature
- the overture sets up the world of goodness and light (C major) against that of evil and darkness (C minor)
 


Euryanthe opera

- A German grand heroic-romantic opera
- Though acknowledged as one of Weber's most important operas (superb music), the work is rarely staged because of the weak libretto.....
- Only the overture, an outstanding example of the early German Romantic style (heralding Richard Wagner), is regularly played today:
* Overture


Oberon opera

- Weber's last opera (before he died of TB at an age of only 39)
- a setting of an English libretto
- contains some of Weber's best music, especially the inspired overture
- [Konzertstück = Concert Piece]


Works for clarinet 

Apart from his operas, he is noted for his brilliant clarinet works.
* Clarinet Concerto No.1 - play
* Clarinet Concerto No.2, opus 74 - play
* Clarinet Quintet
* Grand Duo Concertant:


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