Tabloid Tuesday: Carl Maria von Weber

In 1786, a fifty year old military man turned judge and nobleman, turned squanderer and minor council, and his sixteen year old wife had a baby boy. The baby was born with a hip disease which led to incurable partial lameness. The boy was not able to walk until he was four, though by this time he was proficient at both piano and singing. This boy was Carl Maria von Weber.

His mother died before he was twelve so that meant, like many other musical young children at the time, he was submitted to the will of his father who wanted to have a prodigy in the family like the famous Mozart. 

Fortunately for Weber, his father also gave him sufficient instruction in other subjects, though, of course, music was emphasised as the most important aspect of his education.

So when he was still in his teens he began to direct an opera house, though he gave up this posting after a few years because of the growing resentment of the musicians who were over twice or three times his own age and didn’t take kindly to his firm instruction.

At 21, he was appointed to work under Duke Louis, King of Würtemburg. He and the king did not get along well at all. So one day, after a heated fight, Weber who had stormed out of the King’s chamber directed a woman who was looking for the washerwoman into the King’s chamber. The King was furious and soon discovered who was at fault for this audacious violation, and he had Weber thrown in jail. And yes, this does seem a tad extreme.

Not long after this, Weber discovered that his father had been misappropriating some of the King’s funds, and upon discovery by the royal court, they were both banished.

His father died a short two years later, and it is around this time that Weber really came into his own as a composer.

Even though his father had gotten him into a lot of trouble and pushed him perhaps more than a young child should be pushed, Weber still mourned with extreme passion over his father’s death.

While directing the opera in Dresden, he married a singer named Caroline Brandt, and the couple settled down in Dresden and became incredibly popular. He brought German opera to the stage where Italian opera had been establish and long preferred. In fact, many consider him to be the founder of German Romantic opera.

It was not long before Weber found himself attacked by the Prime Minister of the King, who took ill will towards the young German composer and his new German opera. However, eventually he had to submit to the will of the public and make Weber’s place in Dresden a permanent one. At this time Caroline left the stage and committed herself to being a wife and filling the Weber home with happiness.

Though Weber was publically popular, he was constantly under attack by the aristocracy. It really speaks to the personality of the composer that he did not bend under the violent abuse of the nobles.

Years later, Weber began to fall ill. He realized that he would not be able to leave his wife and children with enough money to live on after he passed away. Knowing this, and in a great deal of physical pain, Weber took it upon himself to compose a great masterpiece which would make enough money to ensure his family’s security. So he wrote what is his most famous and beautifully composed work: Oberon.

(Aside: Many disregard the opera as a whole and instead solely recognize "Overture to Oberon" as his greatest masterpiece.)

Though he became even weaker, Weber knew that to earn the money he needed for his family he would have to go to England for the premiere of Oberon. He longed for home but continued to attend performances of his work to raise more money.

He continued to attend concerts until nearly two months later he felt that he had raised enough to return home to his family. He made arrangements to return back to his wife and kids, set to depart on June 6, 1826. On the morning of June 5, his servant walked into the room and found his master peacefully asleep, never to wake again.

You can hear Weber’s “Overture to Oberon” performed by the Kingston Symphony this season in Cathedral Architecture on October 27^th at St. George’s Cathedral.