Throughout his youth, his father, Franz Anton, relentlessly moved the family between Hamburg, Salzburg, Freiberg, Augsburg and Vienna. Consequently, he studied with many teachers—his father, Johann Peter Heuschkel, Michael Haydn, Giovanni Valesi, Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, and Georg Joseph Vogler—under whose supervision he composed four operas, none of which survive complete. He had a modest output of non-operatic music, which includes two symphonies, two concertos and a concertino for clarinet and orchestra, a bassoon concerto, a horn concertino, two concertos and a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra, piano pieces such as Invitation to the Dance; and many pieces that featured the clarinet, usually written for the virtuoso clarinetist Heinrich Baermann.
Life and Career
His mature operas—Silvana (1810), Abu Hassan (1811), Der Freischütz (1821), Die drei Pintos (comp. 1820–21), Euryanthe (1823), Oberon (1826)—had a major impact on subsequent German composers including Marschner, Meyerbeer, and Wagner; his compositions for piano influenced those of Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt. His best known work, Der Freischütz, remains among the most significant German operas.
Key Facts
- Born: November 18, 1786 in Eutin, Germany
- Died: 1826
- Field: Music
Legacy and Impact
The influence of Carl Maria von Weber extends far beyond his own lifetime. He fundamentally shaped the landscape of music, and his compositions and musical innovations remain foundational to this day.
Though he passed away in 1826, his ideas continue to be studied, debated, and built upon by scholars and practitioners worldwide.
Carl Maria von Weber remains one of the most celebrated minds to emerge from Germany, a testament to the rich intellectual heritage of the region.
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