C. M.Webe

Romance

rl Maria von Weber (18 or 19 November 1786 – 5 June 1826)[1][2] was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist[3][4] and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, he was a crucial figure in the development of Romantische Oper (Romantic opera).[1]

Throughout his youth, his father,Franz Anton [de], relentlessly moved the family betweenHamburg,Salzburg,Freiberg,Augsburg andVienna. Consequently he studied with many teachers – his father,Johann Peter Heuschkel,Michael Haydn,Giovanni Valesi,Johann Nepomuk Kalcher andGeorg Joseph Vogler – under whose supervision he composed fouroperas, none of which survive complete.[1] He had a modest output of non-operatic music, which includes two symphonies; abassoon concerto; piano pieces such asKonzertstück in F minor andInvitation to the Dance; and many pieces that featured the clarinet, usually written for the virtuoso clarinetistHeinrich Baermann. His mature operas – Silvana (1810),Abu Hassan (1811),Der Freischütz (1821),Die drei Pintos (comp. 1820–21),Euryanthe (1823),Oberon (1826) – were a major influence on subsequent German composers includingMarschner,Meyerbeer, andWagner; his compositions for piano anticipated those ofChopin andLiszt. His best known work, Der Freischütz, remains among the most significantGerman operas.[5]