Carl Maria Von Weber (1786-1826)

Donald Macleod on Weber's work for the aristocratic and eccentric Wurttemberg family.

From an early age, Weber loved women - even at sixteen, he was dedicating compositions 'to the fair sex of Hamburg'. After numerous affairs, he settled down with soprano Caroline Brandt - one of two lasting relationships in his life. The other was with his friend, the clarinettist Heinrich Baermann, for whom Weber wrote some of his most popular music.

Donald Macleod focuses on Weber's relationships with women.

Weber lived much of his early life on the road with his family, in the Weber Theatre Company. His early attempts at musical composition, from the age of twelve, found their way into more mature works, including his opera, Peter Schmoll, and a setting of the mass. His father Anton was so pleased with these early attempts, that he had them published.

Weber's father often had itchy feet, and he took his family from city to city looking for better prospects. In this way we find Weber in Salzburg studying with Michael Haydn, and later in Vienna learning from the eccentric and colourful character of Abb退 Georg Josef Vogler. Weber would write a set of variations for solo piano, on Vogler's ballet C

Weber had been appointed to the post of Director of Music at the Ducal Court in Breslau. He didn't remain in the position for long or indeed have much time for composition, but he did make a start on an opera. Later on Weber reworked some of this music into a concert overture, Der Beherrscher der Geister, The Ruler of the Spirits.

Weber eventually made his way to Stuttgart, via a period in Carlsruhe, to become the private secretary to Duke Ludwig of Württemberg. His duties included writing begging letters to the Duke's brother, the King of Württemberg, for financial support. The King didn't like Weber, and the composer found himself thrown into prison at one point. During his time in captivity he composed the song, Klage: Ein steter Kampf ist unser Leben.

Things came to a head in 1810, when Weber and his father were escorted to a frontier post at the boundaries of the Württemberg domains, and ordered never to return. Weber now travelled to Mannheim, and then on to Darmstadt, looking for work. It was during this period that he composed his exotic opera, Abu Hassan.

Donald Macleod focuses on the period which saw the composer arrested twice.

Weber's reputation as a composer was starting to rise. In 1812 he travelled to Gotha at the invitation of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha. The Duke was a colourful character who liked to shock his court by dyeing his hair different colours, and by dressing up. He also had a great passion for music and Weber found himself kept very busy, including work on his Piano Concerto No 2.

By 1813 Weber was offered a new role, and one much more to his liking, the post of Director at the Opera in Prague. Standards at the opera had declined and Weber relished the challenge ahead of him. It was during this period that Weber first encountered his future wife, the singer Caroline Brandt. She approached the opera company, looking for work in Prague, and was quickly signed up.

Eventually, Weber tired of his problems at the Opera and moved on to the royal court in Dresden. There were again many obstacles to overcome in Dresden, not least the aristocracy's preference for only Italian music, but it was here that Weber would compose his most successful opera to date, Der Freischütz.

Donald Macleod focuses on Weber's first encounter with the singer Caroline Brandt.

Weber had been appointed Royal Kapellmeister to the royal court in Dresden where he was required to compose music for special occasions, such as a cantata to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the King's accession, and his Mass No 2 for the celebrations to mark the King's golden wedding. However, the composer frequently found himself out of favour on account of his German nationality. The King and his court had a preference for Italian music, and Weber often found himself at loggerheads with officialdom.

Weber married the singer Caroline Brandt and, in 1818, she gave birth to their first child, Marie, who died just three months later. Weber sank into a depression, and also began to show signs of tuberculosis. He was buoyed by the success of his incidental music for Preciosa, and he soon turned his attention to a new comic operatic idea, Die drei Pintos.

Donald Macleod focuses on Weber's time in Dresden, where he was repeatedly snubbed.

Weber was increasingly worried about his health, as he battled with tuberculosis. He was heartened by the birth of his son, Max, who survived infancy and would go on to become his father's first biographer. Not long after this new arrival to the Weber family, Carl Maria von Weber started work on a new opera, Euryanthe. Despite his illness, Weber was working at lightning speed, not only on Euryanthe, but also a fourth piano sonata, and revising his Bassoon Concerto.

Weber knew his time was now limited, but he was determined not leave his family in financial difficulty. He took a commission to compose a new opera for Covent Garden, Oberon, and journeyed to London for its premiere. He wrote many letters home to his wife Caroline about how much he enjoyed life in London, but his health now started to fail, and he died not long after Oberon's success in the capital.

Donald Macleod focuses on Weber's battle with tuberculosis and the birth of his son Max.

Weber's relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freischütz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

The young Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber's picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod explores how the young Weber survived the extreme dramas of his early years, swerving from crisis to crisis. We start with the composer's first brush with death. His apparently lifeless body is discovered in his home, after he accidentally drunk acid from a wine bottle which his father had been using for engraving.

In his work for the royal court, Weber's goading of the king rose to such levels that he was jailed.

Socially, intellectually, romantically, these were engaging, frenetic times for the young composer, who sometimes needed reminding about his vocation. On top of everything else, Weber's father was meddling in the composer's affairs, with disastrous results.

Grande polonaise in E flat major, Op. 21, J59

Jean Martin, piano

Der Beherrscher der Geister (The Ruler of the Spirits), J122

Suisse Romande Orchestra

Ernest Ansermet, conductor

Clarinet Quintet in B flat major, Op. 34, J182

I. Allegro

Vienna Chamber Ensemble

Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 19, J50

I. Allegro con fuoco

II. Andante

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor

Silvana:

Act I: Das Hifthorn schallt (Huntsmen's Chorus)

Act I: So soll denn dieses Herz nie Liebe finden

Alexander Spemann (Graf Rudolph von Helfenstein)

Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra

Gerhard Markson, conductor

Presented by Donald Macleod

Produced by Iain Chambers

How did the young Weber survive the extreme dramas of his early years?

Weber's relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freischütz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

The young Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber's picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod looks at Weber's affairs in Stuttgart as they reach crisis point. Implicated in a scandal at court, the composer is placed under arrest for 16 days. Then his multiple creditors joined the fray - his huge debts, on top of the other charges floating over him, led to Weber being banished from the kingdom of Wuerttemberg in perpetuity.

In yet another new city - Mannheim - Weber enjoyed nocturnal wandering with his friends. They took their guitars, singing and playing new folk songs - their interest in popular songs was a novelty for the time. Weber would draw lasting inspiration from these experiences - using songs as themes in his major works, and he would also find valuable material in the ghost stories being told during these escapades.

Momento capriccioso, Op. 12, J56

Alexander Paley, piano

Overture and Marches for Turandot, J75

Act II: March

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Lawrence Foster, conductor

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 11, J98

Ronald Brautigam, piano

K怀lner Akademie

Michael Alexander Willens, conductor

Clarinet Concertino in E flat major, Op. 26, J109

Martin Fr怀st, clarinet

Tapiola Sinfonietta

Piano Quartet in B flat major, Op. 18 J76

I. Allegro con fuoco

Gidon Kremer, violin

Veronika Hagen, viola

Clemens Hagen, cello

Vadim Sakharov, piano

Presented by Donald Macleod

Produced by Iain Chambers

Weber's affairs in Stuttgart reach crisis point when he is placed under arrest.

Weber's relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freischütz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber's picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod looks at Weber's love life. By 1814, after his years of restless wandering, Weber felt the need to settle down and put down roots. He took a job heading up the opera house in Prague.

But it wasn't straightforward. Weber's love life was scarcely less complicated or scandal-ridden than his other affairs. He was an incorrigible ladies' man, yearning for company to assuage his profound loneliness.

In Prague he inadvertently got into a M退nage

Weber's relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freischütz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber's picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod looks at Weber's life in Berlin, where his status as a composer is perceptibly changing: he's a man clearly on the up.

But his gaffes continue unabated: He is overheard bad-mouthing the King, and he takes his fervent opposition towards any Italian influence upon German opera to another level.

Despite being newlywed, marriage does not end the drama always afflicting Weber's emotional life. His wife Caroline is unwell, and the couple lose their first child.

And Weber experiences a fierce rivalry with his fellow court composer Francesco Morlacchi, representing the ongoing tension between the new German opera against its Italian counterpart. Weber's new opera commission is cancelled, spiralling him into depression.

But Weber's reaction to these setbacks is a startling kick of creativity, including his bravura keyboard work Invitation to the Dance, and the Trio into which he poured his intense unhappiness. And his breakthrough work, Der Freischütz, becomes so popular that employers seek to ban their workers from whistling it.

Flute Trio, Op. 63, J259

I. Allegro moderato

Gunther Pohl, flute

Konrad Haesler, cello

Wilfried Kassebaum, piano

Missa sancta No. 1, Op. 75, J224

Kyrie

Gloria

Krisztina Laki, soprano

Marga Schiml, mezzo-soprano

Josef Protschka, tenor

Jan-Hendrick Rootering, bass

Bamberg Symphony Chorus

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

Horst Stein, conductor

Aufforderung zum Tanze (Invitation to the Dance), Op. 65, J260

Michael Endres, piano

Der Freischütz, J277

Act III: Finale: Schaut, o schaut! Er traf die eig'ne Brauit - Ja, lasst uns die Blicke erheben

(Agathe, Annchen, Max, Kaspar, Kuno, Ottokar, Chorus)

Elisabeth Grümmer (Agathe)

Lisa Otto (Annchen)

Hermann Prey (Max)

Rudolf Schock (Kaspar)

Karl Kohn (Kuno)

Gottlob Frick (Ottokar)

Berlin Deutsche Opera Chorus

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Joseph Keilberth, conductor

Presented by Donald Macleod

Produced by Iain Chambers

Weber's status as a composer is perceptibly changing: he's a man clearly on the up.

Weber's relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freischütz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber's picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod explores Weber's last years in reverse, from the last song he wrote, bedridden in London, to his performances of his new opera Oberon at Covent Garden, and before that - to the agonising choice that faced him, between providing for his family in travelling to London, and protecting his dangerously enfeebled health.

Weber's interpersonal relationships were seldom dull, and in the course of this episode he spends time with Beethoven, and works with the poet Helmina von Ch退zy, who he described as a 'suave poetess but unbearable woman'.

Oberon, J306: Overture

Dresden Staatskapelle

Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

Act III: O Araby dear

Act III: Mourn thou poor heart

Hillevi Martinpelto (Reiza)

Orchestre R退volutionnaire et Romantique

John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

Piano Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op. 70, J287:

III. Andante quasi allegretto, consolante

Jean Martin, piano

Euryanthe, J291

Act III Scene 1:

Hier weilest du? Hier darf ich ruhn? (Euryanthe, Adolar)

Wie liebt' ich dich! Du warst mein h怀chstes Gut (Adolar, Euryanthe)

Jacquelyn Wagner (Euryanthe)

Norman Reinhardt (Adolar)

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Constantin Trinks, conductor

Konzertstuck in F minor, Op. 79, J282

Russian National Orchestra

Mikhail Pletnev, piano, conductor

Presented by Donald Macleod

Produced by Iain Chambers

Weber's last months, spent in London overseeing his opera Oberon.