Carl Maria von Weber - His Music and His Life

Carl Maria (Friedrich Ernst Freiherr) von Weber (November 18, 1786 in Eutin/Germany - June 5, 1826 in London) was a German composer and key figure in the early Romantic period. He is considered to be the founder of German Romantic opera. He experienced a restless and fidgety youth. Mozart's youth traveled pale against that. 

Von Weber started with piano lessons in 1792, and, in 1797, musical theory with the great Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). The first composition Six Fughetten has been published in 1798.

Invitation to a dance (1819) and the Concert for piano and orchestra (1821) became concessions of arising "program music", the difference to "absolute music".

A child prodigy, and touring piano virtuoso as a boy, Weber grew up in a musical family. From an early age, he had a fascination for opera. His major operas are Der Freischütz (1821), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Weber died in London of consumption less than two months after the premiere of Oberon. When his body was finally returned to Germany for burial, the eulogy was delivered by Richard Wagner.

Ludwig Spohr (1784 - 1859) - Fantaisie Op. 35

Engelbert Humperdinck - His Music and His Life

German composer Engelbert Humperdinck was born on September 1, 1854 bin Siegburg/Rheinland. He has - of course! - nothing to do with the identical pop singer. Humperdinck received innumerable awards from the Collee of Music Cologne and the Mozart Award from the Munich Academy of Tone Arts.

During the Bayreuth Festival in 1882, Humperdinck became the assistant of Richard Wagner. Humperdinck's career went on as Professor of Composition in Barcelona (1885-1887) and 1890 in Frankfurt/Germany. In 1900, Humperdinck took over the master director form of the Berlin Academy of Arts.

Humperdinck's compositions started with chorus ballads, simple songs, a humorous orchestral work and a tonal, fine sounding string quartet.

His first opera "Hansel and Gretel" (1893) showed very well that the new generation lacks very much Richard Wagner's pathos. "Hansel and Gretel" became an utterly impossible folksong melodic "Christmas"-opera with the lyrics of Humperdinck's sister Adelheid Wette.

The melodramatic opera "The King's Children" (1897) premiered 1910 in New York, but -admittedly - became never home and familiar. "The Marriage with Reluctance" (1905) flopped because of naive awkwardness and ornate orchestral composition.

The keenness Engelbert Humperdinck passed away in Neustrelitz on September 27, 1921.