大象传媒

He became an international celebrity through his success in the world of German opera, and his explorations into novel instrumental timbres greatly enriched orchestral music, this week Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Carl Maria von Weber.

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.