Weber: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 And 2 / Pollaca Brillante

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Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826)Piano Concerto No.1 in C Major, Op. 11 (1.98)Piano Concerto No.2 in E Flat Major, Op. 32 (1.155)Polacca Brillante (L'hilarite), Op. 72 (J. 268)Konzertst??ck in F Minor, Op. 79 (J.282)There is an operatic element in much of the music of Weber, composer of thefirst great German romantic opera, Der Freisch??tz. Much of the childhoodof Carl Maria von Weber had been spent travelling with the theatrical companydirected by his father, Franz Anton Weber, uncle of Mozart's wife Constanze andlike his brother, Constanze's father, at one time associated with the famousMannheim orchestra. At the time of Weber's birth his father was still in theservice of the Bishop of L??beck and during the course of an extended visit toVienna had taken a second wife, an actress and singer, who became an importantmember of the family theatre company established in 1788.Weber's musical gifts were fostered by his father, who saw in his youngestson the possibility of a second Mozart. Travel brought the chance of varied ifinconsistent study, in Salzburg with Michael Haydn and elsewhere with musiciansof lesser ability. His second opera was performed in Freiberg in 1800, followedby a third, Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn (Peter Schmoll and HisNeighbours), in Augsburg in 1803. Lessons with the Abbe Vogler led to a positionas Kapellmeister in Breslau in 1804, brought to a premature end through thehostility of musicians long established in the city and through the accidentaldrinking of engraving acid, left by his father in a wine-bottle.A brief an idyllic period in the service of Duke Eugen of W??rttemberg-?ûlsat Karlsruhe was followed by three years as secretary to Duke Ludwig ofW??rttemberg, a younger brother of the reigning Duke. The financial dealings ofWeber's father, who had joined him there, led to imprisonment and expulsion, anda return to a career as an active musician, at first mainly as a pianist,appearing in the principal cities of Germany. A short stay in Berlin provedfruitful, before his appointment to the opera in Prague in 1813. In 1817 he wasinvited to Dresden, where it was hoped he would establish German opera, althoughthe first performance of Der Freisch??tz was eventually given in Berlinin 1821. While the rival Italian opera in Dresden continued to cause Webertrouble, he was invited to write an opera for Vienna. Euryanthe, described as agrand heroic-Romantic opera, with a libretto by the blue-stocking authoress ofSchubert's Rosamunde, had a mixed reception.In spite of deteriorating health, the result of tuberculosis, Weber accepteda commission from Covent Garden for an English opera, Oberon, and thiswas first performed there in April 1826 under the direction of the composer.Weber was a pioneer in the use of the conductor's baton and his first appearancebefore the orchestra with this potential weapon caused initial alarm amongEnglish musicians at his possibly aggressive intentions. The English weathercould only further damage his