Bedřich Diviš Weber
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Bedřich Diviš Weber (9 October 1766, Velichov, nr.
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...
25 December 1842,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
), also known by the German form of his name, Friedrich Dionys (or Dionysius) Weber, was a
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n composer and
musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
primarily remembered as the first director of the
Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...
, in whose foundation he played a leading role. Weber studied
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
before turning his attention definitively to music, studying under Abbe Vogler. He became an advocate for the music of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
after meeting him in Prague, and his compositions bear evidence of this influence, being firmly rooted in that stylistic period. He was antagonistic towards the work of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
and
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
(no relation), although an enthusiast for the work of
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
. In 1832 he conducted the first performance of Wagner's Symphony in C major, a student performance at the Prague Conservatory. As director of both the conservatory and the Prague Organ School, he effectively controlled higher musical education in the region, so was arguably the most influential figure in the music of Prague at that time. He also wrote several
music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
textbooks considered important in their time. Despite his conservative style, he was happy to explore the possibilities of new instruments, such as his ''Variationen für das neu erfundene Klappenhorn'' (''Variations for the newly invented
keyed bugle The keyed bugle (also Royal Kent bugle, or Kent bugle) is a wide conical bore brass instrument with tone holes operated by keys to alter the pitch and provide a full chromatic scale. It was developed from the bugle around 1800 and was popul ...
''). He was a skilled writer for
brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by Sympathetic resonance, sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meani ...
s and had a particular interest in new developments; he was himself responsible for a form of
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
. His best-known surviving work is probably the cantata ''Böhmens Errettung''. He also composed an opera, ''König der Genien'', in 1800,Opera Composers: W
/ref> and his ''Variations for Trumpet and Orchestra'' followed his own experiments with keyed instruments, particularly his keyed horn. In 1823–24, he was one of the 50 composers who composed a variation on a waltz by
Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...
for ''
Vaterländischer Künstlerverein ''Vaterländischer Künstlerverein'' was a collaborative musical publication or anthology, incorporating 83 variations for piano on a theme by Anton Diabelli, written by 51 composers living in or associated with Austria. It was published in tw ...
''. One of his students,
Joseph Kail Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
, introduced the keyed horn to Vienna and went on to develop the double piston Vienna valve horn. It is reported that in 1828 a certain Herr Chlum played the ''Variations for Trumpet and Orchestra'' on a chromatic trumpet of Kail's invention, presumably the valve trumpet, making this work the earliest surviving example of such music.


See also

*
Weber (disambiguation) Weber may refer to: Places United States * Weber, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Weber City, Virginia, a town * Weber City, Fluvanna County, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Weber County, Utah * Weber Canyon, Utah * Weber Ri ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Bedrich Divis 1766 births 1842 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century musicians from Bohemia 19th-century Czech classical composers Czech opera composers Czech male opera composers People from Karlovy Vary District 19th-century Czech male musicians Academic staff of the Prague Conservatory Composers from the Austrian Empire