VIII

CARL MARIA VON WEBER

As we have already seen in the life stories of a number of musicians, the career they were to follow was often decided by the father, who determined to form them into wonder children, either for monetary gain or for the honor and glory of the family.  The subject of this story is an example of such a preconceived plan.

Franz Anton von Weber, who was a capable musician himself, had always cherished the desire to give a wonder child to the world.  In his idea wonder children need not be born such, they could be made by the proper care and training.  He had been a wealthy man, but at the time of our story, was in reduced circumstances, and was traveling about Saxony at the head of a troupe of theatrical folk, called “Weber’s Company of Comedians.”

Little Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, to give his full name, was born December 18, 1786, at Eutin, a little town in Lower Saxony.  He was the first child of a second marriage, and before the baby boy could speak, his career had been planned; the father had made up his mind to develop his son into an extraordinary musical genius.  It is not recorded what his young mother, a delicate girl of seventeen, thought about it; probably her ideas for her baby son did not enter into the father’s plan.  Mother and child were obliged to follow in the train of the wandering comedians, so baby Carl was brought up amid the properties of stage business.  Scenery, canvas, paints and stage lights were the materials upon which Carl’s imagination was fed.  He learned stage language with his earliest breath; it is no wonder he turned to writing for the stage as to the manner born.

As a child he was neither robust nor even healthy, which is not surprising, since he was not allowed to run afield with other children, enjoying the sweet air of nature, the flowers, the sunshine and blue sky.  No, he must stay indoors much of the time and find his playmates among cardboard castles and painted canvas streets.  This treatment was not conducive to rosy cheeks and strong, sturdy little legs.  Then, before the delicate child was six years old, a violin was put into his hand, and if his progress on it was thought to be too slow by his impatient father, he was treated to raps and blows by way of incentive to work yet harder.  His teachers, too, were continually changing, as the comedians had to travel about from place to place.  After awhile he was taken in hand by Michael Haydn, a brother of the great Josef.  Michael was a famous musician himself and seldom gave lessons to any one.  But he was interested in Carl and took charge of his musical education for some time.

It was not long before Carl Maria’s genius began definitely to show itself, for he started to write for the lyric stage.  Two comic operas appeared, “The Dumb Girl of the Forest,” and “Peter Schmoll and his Neighbors.”  They were both performed, but neither made a hit.