JAVS Summer 2025

reordered musical excerpts for their expressive character rather than narrative continuity. The result is a charming and accessible homage to one of Wagner’s most beloved operas, well suited to intimate performance settings. Sechs Variationen über das Thema “A Schüsserl und a Rein’dl,” J. 49 by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) Carl Maria von Weber was a pivotal figure in the early development of German Romantic opera and was internationally acclaimed during his lifetime. For many years following his death, he was remembered chiefly for Der Freischütz and the overtures to Euryanthe and Oberon . It was not until after World War II that Weber’s broader oeuvre began to regain recognition, thanks largely to Kurt Eulenburg—the second-generation head of the Eulenburg publishing house—who, as a devoted admirer of Weber, published a vast range of his works across nearly every genre of the period. Weber was more than a composer: he was also an accomplished conductor, pianist, and music critic. His innovative use of folk melodies and exotic musical elements marked him as one of the earliest composers to incorporate such features. His incidental music for Turandot , based on a Chinese story, predates Puccini’s famous opera of the same name by over a century. Interestingly, Weber was also related by marriage to another titan of classical music: Constanze Mozart, widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was his cousin.

Weber’s early life was shaped by a theatrical upbringing. Less than a year after his birth, his father gave up his position as a town musician and founded the Weber Theater Company, which toured extensively throughout Bavaria. As a child, Weber traveled with the troupe and was exposed to a wide repertoire of popular plays and Singspiels . His early musical instruction came from his half-brother Fridolin (known as Fritz), as well as from various tutors encountered during the family’s travels. After the death of his mother in 1798, the family settled temporarily in Munich, where Weber became acquainted with a broader range of French operas and Singspiels . It was during this time, at the age of thirteen, that he composed his first opera, Die Macht der Liebe und des Weins , though the score was later lost in a fire. The best-known viola work by Weber is the Andante and Hungarian Rondo , J. 79, composed in 1809 for his brother Fritz, who was a violinist and violist. This piece, rich in operatic style, serves as an ideal alternative to Sechs Variationen über das Thema “A Schüsserl und a Rein’dl” and would extend a recital program by approximately four minutes. Notably, Weber arranged the Andante and Hungarian Rondo for bassoon in 1813, attesting to the flexibility and popularity of the music. 4 Sechs Variationen über das Thema “A Schüsserl und a Rein’dl” was likely also composed for Fritz, probably around 1802 and revised in 1806. The orchestration for this set of variations is lighter than that of the Hungarian Rondo , consisting only of strings and woodwinds. The theme itself is a well-known Austrian folk tune of the time—its title appears in several spelling variants—and was frequently heard in Vienna’s popular theaters. Other composers, including Beethoven, in his op. 105, no. 3, also used the tune as the basis for variations. The text of the folk song begins humorously: “A dish and a pot is all my kitchenware,” and then unexpectedly turns romantic with the line: “and when I think of you, my shirt tightens instantly, and I imagine I am with you.” The remaining stanzas introduce comedic and dramatic twists, and Weber heightens these contrasts through playful exaggeration in his musical treatment. Variation sets on operatic themes were a hallmark of early nineteenth-century instrumental writing, and Weber’s contribution is no exception. Although most of the variations remain in C major, with only the fourth variation introducing a slower tempo and minor tonal

Figure 3. Carl Maria von Weber Museum, was Weber's summer home (1818-1824) near Dresden.

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 41, Summer 2025 Online Issue