Composed
by Carl Maria von Weber.
Edited by Frank Ziegler
and Johannes Kepper. This
edition: Full-cloth
binding. Sheet music.
Edition Schott. Score and
critical commentary,
complete edition. 306
pages. Schott Music
#WGA1021. Published by
Schott Music
(HL.49042434).
ISBN
9783795794491.
10.25x13.5x1.141 inches.
German.
Carl Maria
von Weber's fame rests
mainly on 'Der
Freischutz'. The
unprecedented success of
this opera overshadowed
all his other works and
contributed to their
increasing fall into
oblivion. Certain works
such as 'Preciosa',
'Oberon', and
'Euryanthe', the
overtures, solo concertos
and piano sonatas, the
lieder and chamber works
enjoyed great popularity
and were widely known in
Germany and abroad as
late as the second half
of the 19th century.
However, any chance of a
revival of Weber's
influential and
substantial oeuvre was
wasted in the 1920s, when
a complete edition -
begun by Hans Joachim
Moser and with potential
contributors including
Wilhelm Kempff, Hans
Pfitzner, Max von
Schillings, Fritz Stein
and Richard Strauss -
failed after the third
volume.Ever since there
have been numerous
attempts to restart a
complete edition of
Weber's works, but as
this kind of project
would have required the
co-operation of scholars
from both sides of the
inter-German border, the
political situation after
1945 was not conducive to
any such enterprise.
Careful negotiations led
to the first tangible
steps in the 1980s. The
intention, right from the
beginning, was to place
Weber's work in context,
and not to separate his
musical output from his
influential work as a
writer, critic and
organiser in the musical
field, but to publish his
compositions together
with his letters, diaries
and other literary output
as the best way to
document the
cross-fertilisation
between his musical,
literary and practical
activities.Since the
German re-unification
both working-parties
concerned - at the
Staatsbibliothek zu
Berlin, and at the
Musikwissenschaftliches
Seminar,
Detmold/Paderborn - have
co-operated on the
complete edition of the
musical works (c. 45
volumes in 10 series:
sacred music; cantatas,
odes and other occasional
works; stage works;
lieder and vocal works;
orchestral works; chamber
music; music for piano;
piano reductions;
miscellanea, arrangements
and orchestrations; works
of doubtful attribution).
The diaries (6-8 vols.)
are edited in Berlin and
the letters (8-10 vols.)
and other writings (2
vols.) in Detmold. This
complete edition aims to
be a reliable basis of
scholarly debate as well
as for the authentic
performance practice of
Carl Maria von Weber's
music. Conforming to the
standards of recent
historico-critical
editions, the textual
material will be based on
all available authentic
sources, accompanied by a
detailed documentation of
the genesis and a list of
variants for each work.
The musicological
importance of the works
will be evaluated by
placing them in their
historical context, the
presentation of their
genesis, history and
Critical Commentaries.
The letters, writings and
diaries will be treated
as inter-related and
relevant to each other in
the commentaries,
therefore readers should
benefit from a wealth of
concise information and
cross-references.
