It is interesting to catch a glimpse of Weber on his first appearance as Kapellmeister here, as related by his son:
“After a few words of pleasant and friendly greeting and assurances of his goodwill and interest to all, he terminated with the astounding declaration: ‘In return I expect explicit obedience. I shall be just but pitilessly severe with all who need severity, myself among the number.’ Such expressions had never before been heard by any of the company. For many generations gentle wishes, not commands, had been the order of the day. At first all stood aghast and dumb. On leaving the theatre at least two-thirds of the company declared themselves against the ‘impertinent young musical director.’ The members of the Orchestra were all indignant. Never had the most celebrated of kapellmeisters ever dared to address this celebrated Orchestra. And yet, in a short time, some of the bitterest enemies of this hour became Weber’s staunchest friends, supporters and admirers.
“There are still living many old members of the Dresden Orchestra who can remember the appearance of Weber on this memorable occasion. He stood before them a little, narrow-chested man, with long arms and a thin, pale face, from which his eyes gleamed forth in lightning flashes through his spectacles. When he was pleased a smile, which was positively enchanting, played over his otherwise serious mouth. When affected by the occurrences of the moment, he bent his head gently sideways with an air of peculiar tenderness and earnestness. He wore a blue frock coat with metal buttons, tight pantaloons and Hessian boots with tassels. A scrupulously clean white cravat with embroidered ends, in which was stuck a handsome diamond pin, encircled his neck. Over all he carried a tawny colored cloak with several capes, a broad round hat on his head. Nothing in his whole attire indicated any artistic pretension or affectation; and, in the streets, or in a room, he might have been easily overlooked. Once noticed, however, Weber was sure to charm and captivate by his air of intellectual refinement and elegance of manner.”
Der Freischütz was performed in Berlin in 1821; Euryanthe in Vienna in 1823; and Oberon in London in 1826, the year of Weber’s death.
Though Weber’s works for the Orchestra are comparatively unimportant, the instrumentation of his operas, so dramatic, so original and so poetic, has had great effect on modern orchestral writers.
Weber’s instrumentation was founded on Beethoven’s. He introduced no new instruments. What he did was to develop the woodwind and make new and lovely combinations. For the clarinet he had a special fondness.
After Mozart introduced the clarinet into the Orchestra, it rapidly became a favorite solo-instrument. At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century Germany had two splendid clarinet-players,—Hermstedt of Sondershausen, for whom Spohr composed, and Baermann of Munich, with whom Weber gave concerts, as we have seen,[72] and wrote special music. Weber learned much from the latter about the resources of this instrument; and Weber is the composer, par excellence, of the clarinet.
Next to the clarinet, Weber loved the horns. He made them most poetic. With Beethoven four horns and three trombones had been exceptional. With Weber this number became the rule.
Weber was also fond of subdividing the violins.