The year 1809 is important in Spohr's history for two reasons. While making a tour he received at Hamburg a commission for an opera, "The Lovers' Duel," and at Frankenhausen in Thuringia he conducted the first music festival in Germany. For the second of those festivals in 1811 he wrote his first symphony in E flat. The opera was also finished in the winter of 1810-1811. His first oratorio, "Das jüngste Gericht," was written for the Fête Napoleon at Erfurt and produced there Aug. 15, 1812. It was in the composition of this work that he found himself hampered by his lack of skill in counterpoint. He bought Marpurg's work and studied it. But Spohr was dissatisfied with his opera and with his oratorio. He felt that he was too much under the dominance of Mozart, and resolved to free himself from that master's influence. He says in his autobiography that in "Faust" he was careful to avoid imitating Mozart.
In 1812 he made his début at Vienna as violinist and composer with such success that the leadership of the orchestra at the Theatre an der Wien was offered to him. The conditions were very favorable, so he gave up his position at Gotha and betook himself to the Austrian capital. There his duties were burdensome, but he was in the musical centre of Europe. He met Beethoven, and was on terms of friendship with that great master, whose genius, however, he did not fully appreciate. Among his treasures when he left Vienna was a canon for three voices on some words from Schiller's "Maid of Orleans" written for him by Beethoven. Spohr's "Autobiography" contains some interesting anecdotes about Beethoven's conducting.
Spohr's Viennese sojourn was successful, but on account of disagreements with the manager of the theatre he left the city in 1815, and made a visit to Prince Carolath in Bohemia. His next musical undertaking was the conduct of another festival at Frankhausen. His cantata, "Das befreite Deutschland," was there produced. He afterward went on a tour through Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and his eighth violin concerto ("Scena Cantante") was written to please the public of the last-named country. In Italy he met Rossini, whom he never admired as a composer. He also met Paganini, who treated him with much courtesy.
Fac-simile of letter from Spohr deploring the death of his wife, in 1834.
In 1817 he returned to Germany. While travelling and giving concerts with his wife, he received an offer from Mr. Ihlée, director of the theatre at Frankfort, to become conductor of the opera there. He accepted the offer and at once set out for his new post. One of his first acts was to obtain the consent of the managers to the production of his opera "Faust" which he had written in Vienna five years before. He says, "At first, it is true, it pleased the great majority less than the connoisseurs, but with each representation gained more admirers." His success encouraged him to new dramatic attempts, and he set to work on an operatic version of Appel's "Der schwarze Jäger" (The Black Huntsman). He soon learned, however, that Weber was at work on the same subject, and he abandoned his opera. While looking for a new libretto he wrote the three quartets, Opus 45. In September, 1818, he began work on his "Zemire und Azor," of which the text had been previously used by Grétry in his "La Belle et la Bête." Disagreements with the managers of the Frankfort theatre caused him to resign his post there in September, 1819.
In 1820 he visited England at the invitation of the Philharmonic Society of London. His début was made at the opening concert of the season, March sixth, when he played with much success his Concerto No. 8. At the next concert he was to have appeared as leader. "It was at that time still the custom there," he says in his autobiography, "that when symphonies and overtures were performed, the pianist had the score before him, not exactly to conduct from it, but only to read after and to play in with the orchestra at pleasure, which when it was heard, had a very bad effect. The real conductor was the first violin, who gave the tempi, and now and then when the orchestra began to falter, gave the beat with the bow of his violin." Spohr induced Ries, the pianist, to let him make an experiment, and he conducted, after overcoming the opposition of the directors, with a baton, for the first time at one of these concerts. The success of the new method was so great that the old way went out forever. His symphony in D minor was produced at this concert, and at the last concert of the season another of his symphonies was heard for the first time in England. At his last concert, his wife, who had been since her arrival in England busily engaged in mastering the Erard double action harp (she had before played the single action instrument), appeared and was much applauded. Her health subsequently failed, and she died in 1834. Spohr married a second time in 1836. His second wife was Marianne Pfeiffer, the elder of the two daughters of the Chief Councillor of Cassel. She was a good pianist and played together with Spohr with considerable success. She died Jan. 4, 1892.
Spohr visited Paris for the first time on his way home from England. In the French capital he made the acquaintance of Kreutzer, Cherubini, Habeneck and other eminent musicians, all of whom received him with courteous consideration and showed a warm interest in his music. He gave a concert at the Opera with satisfying success. Cherubini was particularly pleased with his work, and Spohr tells with pride how the old martinet of the Conservatoire made him play one of his quartets three times. Spohr returned to Germany and took up his residence in the artistic city of Dresden, where he found Weber engaged in producing "Der Freischütz," already a pronounced success in Vienna and Berlin. Weber was offered the post of Hof-Kapellmeister by the Elector of Cassel, but he declined it because he did not wish to leave Dresden. He warmly recommended Spohr, who received the appointment, accepted it, and on Jan. 1, 1822, entered upon his duties in the city which was to be his home for the rest of his life. The first new work studied there under his direction was his own "Zemire und Azor," which was produced on March 24, and repeated several times in the course of the year. His family arrived at Cassel in March, and he settled down in the domestic circle and began the composition of "Jessonda," which he finished in December, 1822. In a letter written in January, 1823, he says: "I have been latterly so much engaged upon a new opera that I have somewhat neglected everything else. It is now ready, and I am right glad to have completed so important a work. If I expect more from this opera than from the earlier ones, it is because of my greater experience, and the inspiration I felt in the study of almost every number of the successfully written libretto." The opera was produced on the birthday of the Elector, July 28, 1823, and was at once successful. Spohr writes (Aug. 2, 1823): "This work has made me very happy, and I have reason to hope that the opera will please much in other places."
