Franz Fridolin Weber

Franz Fridolin Weber (* 1733 in Zell im Wiesental ; † October 23, 1779 in Vienna ) was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father-in-law . By profession he was first a bailiff in Zell and later he worked as a bass player , prompter and music copyist. He was the older brother of Franz Anton von Weber (1734-1812), the father of the composer Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), whose uncle he was.

prehistory

After his father Fridolin Weber I (born June 22, 1691 in Stetten; † February 25, 1754 in Freiburg) had started studying in Freiburg in 1706, he had established contacts with the von Schönau family . Thereby he became tutor of the son of Franz Ignaz Anton Josef von Schönau. Franz Ignaz Ludwig, who was only nine years old, lost his father in 1712 and Fridolin Weber I worried about him and his family. As a reward for many years of work, he was finally given the position of bailiff in Zell in 1721 . The steadily growing influence of Weber I annoyed his former protégé Franz Ignaz Ludwig until the dispute between them escalated in 1738. Ludwig succeeded in pushing Weber out of office, who sued for reinstatement, and a year-long negotiation followed, which ended in a settlement in which Weber was to receive compensation.

Life

Franz Fridolin Weber was born in 1733 as the son of Fridolin Weber, which is why he is also known as Fridolin Weber II. Baron Franz Ignaz Ludwig owed his father around 4,700 guilders, which he could not pay. To satisfy his creditors, he appointed Franz Fridolin Weber as bailiff in Zell in 1754. On September 14, 1756 he married Maria Cäcilia Cordula Stamm (born October 23, 1727 in Mannheim; † August 22, 1793 in Vienna) in the church of St. Hilarius von Ebnet (today part of Freiburg / Br. ). The baron was deeply in debt, which is why he had to borrow a lot of money, also from his bailiff Fridolin Weber II. In order to conceal the debts, the baron instructed him to manipulate the bookkeeping. These deeds made him susceptible to blackmail. Ludwig found more and more opportunities to get money out of Weber until Weber himself got into ever increasing hardship. This culminated in the fact that Weber was removed from his office on July 30, 1763, against which he complained. The money to which he was entitled was also not received, which is why the Weber family's need grew ever greater. At this time Constanze Weber , who later became Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's wife , was born as the third of four daughters.

In 1764 the dispute suddenly ended with a settlement, the dismissal was withdrawn, but Weber waived the job and moved with his family to Mannheim , where his wife was from. The certificate Weber had received from the baron after the settlement and the contacts of his wife enabled him to find work as a bass player, prompter and copyist. In 1778 Weber moved to Munich and a year later to Vienna. He died there of a stroke on October 23, 1779.

His daughter Aloisia became a singing teacher and, as a soprano, one of the most important interpreters of Mozart's works. The composer wrote the role of Queen of the Night in the Magic Flute for the voice of her older sister Josepha .

Web links

• Website about Constanze Weber and her family (with incorrect family tree)
• The Weber family in the history of the city of Zell , zell-im-wiesental.de, accessed on January 5, 2014