Cäcilia Weber
Encyclopedia
Cäcilia Cordula Stamm was the mother of Constanze Weber
, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
.
She was born in Mannheim, Germany
, the daughter of Johann Otto Stamm, a government secretary and Sophia Elisabeth Wimmer. She married Franz Fridolin Weber (1733-1779) on 14 September 1756, and had four daughters: Josepha
, Aloysia
, Constanze, and Sophie
. Constanze was the only one who did not become a professional singer, but, according to Mozart, she possessed a fine voice and musical ear. The children were born in Zell im Wiesental
, but the family moved to Mannheim soon after Sophie was born.
Cäcilia first met Mozart in 1777, when he came to Mannheim in search of a job. He fell in love with her daughter Aloysia during this stay, and departed for Paris after finding no permanent position. The family later moved to Munich, where both Aloysia and Fridolin had found jobs in the opera. It was here that Mozart encountered them again (and was rejected by Aloysia), during his journey homeward to Salzburg.
The Weber family moved to Vienna
in September 1779, still following Aloysia as she pursued her career at the German Opera there. Fridolin died in the following month, and Cäcilia scrambled to keep her family afloat. Aloysia's suitor Joseph Lange
agreed to help support the family with an annual stipend of 700 florins when he married Aloysia, 31 October 1779. Cäcilia also made some income by taking in boarders.
It was in this way that Mozart re-entered the Webers' lives. In 1781 he settled in Vienna, hoping to pursue his career there, and on 1 or 2 May, 1781 he became a boarder in their home (in a building called Zum Augen Gottes, "God's Eye").
Cäcilia asked Mozart to move out when she realized that he had fallen in love with Constanze, for the sake of propriety. Wolfgang and Constanze finally married on 4 August 1782.
Mozart's relationship with his mother-in-law had a somewhat rocky start, as she did not get along well with Constanze. However, starting with birth of Constanze's first child in 1783, Mozart came to grow quite fond of Cäcilia. Constanze's sister Sophie remembered in an 1825 letter:
Cäcilia died in Wieden
, Austria
.
Constanze Mozart
Constanze Mozart was the wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Early years:Constanze Weber was born in Zell im Wiesental. Her mother was Cäcilia Weber, née Stamm. Her father Fridolin Weber worked as a "double bass player, prompter and music copyist." Fridolin's half-brother was the father of composer...
, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
.
She was born in Mannheim, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the daughter of Johann Otto Stamm, a government secretary and Sophia Elisabeth Wimmer. She married Franz Fridolin Weber (1733-1779) on 14 September 1756, and had four daughters: Josepha
Josepha Weber
Josepha Weber was a German soprano of the classical era...
, Aloysia
Aloysia Weber
Maria Aloysia Louise Antonia Weber was a German soprano, remembered primarily for her association with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Biography:...
, Constanze, and Sophie
Sophie Weber
Maria Sophie Weber was a singer of the 18th and 19th centuries. She was the younger sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's wife Constanze, and is remembered primarily for the testimony she left concerning the life and death of her brother-in-law....
. Constanze was the only one who did not become a professional singer, but, according to Mozart, she possessed a fine voice and musical ear. The children were born in Zell im Wiesental
Zell im Wiesental
Zell im Wiesental is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 26 km northeast of Basel, and 32 km south of Freiburg....
, but the family moved to Mannheim soon after Sophie was born.
Cäcilia first met Mozart in 1777, when he came to Mannheim in search of a job. He fell in love with her daughter Aloysia during this stay, and departed for Paris after finding no permanent position. The family later moved to Munich, where both Aloysia and Fridolin had found jobs in the opera. It was here that Mozart encountered them again (and was rejected by Aloysia), during his journey homeward to Salzburg.
The Weber family moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in September 1779, still following Aloysia as she pursued her career at the German Opera there. Fridolin died in the following month, and Cäcilia scrambled to keep her family afloat. Aloysia's suitor Joseph Lange
Joseph Lange
Joseph Lange was an actor and amateur painter of the 18th century. Through his marriage to Aloysia Weber, he was the brother-in-law of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Life:...
agreed to help support the family with an annual stipend of 700 florins when he married Aloysia, 31 October 1779. Cäcilia also made some income by taking in boarders.
It was in this way that Mozart re-entered the Webers' lives. In 1781 he settled in Vienna, hoping to pursue his career there, and on 1 or 2 May, 1781 he became a boarder in their home (in a building called Zum Augen Gottes, "God's Eye").
Cäcilia asked Mozart to move out when she realized that he had fallen in love with Constanze, for the sake of propriety. Wolfgang and Constanze finally married on 4 August 1782.
Mozart's relationship with his mother-in-law had a somewhat rocky start, as she did not get along well with Constanze. However, starting with birth of Constanze's first child in 1783, Mozart came to grow quite fond of Cäcilia. Constanze's sister Sophie remembered in an 1825 letter:
Well, Mozart became fonder and fonder of our dear departed mother and she of him. Indeed he often came running along in great haste to the Wieden (where she and I were lodging at the Golden Plough), carrying under his arm a little bag containing coffee and sugar, which he would hand to our good mother, saying 'Here, mother dear, now you can have a little Jause [afternoon coffee].' She used to be delighted as a child. He did this very often.
Cäcilia died in Wieden
Wieden
Wieden is the 4th municipal District of Vienna, Austria . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
External links
- Wikipedia page on Franz Fridolin Weber (in German)
- Webseite über Constanze Weber und ihre Familie (in German)