Autograph Letter - Carl Maria von Weber

WEBER, Carl Maria von (1786-1826). Autograph letter signed ('[C.]M. v. Weber'; and initialled after postscript 'W') to an unidentified correspondent ('Hochverehrte Frau'), London, 3 May 1826. 

In German. One page (188 x 135mm), (browning where previously mounted, edges reinforced with tape). Provenance: Edwin Franko Goldman collection. 

Sending heartfelt thanks to a supporter, letting her know his plans – shortly to prove unfulfillable – to leave London. 'I am very miserable. Wednesday I leave … May Heaven reward you for your kind sympathy', thanking her for this, along with 'the five pounds and the wine'. 

Weber arrived in London on 5 March 1826 and began frantic preparations for the English premiere of Oberon – rewarded with a spectacular opening night on the 12 April – before turning almost immediately to a series of concerts culminating in one of his own, held on 26 May at the Argyll Rooms, for which he wrote his last composition, a song for the soprano Catherine Stephens. Following his last public appearance, at a concert given by Mary Anne Paton on 30 May, he made new plans to leave London on 6 June. He never returned to Germany, succumbing finally to tuberculosis on 5 June.

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