200th anniversary of Carl Maria von Weber's death – anniversary year 2026 full of musical and cultural events

June 5, 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of romantic composer and musician Carl Maria von Weber. Beginning on his presumed birthday on November 19, 2025, and continuing throughout the anniversary year 2026, the edition project "Carl Maria von Weber – Complete Works, Diaries, Letters, and Writings," funded by the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz, will present a variety of special events for the interested public.

From early to mid-2026, the Stabi Kulturwerk, the museum of the Berlin State Library, will present an exhibition on Weber curated by staff members of the edition. The treasure chamber in the basement of the museum will display, among other things, the autograph scores of his Symphony No. 2 in C major and 'Der Freischütz,' as well as documents relating to the opera 'Oberon.' The estate display case in the music department on the upper floor of the museum will first show the development of the Weber catalog of works using materials from Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns' Weberiana collection, then it will shed light on the theme of Weber's literary works using examples from the Weber family estate (WFN).

The Musicology Seminar Detmold/Paderborn is holding a public lecture series on Carl Maria von Weber at the Detmold University of Music in the summer semester of 2026. In addition to selected guests, the Detmold staff of the Weber Complete Edition will also participate in the lectures. These will take place every two weeks on Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. in the dome hall of the university.

The Weber Complete Edition website features weekly commentary on the composer's life and work. These shed light on interesting details about his work, his travels, and his household, and are based on Weber's diary entries, letters, writings, and other documents. The commentaries will remain visible at the top of the project's homepage until the end of 2026. In addition, the International Carl Maria von Weber Society also provides interesting insights and facts about Weber's life and work on a daily basis via social media.

This selection provides only a small glimpse into the diverse cultural offerings of concerts, exhibitions, and other events planned for the Weber anniversary year 2026. More detailed overviews can be found in the Weber Society's continuously updated calendar of events and on the website of the complete edition.

All text sections of the edition (diaries, letters, writings) are available online in open access.

The edition project "Carl Maria von Weber – Complete Works, Diaries, Letters, and Writings," based at the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, is part of the Academies' Program funded by the federal and state governments and coordinated by the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. The Weber complete edition closes a much-lamented gap in the documentation of music and musical aesthetics of the early 19th century. The aim is to reproduce authentic work texts and to document the genesis and transmission of the works.