Although Weber is celebrated as the father of the German romantic opera, aside from Der Freischütz, most of his other stage works are very rarely performed. Their Overtures, however, with their colourful, lyrical, instrumentation, and combination of Viennese Classicism and new

romantic drama, have stood the test of time as individual orchestral works. This complete recording of Weber’s overtures with Howard Griffiths and the WDR Symphony Orchestra is distinguished by fresh verve and gripping dramatism in keeping with the dictates of historically informed performance practice.