Karl Bernhard Wessely
Karl Bernhard Wessely, also Carl Bernhard Wessely (Berlin 1 September 1768 – Potsdam 11 July 1826), was a German composer. He was born to a Jewish family in Berlin associated with intellectual circles, both Jewish and Christian: his father was Naphtali Hirz Wessely. Wessely was conductor and Hofkapellmeister of Prince Henry of Prussia in Rheinsberg.
Also recorded as Carl Bernhard Wessely
Karl Bernhard Wessely
- Born
- 1768 · Berlin.
- Died
- 1826 · Potsdam.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- composer · conductor
- Languages
- German
In this article
Life
He composed, among other pieces, a cantata mourning of the death of Moses Mendelssohn, (Sulamith und Eusebia, 1786).
Born in Berlin, Wessely was a student of J. A. Schulz. He became music director at the Royal National Theater in Berlin in 1788, and became court music director in Rheinsberg in 1796. After the prince's death in 1802 he largely gave up his musical career and became a low-ranking civil servant in Berlin and later in Potsdam, where he founded a club for classical music, which he headed until his death. He was a member of the Berlin Freemason's Lodge "Friedrich Wilhelm zur gekrönten Gerechtigkeit". Wessely composed several operas, ballet and incidental music for the theatre, Lieder, funeral cantatas and string quartets. He was also active as a musicological writer and supplied journal articles, especially for the Archiv der Zeit and the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. Wessely died in Potsdam at the age of 57.
Named by the record
Places
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Berlin.
Birth place
Potsdam.
Death place
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Karl Bernhard Wessely, revision 1303793347 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Karl Bernhard Wessely”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q216213: Karl Bernhard Wessely
Unverified · Wikidata
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Charlton, David. Wessely, (Carl) Bernhard. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2001. 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30149.
- 2.operone.de Wessely, Carl Bernhard on operone
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Salomon Wininger: Große Jüdische National-Biographie. Vol. VI, page 271.
Citations
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reference work
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Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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