Friedrich Schiller
Don Carlos, Ode to Joy — German idealist
Goethe's great friend and rival, the dramatist of freedom. His plays — Don Carlos, Wallenstein, William Tell, Mary Stuart — are the backbone of the German theatrical repertoire. The Ode to Joy became Beethoven's choral finale and, eventually, Europe's anthem.
Key works
- Wallenstein trilogy1799— The Thirty Years' War as tragic epic
- Ode to Joy1785— Set by Beethoven — now Europe's anthem
- William Tell1804— Freedom against tyranny — his last play