Henny Wolff (3 February 1896 – 29 January 1965) was a German soprano concert singer and voice teacher. She made an international career, known for performing music by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

and Handel, but also performing contemporary classical music. Composers wrote music for her and performed with her, such as

Hermann Reutter Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...

. She was a voice teacher at the Bonn Conservatory, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, and from 1950 to 1964 at the

Musikhochschule Hamburg A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. She was awarded the city's

Johannes Brahms Medal The Johannes Brahms Medal (german: Johannes-Brahms-Medaille, links=no) of Hamburg is a music award established in 1928, named after the composer Johannes Brahms who was born in Hamburg. The medal is given irregularly by the to artists who contri ...

Life

Wolff was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, the daughter of Karl Wolff, chief editor and music critic of the journal ''Kölner Tageblatt'', and Henriette Dwillat, a concert singer and voice teacher. She studied with her mother, then at the conservatory of her hometown from 1906 to 1912, and in Berlin with Julius von Raatz-Brockmann. She made her debut in a concert at the in Cologne in 1912. She then performed both in Germany and internationally, especially with works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and George Frideric Handel. She was open to contemporary music. She often sang lieder by

, with the composer as the accompanist. Ernst-Lothar von Knorr dedicated four songs to her in 1943, on lyrics by

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, Rainer Maria Rilke and

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literary ...

Wolff was a voice teacher at the Bonn Conservatory from 1914 to 1916. She moved to Berlin in 1922, where she also worked as a voice pedagogue. After World War II, she moved to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. She served as a voice instructor at the first Ferienkurse für internationale neue Musik in Darmstadt in 1946, and presented lieder by Gustav Mahler,

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

and Reutter. Wolff was a voice teacher at the

from 1950, when it was founded, to 1964, as a professor from 1952. She was awarded the

from the city of Hamburg in 1958, on the occasion of the composer's 125th anniversary. Among her students were Judith Beckmann,

Ingeborg Reichelt Ingeborg Reichelt (11 May 1928 – 28 June 2022) was a German soprano singer known for her interpretation of works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Reichelt was born in Frankfurt an der Oder studied in Dresden and at the Musikakademie in Ha ...

and Elisabeth Schärtel. She died in Hamburg on 29 January 1965. She was buried on the Haupftfriedhof Ohlsdorf. When the gravesite expired, her remains were transferred to the , a memorial site for women.

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External links

*
Henny Wolff
on Operissimo

on Bach Cantatas Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Henny 1896 births 1965 deaths Musicians from Cologne German sopranos Voice teachers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg 20th-century German women singers

Life

Further reading

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External links