Hugo Wolf
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Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late
Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but diverging greatly in technique. Though he had several bursts of extraordinary productivity, particularly in 1888 and 1889, depression frequently interrupted his creative periods, and his last composition was written in 1898, before he suffered a mental collapse caused by
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
.


Early life (1860–1887)

Hugo Wolf was born in Windischgrätz in the Duchy of Styria (now Slovenj Gradec,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
), then a part of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
.
Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
was related to him on his maternal side. He spent most of his life in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, becoming a representative of a "New German" trend in Lieder, a trend which followed from the expressive, chromatic and dramatic musical innovations of
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
. A child prodigy, Wolf was taught
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
and
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
by his father beginning at the age of four, and once in primary school studied piano and
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
with Sebastian Weixler. Subjects other than music failed to hold his interest; he was dismissed from the first secondary school he attended as being "wholly inadequate", left another over his difficulties in the compulsory Latin studies, and after a falling-out with a professor who commented on his "damned music", quit the last. From there, he went to the Vienna Conservatory, much to the disappointment of his father, who had hoped his son would not try to make his living from music. Once again, however, he was dismissed for "breach of discipline", although the oft-rebellious Wolf would claim he quit in frustration over the school's conservatism. After eight months with his family, he returned to Vienna to teach music. Though his fiery temperament was not ideally suited to teaching, Wolf's musical gifts, as well as his personal charm, earned him attention and patronage. Support of benefactors allowed him to make a living as a composer, and a daughter of one of his greatest benefactors inspired him to write to Vally ("Valentine") Franck, his first love, with whom he was involved for three years. During their relationship, hints of his mature style would become evident in his Lieder. Wolf was prone to depression and wide mood swings, which would affect him all through his life. When Franck left him just before his 21st birthday, he was despondent. He returned home, although his family relationships were also strained; his father was still convinced his son was a ne'er-do-well. His brief and undistinguished tenure as second Kapellmeister at
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
only reinforced this opinion: Wolf had neither the temperament, the conducting technique nor the affinity for the decidedly non-Wagnerian repertoire to be successful, and within a year had again returned to Vienna to teach in much the same circumstances as before. Wagner's death in February 1883 was another deeply moving event in the life of the young composer. The song "Zur Ruh, zur Ruh" was composed shortly afterward and is considered to be the best of his early works; it is speculated that it was intended as an elegy for Wagner. Wolf often despaired of his own future in the ensuing years, in a world from which his idol had departed, leaving tremendous footsteps to follow and no guidance on how to do so. This left him often extremely temperamental, alienating friends and patrons, although his charm helped him retain them more than his actions merited. His songs had meanwhile caught the attention of
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
, whom he respected greatly, and who like Wolf's previous mentors advised him to pursue larger forms; advice he this time followed with the symphonic tone poem ''Penthesilea''. His activities as a critic began to pick up. He was merciless in his criticism of the inferior works he saw taking over the musical atmosphere of the time; those of
Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...
he considered particularly odious. But he was as fervent in his support of Liszt,
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and Chopin, whose genius he recognized. Known as "Wild Wolf" for the intensity and expressive strength of his convictions, his vitriol made him some enemies. He composed little during this time, and what he did write he couldn't get performed; the
Rosé Quartet The Rosé Quartet was a string quartet formed by Arnold Rosé in 1882. It was active for 55 years, until 1938. Members Its members changed over time. Rosé was first violin throughout. Julius Egghard Jr. played the second violin at first; t ...
(led by Vienna Philharmonic concertmaster Arnold Rosé) would not even look at his D minor Quartet after it was picked apart in a column, and the premiere of ''Penthesilea'' was met by the Vienna Philharmonic, when they tried it out under their celebrated conservative conductor Hans Richter, with nothing but derision for 'the man who had dared to criticize "Meister Brahms"', as Richter himself caustically put it. He abandoned his activities as a critic in 1887 and began composing once more; perhaps not unexpectedly, the first songs he wrote after his compositional hiatus (to poems by
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
,
Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...
and
Joseph Viktor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...
) emphasized themes of strength and resolution under adversity. Shortly thereafter, he completed the terse, witty one-movement '' Italian Serenade'' for string quartet which is regarded as one of the finest examples of his mature instrumental compositional style. Only a week later his father died, leaving him devastated, and he did not compose for the remainder of the year.


Maturity (1888–1896)

1888 and 1889 proved to be amazingly productive years for Wolf, and a turning point in his career. After the publication of a dozen of his songs late the preceding year, Wolf once again desired to return to composing; he travelled to the vacation home of the Werners, family friends whom Wolf had known since childhood, in
Perchtoldsdorf Perchtoldsdorf (; colloquially ''Petersdorf'') is a market town in the Mödling District, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is known chiefly for its winemaking. Geography It is located immediately at the Vienna city limits, south of the ...
(a short train ride from Vienna), to escape and compose in solitude. Here he composed the '' Mörike-Lieder'' at a frenzied pace. A short break, and a change of house, this time to the vacation home of more longtime friends, the Ecksteins, and the ''
Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: '' ...
-Lieder'' followed, then the 51 ''
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
-Lieder'', spilling into 1889. After a summer holiday, the ''
Spanisches Liederbuch ''Spanisches Liederbuch'' (English: Spanish songbook) is a collection of translations of Spanish poems and folk songs into German by Emanuel Geibel (181584) and Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a d ...
'' was begun in October 1889; though Spanish-flavoured compositions were in fashion in the day, Wolf sought out poems that had been neglected by other composers. Wolf himself saw the merit of these compositions immediately, raving to friends that they were the best things he had yet composed (it was with the aid and urging of several of the more influential of them that the works were initially published). It was now that the world outside Vienna would recognize Wolf as well. Tenor
Ferdinand Jäger Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, whom Wolf had heard in ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...
'' during his brief summer break from composing, was present at one of the first concerts of the Mörike works and quickly became a champion of his music, performing a recital of only Wolf and
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
in December 1888. His works were praised in reviews, including one in the ''
Münchener Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Allgemeine Zeitung'' was the leading political daily journal in Germany in the first part of the 19th century. It has been widely recognised as the first world-class German journal and a symbol of the German press abroad. The ''Allgemeine ...
'', a widely read German newspaper. (The recognition was not always positive;
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
's adherents, still smarting from Wolf's merciless reviews, returned the favor—when they would have anything to do with him at all. Brahms's biographer Max Kalbeck ridiculed Wolf for his immature writing and odd tonalities; another composer refused to share a program with him, while Amalie Materna, a
Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
singer, had to cancel her Wolf recital when allegedly faced with the threat of being on the critics' blacklist if she went on.) Only a few more settings, completing the first half of the ''
Italienisches Liederbuch (English: Italian songbook) is a collection of translations of anonymous Italian poems and folk songs into German by Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. ...
'', were composed in 1891 before Wolf's mental and physical health once again took a downturn at the end of the year; exhaustion from his prolific past few years combined with the effects of syphilis and his depressive temperament caused him to stop composing for the next several years. Continuing concerts of his works in Austria and Germany spread his growing fame; even Brahms and the critics who had previously reviled Wolf gave favorable reviews. However, Wolf was consumed with depression, which stopped him from writing—which only left him more depressed. He completed orchestrations of previous works, but new compositions were not forthcoming, and certainly not the opera which he was now fixated on composing, still convinced that success in the larger forms was the mark of compositional greatness. Wolf had scornfully rejected the libretto to ''
Der Corregidor ''Der Corregidor'' is a comic opera by Hugo Wolf. The German libretto was written by Rosa Mayreder-Obermayer, based on the short novel '' El sombrero de tres picos'' by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. History Wolf composed the opera in 1895 and revis ...
'' when it was first presented to him in 1890, but his determination to compose an opera blinded him to its faults upon second glance. Based on ''
The Three-Cornered Hat ''El sombrero de tres picos'' (''The Three-Cornered Hat'' or ''Le tricorne'') is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine to music by Manuel de Falla. It was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and premiered in 1919. It is not only a ballet with S ...
'', by
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza (10 March 183319 July 1891) was a nineteenth-century Spanish novelist, known best for his novel '' El sombrero de tres picos'' (1874), an adaptation of popular traditions which provides a description of village ...
, the darkly humorous story about an adulterous love triangle is one that Wolf could identify with: he had been in love with Melanie Köchert, married to his friend Heinrich Köchert, for several years. (It is speculated that their romance began in earnest in 1884, when Wolf accompanied the Köcherts on holiday; though Heinrich discovered the affair in 1893 he remained Wolf's patron and Melanie's husband.) The opera was completed in nine months and was initially met with success, but Wolf's musical setting could not compensate for the weakness of the text, and it was doomed to failure; it has not yet been successfully revived. A renewal of creative activity resulted in Wolf's completion of the ''Italienisches Liederbuch'' with two dozen songs written in March and April 1896, the composition of three ''Michelangelo Lieder'' in March, 1897 (a group of six had been projected) and preliminary work during that year on an opera, ''Manuel Venegas''.


Final years (1897–1903)

Wolf's last concert appearance, which included his early champion Jäger, was in February 1897. Shortly thereafter Wolf slipped into syphilitic insanity, with only occasional spells of wellbeing. He left sixty pages of an unfinished opera, ''Manuel Venegas'', in 1897, in a desperate attempt to finish before he lost his mind completely; after mid-1899 he could make no music at all and once even tried to drown himself, after which he was placed in a Vienna asylum at his own insistence. Melanie visited him faithfully during his decline until his death on 22 February 1903, but her unfaithfulness to her husband tortured her and she killed herself in 1906. Wolf is buried in the
Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, along with many other notable composers.


Music

Wolf's greatest musical influence was
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
, who, in an encounter after Wolf first came to the Vienna Conservatory, encouraged the young composer to persist in composing and to attempt larger-scale works, cementing Wolf's desire to emulate his musical idol. His antipathy to
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
was fueled equally by his devotion to Wagner's musical radicalism and his loathing of Brahms' musical "conservatism". He is best known by his lieder, his temperament and inclination leading him to more intimate, subjective and terse musical utterances. Although he initially believed that mastering the larger forms was the hallmark of a great composer (a belief his early mentors reinforced), the smaller scale of the art song proved to provide an ideal creative outlet for his musical expression and came to be regarded as the genre best suited to his peculiar genius. Wolf's lieder are noted for compressing expansive musical ideas and depth of feeling, fed by his skill at finding the just right musical setting for the poetry that inspired him. Though Wolf himself was obsessed with the idea that to compose only short forms was to be second-rate, his organization of lyrics of particular poets (Goethe; Mörike; Eichendorff; Heyse and Geibel in the Spanish and Italian Songbooks) into semicyclical anthologies, finding connections between texts not explicitly intended by the poets he set and his conceptions of individual songs as dramatic works in miniature, mark him as a talented dramatist despite having written only one not particularly successful opera, ''Der Corregidor''. Early in his career Wolf modelled his lieder after those of
Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and Robert Schumann, particularly in the period around his relationship with Vally Franck; in fact, they were good enough imitations to pass off as the real thing, which he once attempted, though his cover was blown too soon. It is speculated that his choice of lieder texts in the earlier years, largely dealing with sin and anguish, were partly influenced by his contracting
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
. His love for Vally, not fully requited, inspired highly chromatic and philosophical lieder that could be regarded as successors to Wagner's
Wesendonck Lieder , WWV 91, is the common name of a set of five songs for female voice and piano by Richard Wagner, (''Five Poems for a Female Voice''). He set five poems by Mathilde Wesendonck while he was working on his opera ''Tristan und Isolde''. The songs, ...
cycle. Others were as distant from those in mood as possible; lighthearted and humorous. The rarely heard symphonic poem ''Penthesilea'', based on the
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
by
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
, is tempestuous and highly colored as well. Although Wolf admired Liszt, who had encouraged him to complete the work, he felt Liszt's own music too dry and academic and strove for color and passion. The year 1888 marked a turning point in his style as well as his career, with the Mörike, Eichendorff and Goethe sets drawing him away from Schubert's simpler, more diatonic lyricism and into "Wölferl's own howl". Mörike in particular drew out and complemented Wolf's musical gifts, the variety of subjects suiting Wolf's tailoring of music to text, his dark sense of humor matching Wolf's own, his insight and imagery demanding a wider variety of compositional techniques and command of text painting to portray. In his later works he relied less on the text to give him his musical framework and more on his pure musical ideas themselves; the later Spanish and Italian songs reflect this move toward "
absolute music Absolute music (sometimes abstract music) is music that is not explicitly 'about' anything; in contrast to program music, it is non- representational.M. C. Horowitz (ed.), ''New Dictionary of the History of Ideas'', , vol.1, p. 5 The idea of abs ...
". Wolf wrote hundreds of lieder, three
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s, incidental music, choral music, as well as some rarely heard orchestral,
chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
and piano music. His most famous instrumental piece is the '' Italian Serenade'' (1887), originally for string quartet and later transcribed for orchestra, which marked the beginning of his mature style. Wolf was famous for his use of
tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is ca ...
to reinforce meaning. Concentrating on two tonal areas to musically depict ambiguity and conflict in the text became a hallmark of his style, resolving only when appropriate to the meaning of the song. His chosen texts were often full of anguish and inability to find resolution, and thus so too was the tonality wandering, unable to return to the home key. Use of
deceptive cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...
s, chromaticism, dissonance, and
chromatic mediant In music, chromatic mediants are "altered mediant and submediant chords." A chromatic mediant relationship defined conservatively is a relationship between two sections and/or chords whose roots are related by a major third or minor third, and ...
s obscure the harmonic destination for as long as the psychological tension is sustained. His formal structure as well reflected the texts being set, and he wrote almost none of the straightforward
strophic Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
songs favoured by his contemporaries, instead building the form around the nature of the work.


Notable works


Opera

* ''
Der Corregidor ''Der Corregidor'' is a comic opera by Hugo Wolf. The German libretto was written by Rosa Mayreder-Obermayer, based on the short novel '' El sombrero de tres picos'' by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. History Wolf composed the opera in 1895 and revis ...
'' (1895) * '' Manuel Venegas'' (unfinished, 1897)


Lieder

*''Liederstrauß'' (1878), to seven texts by Heine *''Mörike-Lieder'' (1888), 53 songs to poems by
Eduard Mörike Eduard Friedrich Mörike (8 September 18044 June 1875) was a German Lutheran pastor who was also a Romantic poet and writer of novellas and novels. Many of his poems were set to music and became established folk songs, while others were used by ...
*''Eichendorff-Lieder'' (1889), to texts by
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...
*''Goethe-Lieder'' (wr. from 1875, publ. 1889), 51 songs to texts by
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
*''
Dem Vaterland "Dem Vaterland" is a patriotic anthem written by Robert Reinick and set to music by Hugo Wolf. History Wolf, who unsuccessfully attempted to dedicate ''Dem Vaterland'' to Emperor William II, originally wrote it as a song for tenor and piano in 1 ...
'' (1890), to a text by
Robert Reinick Robert Reinick (22 February 1805 – 7 February 1852) was a German painter and poet, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. One of his poems, ''Dem Vaterland'', was set to music by Hugo Wolf and another, ''The Flight into Egyp ...
*''
Spanisches Liederbuch ''Spanisches Liederbuch'' (English: Spanish songbook) is a collection of translations of Spanish poems and folk songs into German by Emanuel Geibel (181584) and Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a d ...
'', to texts by
Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and ''Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote n ...
and
Emanuel Geibel Emanuel von Geibel (17 October 18156 April 1884) was a German poet and playwright. Life Geibel was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests ...
(1891) *''
Italienisches Liederbuch (English: Italian songbook) is a collection of translations of anonymous Italian poems and folk songs into German by Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. ...
'', to texts by Paul Heyse (1892, 1896) *''Michelangelo Lieder'' (1897), to texts by
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...


Instrumental

*String Quartet in D minor (1878–84) *''Penthesilea'' (symphonic poem, 1883–85) *'' Italian Serenade'' (1887, string quartet; orchestrated in 1892)


Recording projects

Individual songs have been included in the recorded repertoire of many singers. Significant early Wolf recording artists included
Elisabeth Schumann Elisabeth Schumann (13 June 1888 – 23 April 1952) was a German soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings. Career Born in Merseburg, Schumann trained for a singing career in B ...
,
Heinrich Rehkemper Heinrich Rehkemper (born 1894, died 1949) was a German baritone singer whose repertoire was in opera and Lieder, and whose career was principally in Germany between the First and Second World War. The greater part of his career was spent as leadi ...
,
Heinrich Schlusnus Heinrich Schlusnus (6 August 1888 – 18 June 1952) was Germany's foremost lyric baritone of the period between World War I and World War II. He sang opera and lieder with equal distinction. Career A native of Braubach, Schlusnus studied with ...
, Josef von Manowarda,
Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...
,
Karl Erb Karl Erb (13 July 1877 – 13 July 1958) was a German tenor who made his career first in opera and then in oratorio and lieder recital. He excelled in all these genres, and before 1920 gave classic performances of key roles in modern works, and c ...
and others. Early post-War collections were recorded by Suzanne Danco, Anton Dermota and
Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He wa ...
(all before 1953),
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...
(1954),
Hans Hotter Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood 6 ft 4 in and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable. Early life and career Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, ...
(1954),
Erna Berger Erna Berger (19 October 1900 – 14 June 1990) was a German lyric coloratura soprano. She was best known for her Queen of the Night and her Konstanze. Career Born in Dresden, Germany, Berger spent some years as a child in India and South Amer ...
(1956), Heinrich Rehfuss (1955) and Elisabeth Schumann (1958), and important individual songs by
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...
,
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni Nicola Rossi-LemeniHis father's last name was Rossi, but his mother wanted her family name added, "Rossi Lemeni" (without a hyphen). However, many publications and recordings hyphenate the name. (November 6, 1920 – March 12, 1991), was a ...
, and
Elisabeth Höngen Elisabeth Höngen (7 December 1906 – 7 August 1997) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and singing-actress. She was particularly associated with Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss roles, and with Verdi's Lady Macbeth. From 1947 onward she was o ...
.
Gerald Moore Gerald Moore CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Di ...
was a distinguished accompanist in Wolf song recordings. Fischer-Dieskau recorded a large collection of Mörike songs with Moore in March 1959. Some major projects have attempted more comprehensive coverage.


Hugo Wolf Society edition

In September 1931 the Hugo Wolf Society was formed under the aegis of English
His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
records supervised by Walter Legge for the recording of a substantial proportion of the song repertoire. These were to be issued to subscribers in limited editions.Hugo Wolf Society Publications (HMV, Hayes 1931-1936). The artists participating were restricted to those under contract to this company. Each volume consisted of six HMV red-label discs (unobtainable separately) and retailed new at $15.00 Am. The Wolf Society recordings were re-released in 1981.
* Volume I, entirely performed by
Elena Gerhardt Elena Gerhardt (11 November 1883 – 11 January 1961) was a German mezzo-soprano singer associated with the singing of German classical lieder, of which she was considered one of the great interpreters. She left Germany for good to live in London ...
accompanied by
Coenraad V. Bos Coenraad Valentijn Bos (7 December 1875 - 5 August 1955) was a Dutch pianist, most notably as an accompanist to singers of lieder. His peers such as Gerald Moore considered him the doyen of accompanists in his day. Life He was born in Leiden ...
, presented a selection mainly from the Spanish and Italian songbooks and the Mörike songs. For many years this scarce set was regarded as a collector's prize, and forms a distinct corpus within her recorded art. Later volumes always included more than one singer. * Volume II: 16 of the 51 Goethe songs, all (apart from McCormack's ''Ganymed'') accompanied by Coenraad V. Bos, but with Friedrich Schorr's ''Prometheus'' with the orchestral accompaniment. * Volume III: A selection of 17 items, including three Michelangelo songs, three Mörike songs, four from the ''Spanisches Liederbuch'' and six from the ''Italienisches Liederbuch''. All accompanied by Coenraad V. Bos. * Volume IV: 30 items from ''Italienisches Liederbuch''. Accompaniments by Coenraad V. Bos,
Michael Raucheisen Michael Raucheisen (10 February 1889, Rain, Swabia - 27 May 1984, Beatenberg) was a German pianist and song accompanist. Life and career Music was inherited, for the young Michael. His father, by vocation a master-glazier, was organist, church choi ...
and Hanns Udo Müller. * Volume V: A selection of 20 songs (mainly Mörike and ''Spanisches Liederbuch''). * Volume VI: Settings of Mörike, Robert Reinick, Goethe, Heyse and Geibel, Just and Kerner. Artists included
Alexander Kipnis Alexander Kipnis ( – May 14, 1978) was a Ukrainian-born operatic bass. Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American. He appeared often at the Ch ...
(III, IV, V);
Herbert Janssen Herbert Janssen (22 September 1892 in Cologne – 3 June 1965 in New York) was a leading German operatic baritone of the 20th century who had a career in Europe and the United States. Biography The son of a wealthy coal merchant of Swedis ...
(II, V, VI);
Gerhard Hüsch Gerhard Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz Hüsch (2 February 190123 November 1984) was one of the most important German singers of modern times. A lyric baritone, he specialized in '' Lieder'' but also sang, to a lesser extent, German and Italian opera ...
(II, III, IV, V); John McCormack (accompanied by
Edwin Schneider Edwin Schneider (May 20, 1874 - April 12, 1958) was an American pianist, teacher, and music editor. He is best known as the partner and accompanist of Irish tenor John McCormack. Before meeting McCormack, he was an editor and translator for the J ...
) (II); Alexandre Trianti (II, III); Ria Ginster (IV, V); Friedrich Schorr (II);
Elisabeth Rethberg Elisabeth Rethberg ( Lisbeth Sättler; 22 September 1894 – 6 June 1976) was a German operatic soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. Early years Rethberg was born Lisbeth Sättler ...
(IV, V);
Tiana Lemnitz Tiana Lemnitz (26 October 1897 – 5 February 1994) was a German operatic soprano. Her major operatic career took place between the two world wars (1919-1939). Life and career The youngest of 10 children, she was born in Metz to a musical ...
(VI); Helge Roswaenge (VI);
Marta Fuchs Marta Fuchs (January 1, 1898 - September 22, 1974) was a German concert and operatic soprano. Marta Fuchs grew up in an artistic family, her father being a painter, member of the board of the guild and a city councillor. In later years he put ...
(VI) and
Karl Erb Karl Erb (13 July 1877 – 13 July 1958) was a German tenor who made his career first in opera and then in oratorio and lieder recital. He excelled in all these genres, and before 1920 gave classic performances of key roles in modern works, and c ...
(VI). Each volume was accompanied by a booklet containing a short essay by
Ernest Newman Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...
(I: ''Words and Music in Hugo Wolf'', II: ''Wolf's Goethe Songs'', III: ''A Note of Wolf as Craftsman'', IV: ''The Italienisches Liederbuch'') together with German texts, English translations (by Winifred Radford) and notes on each song (by Newman).


DGG Hugo Wolf Lieder Edition

A Hugo Wolf Lieder Edition was recorded by
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...
and Daniel Barenboim during the 1970s for DGG, each volume containing three records. Volume I (1974): Mörike Lieder (Paris Grand Prix du Disque). Volume II (1976): Lieder on poems by
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
, Heine and Lenau. Volume III (1977): Lieder on poems by Eichendorff, Michelangelo,
Robert Reinick Robert Reinick (22 February 1805 – 7 February 1852) was a German painter and poet, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. One of his poems, ''Dem Vaterland'', was set to music by Hugo Wolf and another, ''The Flight into Egyp ...
,
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
,
Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, an ...
,
Joseph Viktor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...
, etc. The accompanying volumes include essays by Hans Jancik, texts of the poems, and translations by
Lionel Salter Lionel Salter (8 September 1914 – 1 March 2000) was an English pianist, conductor, writer and administrator who had a long association with the British Broadcasting Corporation.Sadie, Stanley, rev. Jon Stroop. 'Salter, Lionel (Paul)' in ''Gr ...
(English) and Jacques Fournier and others (French).Hugo Wolf Lieder Publications (Deutsche Grammophon, 1974-1977).


Oxford Lieder Festival edition

The first project to record every song by Wolf was commenced in 2010, the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, by
Stone Records Stone Records is a British, independent, classical record label. History Stone Records was founded in 2008 by opera singer Mark Stone to produce his own recordings. He began by making CDs of English song, but the label soon attracted other ar ...
and the
Oxford Lieder Festival The Oxford Lieder Festival is a UK-based classical music festival, specialising in the art-song repertoire. History The Festival was founded in 2002 by the pianist Sholto Kynoch, and in a short space of time grew to be the United Kingdom's lar ...
. This series of live recordings, featuring a wide variety of singers and
Oxford Lieder Festival The Oxford Lieder Festival is a UK-based classical music festival, specialising in the art-song repertoire. History The Festival was founded in 2002 by the pianist Sholto Kynoch, and in a short space of time grew to be the United Kingdom's lar ...
's artistic director
Sholto Kynoch Sholto Kynoch is an English pianist. Biography Born in London, Kynoch attended Ampleforth College before reading music at Worcester College, Oxford, where he was organ scholar. He studied piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music and t ...
at the piano, is expected to run to 11 or 12 discs: to date, 9 discs have been issued.


Austrian Radio Anniversary edition

In 2010 Austrian Radio and the Departure Centre for Creative Design in Vienna marked Hugo Wolf's anniversary with a recital series in which 188 of the songs were performed against visuals created by leading designers. The series was intended to bring Lieder to a new audience and was held at the initiative of baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, who was joined by a team of Austrian singers and pianists. The concerts were released on DVDs the following year, and in 2012
Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his first ...
released the Spanish and Italian songbooks on CDs.


Notes


References

* Bukowski, Charles, ''Hugo Wolf went mad while eating an onion...'' in ''The Pleasures of the Damned: Poems 1951 – 1983'', ed. John Martin, New York, 2007 * Andreas Dorschel, ''Hugo Wolf. In Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten'', 2nd ed. (Rowohlt, Reinbek, 1992) (rowohlts bildmonographien 344). In German. * Newman, Ernest, ''Hugo Wolf'' (Methuen, London, 1907). * Sams, Eric and Susan Youens, 'Hugo Wolf', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy
(subscription access)
* Thompson, Douglas S. "Musical Structure and Evocation of Time in Hugo Wolf's 'Ein Stundlein wohl vor Tag'." T''he National Association of Teachers of Singing Journal'' 65, No. 01, September/October (2008) * Walker, Frank, ''Hugo Wolf: A Biography'' (J M Dent & Sons, London 1951). Includes extensive Bibliography (mainly biographical), pp. 448–461, and list of compositions, pp. 462–492.


External links

*

* *
Free digital scores by Hugo Wolf
in th
OpenScore Lieder Corpus
* Slovenj_Gradec Hugo Wolf's Birthplace
Hugo Wolf Quartett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Hugo 1860 births 1903 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male musicians Austrian classical composers Austrian male classical composers Austrian opera composers Austrian people of Slovenian descent Austrian Romantic composers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Deaths from syphilis Male opera composers People from Slovenj Gradec People from the Duchy of Styria String quartet composers