Hugo Wolf Makaela Smith

Family Life Hugo Wolf was born on March 23, 1860 in Windischgraz, Austria. He was taught to read and play music at a young age by his father and teachers. Hugo Wolf’s relationship was not the best with his family, mainly due to his moods. Hugo never married or had any children.

Mental Health Throughout his life, Hugo Wolf suffered from depression and mood swings that often strained his relationships. In the fall of 1897, his mind gave away because of syphilis and he was sent to an asylum. In 1898, he was believed to be cured and was released only to try and drown himself that October He spent the rest of his life in the asylum until he died on February 22, 1903.

Valentine Franck Hugo Wolf’s first love was Vally “Valentine” Franck. The couple was involved for three years, and she influenced many of his works. She left Hugo shortly before his twenty- first birthday due to his wide-ranged mood swings and depression.

The Ko ̈̈ cherts Later in his life, Hugo Wolf became involved in a love triangle. He fell in love with Melanie Ko ̈ chert whom was married to his friend Heinrich. The affair was said to begin in 1884 and end in 1893 when Heinrich found out about it. Heinrich and Melanie remained married and Heinrich still supported Hugo’s music.

The Köcherts (continued) Melanie stayed friends with Hugo and visited him in the insane asylum that he stayed at until his death. In 1906, Melanie killed herself because she felt guilty about the entire affair.

Richard Wagner Richard Wagner was Wolf’s greatest influence. Hugo Wolf was close to Wagner, and always tried to impress his self proclaimed mentor. Wagner always pushed Wolf to do harder and even convinced him to produce larger-scale works.

Other Influences and Similarities Hugo Wolf was also influenced by Robert Fuchs. Wolf’s style was similar to that of Gustav Mahler and Robert Schumann.

Compositions Wolf had many compositions ranging from a large opera to short songs. Some of his works include ◦ Multitudes of songs ◦ Der Corregidor -the only opera he ever completed ◦ Multiple songbooks ◦ String Quartets ◦ Lieder - perhaps one of his most famous works

Italian Serenade On May 2, 1887, Hugo wolf wrote his Italian Serenade. At first, it started out as a simple string quartet, but eventually it evolved into a larger piece. He wrote it because he wanted to show “singing” in the alto instruments as the song went on. online.net/en/production/ online.net/en/production/5286

Sources online.net/en/production/ online.net/en/production/ _Wolf.aspx#2 _Wolf.aspx#2 y.php y.php