Born in Windischgraz, Styria [now Slovenjgradec, Slovenia], March 13, 1860
Died in Vienna, Feb 22, 1903
- Wolf is best known as a Lied composer in the tradition of Schubert and Schumann, with a post-Wagnerian sense of harmony, and a strong sensitivity to poetry.
- Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs. He was friends with fellow student Gustav Mahler. Frustrated with the conservatory’s musical conservatism, he was a difficult student and was expelled (though he later claimed he’d resigned).
- Wolf spent much of his career in Vienna scraping together a living as a music critic, accompanist, and music teacher. His personal and professional life were greatly affected by his early contraction of syphilis, which led to violent mood swings and eventually severe mental illness.1
Sources
- Eric Sams and Susan Youens, “Wolf, Hugo.” Grove Music Online (2001). accessed August 13, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline./grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052073.