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 twentyfirst birthday due to his wide-ranged
mood swings and depression.

The Kö̈cherts
Later in his life, Hugo Wolf became
involved in a love triangle.
 He fell in love with Melanie Köchert
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.
 http://classical-musiconline.net/en/production/5286

Sources
http://classical-musiconline.net/en/production/5286
 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hugo
_Wolf.aspx#2
 http://www.classiccat.net/wolf_h/biograph
y.php
