# Do you like Hugo Wolf?



## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

I almost never got this guy and all the hype about the "sui generis" of his lieder. As an admirer of the Schubert-Schumann-Brahms lieder tradition, when I first listened to Wolf, I was extremely put off by his uncanny, meandering melodies and dense textures.

Not until I bought this recital that my mind was opened to his genius (admittedly it was partly because I was a huge fan of Schwarzkopf and Furtwangler).






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There are certain intriguing, subtle and fleeting "moods" that only he can evoked. His late musics are almost quasi-impressionistic.

What do you think about him? What are your favorite lieder recitals? So far, only Elisabeth Schwarzkopf creates the magic for me.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Depends on my mood , once / twice a month well be enough for me.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

it depends. I like some of his songs, but I wouldn't dedicate my day to listening to only music of Hugo Wolf


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

One of those composers that should be right up my alley in theory, but who I can easily do without altogether in practice.


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

What do I think about Wolf? There are loads of informed opinions out there - such as those of Eric Sams ("The Songs of Hugo Wolf"). This just me and I think:

That the poems Wolf set were generally of a consistently higher standard than those chosen by other song composers I can think of.

That he had a profound understanding of and respect for his texts - never sacrificing them in any way (such as by placing a stress on an insignificant syllable) for the sake his music.

That he had wide interests and an astonishing range - there are songs full of spirituality, hilarity, nature, myth, mystery, drama, despair.... and eroticism.

That Wolf sometimes sets poems phrase by phrase - squandering enough melodic and rhythmic invention on one long poem to have lasted many a songwriter through half a song cycle. Sometimes, on a long commute, I've been able to pass the time just thinking about one particular song.

For these reasons, I think some sort of a grasp on the German language is necessary. More essential is a love of poetry.

Here are just four songs to show something of Wolf's range and some of his best interpreters (the words of Und willst du deinem Liebsten sterben sehen are missing but can easily be found. I liked this version.





















Sorry for such a long post (I could have gone on forever).


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

jenspen said:


> What do I think about Wolf? There are loads of informed opinions out there - such as those of Eric Sams ("The Songs of Hugo Wolf"). This just me and I think:
> 
> That the poems Wolf set were generally of a consistently higher standard than those chosen by other song composers I can think of.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the sharing. And please, go on forever! I appreciate your insights about Wolf. The samples are also well selected. He is a multifaceted artist.

Btw, _Der Feuerreiter_ is hair raising!


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2017)

Very fine songs,I like them, very much.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

This is the recital I am talking about:






_Im Fruhling_ never fails to get me. This is not an innocuous, revitalizing spring often portrayed by other composers, but it is filled with many complex shades of emotion. It was best summed up in these lines:

_"Ich sehne mich, und weiß nicht recht, nach was:
Halb ist es Lust, halb ist es Klage;
Mein Herz, o sage,
Was webst du für Erinnerung
In golden grünen Zweige Dämmerung?
-- Alte unnennbare Tage!

I ponder this and ponder that,
I am yearning, but I do not really know for what:
It is half rapture, half lamenting;
My heart, oh tell,
What sort of memories are you weaving
In the golden-green gloaming of the branches?
-- Ancient, inexpressible days!"_

(translation from http://www.lieder.net/)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I have a box set which I haven't listened to yet. Will have to get to it soon.


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

silentio said:


> This is the recital I am talking about:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ancient, inexpressible days indeed!

A marvellous recital. It includes "Anakreons Grab" (to words by Goethe) which I'd recommend to a newcomer as one of the most beautiful and approachable of Wolf's songs.

Have you heard Schwarzkopf sing Goethe's "Kennst du das Land" in the Wolf setting? I've only had a bit of a listen to Schubert and Schumann but Wolf seems to capture all that is richest and rarest (and most intense) about that great poem.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

silentio said:


> I almost never got this guy and all the hype about the "sui generis" of his lieder. As an admirer of the Schubert-Schumann-Brahms lieder tradition, when I first listened to Wolf, I was extremely put off by his uncanny, meandering melodies and dense textures.
> 
> Not until I bought this recital that my mind was opened to his genius (admittedly it was partly because I was a huge fan of Schwarzkopf and Furtwangler).
> 
> ...


Very serendipitous post as I am working my way through this at the moment. Fantastic songs and some brilliant interpretations.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Just dug out my 8 CD H.W. Anniversary Edition. An embarrassment of riches in this set.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

jenspen said:


> Ancient, inexpressible days indeed!
> 
> A marvellous recital. It includes "Anakreons Grab" (to words by Goethe) which I'd recommend to a newcomer as one of the most beautiful and approachable of Wolf's songs.
> 
> Have you heard Schwarzkopf sing Goethe's "Kennst du das Land" in the Wolf setting? I've only had a bit of a listen to Schubert and Schumann but Wolf seems to capture all that is richest and rarest (and most intense) about that great poem.


Yes, one of my most favorite. Those _"Dahin!"_ are haunting.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

^Barbebleu and starthrower, since you have the big set, who are your favorite male interpreters of Wolf ?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I've only listened to the first disc featuring Olaf Bar, and I think he's very fine!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

silentio said:


> ^Barbebleu and starthrower, since you have the big set, who are your favorite male interpreters of Wolf ?


They are actually two different sets. The one I am working through concentrates on singers between 1931 and 1938. On that set, which I've nearly finished there are quite a few. Karl Erb, Herbert Jansen, Alexander Kipnis and Ludwig Weber. On individual songs Helge Roswaenge and John McCormack. Wolf seems to bring out the best in singers probably because his songs can be quite elusive and the artist has to work hard to get the most out of them.

On the second set D. F-D., Bär and Ian Bostridge are excellent.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

jenspen said:


> That Wolf sometimes sets poems phrase by phrase - squandering enough melodic and rhythmic invention on one long poem to have lasted many a songwriter through half a song cycle. Sometimes, on a long commute, I've been able to pass the time just thinking about one particular song.


That is precisely one of the things I most love about Wolf's lieder - they can be long, meandering, dreamy, almost putting one in a sense of trance. Some of my favorites are among the longest ones: "Abendbilder", "Auf eine Christblume", "Auf eine Äolsharfe". I have a 6-CD lied collection performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, it is one of those sets I could listen to all night long. I have not explored other performers' Wolf well enough yet, but I do thoroughly enjoy listening to him.


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## lifetweet (Jan 30, 2017)

Some songs of Hugo Wolf are good but that does not mean I like them wholly.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

lifetweet said:


> Some songs of Hugo Wolf are good but that does not mean I like them wholly.


Same here. :tiphat:


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## kirolak (May 8, 2017)

I adore the Wolf Lieder, especially the Spanisches Liederbuch.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

No greater songs exist, IMO, and there's lots of stiff competition from Schubert and the other great immortals. The marriage between his vocal lines and his accompaniment are supernaturally good and gemlike. Treasures.


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## Flavius (Oct 7, 2017)

I have seventeen single CDs of his lieder, the EMI Hugo Wolf Society complete edition, the anniversay edition with Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau, the DG edition of 6 CDs, the Banse, Henschel 'Prometheus', the Quartet and Italian Serenade, and the Albrecht 'Der Corregidor', so you might surmise I like Hugo Wolf. The 'Spanisches Liederbuch' is frequently in my player.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

I don't think Hugo Wolf's lied are particularly difficult to understand, or even very long in many cases. In any case, Renee Fleming and others are bringing some of the 20 Wolf lieder that the composer orchestrated to a very large audience indeed.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I don't listen to Wolf nearly as often as I do to Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, but one song that I never tire of hearing is Prometheus, either in its orchestrated version...






...or in the original piano version:


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## betterthanfine (Oct 17, 2017)

This is one of the most beautiful songs I know, and superbly performed here by Gerhaher.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

*Wolf and Brahms compared*



kirolak said:


> I adore the Wolf Lieder, especially the Spanisches Liederbuch.


I once did a comparison of Wolf's Die ihr schwebet um diese Palmen from the _Spanisches Liederbuch_ with Brahms's setting of the same text: Geistliche Wiegenlied, Op. 91, No. 2 for Alto, Viola and Piano. Each is wonderful in its own way and taken together they point up the contrast between late Romanticism (Brahms -- evoking tradition, the rocking cradle-song) and Post-Romanticism (Wolf -- more visionary and nervous, suggesting the angels' fluttering wings).


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pugg said:


> _Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf_ (*13 March 1860 *- 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer 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, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School .


On request by member jenspen :tiphat:


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## Schwammerl (Apr 4, 2020)

As an amateur accompanist, I find that the amatuer singers I play for rarely choose Wolf, apart from the exquisitely simple song _Das verlassene Mägdlein_. This is probably because the music is too hard for them both technically and interpretively, but I sometimes wonder if it is because there is less that is obviously "for" the singer in his music than in Schubert, Schumann, Brahms etc. Can you hum a great Wolf melody? Probably not: the power of the songs comes from the way in which the vocal line and piano intertwine, and very often, the real musical interest is in the piano, not the voice.

I love to play his accompaniments to myself anyway, some of which could stand as solo piano pieces e.g.: _Begegnung_, _Mein Liebster singt_, _Auf einer Wanderung_, _Fussreise_,_ Er ist's _. They are marvels of late-Romantic, atmospheric piano writing.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Marta Fuchs' renditions of Wolf are the most stunning I've ever heard. Definitely convinced me he's a great writer for voice.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Art song with piano accompaniment is not my favorite genre, but I really like Wolf. Morike-Lieder is definitely one of my 5 or so favorite song cycles. Wonderful late-Romantic lyricism and expression.


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## Schwammerl (Apr 4, 2020)

Technically, the Morike lieder are not a song cycle, by which I mean that there is no 'story' or single theme that runs through the poems. There are also 53 of them, which would make for a long performance  

But I completely agree, this is the best of Wolf in the originality, freshness, diversity and beauty of the settings, certainly the best place to start for anyone interested in getting to know his songs.


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## Schwammerl (Apr 4, 2020)

Technically, the Morike lieder are not a song cycle, by which I mean that there is no 'story' or single theme that runs through the poems. There are also 53 of them, which would make for a long performance 

But I completely agree, this is the best of Wolf in the originality, freshness, diversity and beauty of the settings, certainly the best place to start for anyone interested in getting to know his songs.


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

Hugo Wolf is my favorite Lieder composer, he sublimated the genre, after Schubert and Schumann cooked it up. 
I have no strong preferred cycle or song, I like the Morike Lieder, Goethe Lieder and The Italian songbook. There is a refreshingly small number of recordings. Of the old school singers, I prefer Schreier. he recorded all of the above and in a great style. DFD and Schwarzkopf are not my favourites, allthough DFD recorded the Morike Lieder with Richter, which is a very nice recording. Of the new recordings, I like Werner Gura and the Erdmann/Gerhaber duo

Just a hint for a first impression would be to listen to the first fragile song of the Italian songbook by Schwarzkopf and than by Mojca Erdmann: 'Auch kleine Dinge koennen uns entzuecken'. You will find out right away which style you prefer. 

Wolf's work is a subtle treasure chest, after the heavy romantic Schubert and Schumann cycles, but probably not for everyone.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

NLAdriaan said:


> Just a hint for a first impression would be to listen to the first fragile song of the Italian songbook by Schwarzkopf and than by Mojca Erdmann: 'Auch kleine Dinge koennen uns entzuecken'. You will find out right away which style you prefer.


For me it's Schwarzkopf all the way. She probaby recorded and performed more Wolf than any other singer except possibly Fischer-Dieskau and she brings out so many subtle shades of meaning. Erdmann is just a lovely voice singing a pretty tune, but Wolf is so much more than that and I prefer Schwarzkopf's greater range of colour and expression.


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## vincula (Jun 23, 2020)

I'd add Lisa della Casa her too. I simply love her voice and the way she phrases musical sentences. Pure genius. I simply get carried away.

Regards,

Vincula


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## allaroundmusicenthusiast (Jun 3, 2020)

I'm making my way through some of Wolf's music and the complete (and I think ongoing) series of his complete lieder by Stone Records, a volume of which was posted above. I listened to the string quartet -which I really liked- and the italienische Serenade, that didn't grab me much. Now I'm on the italienisches Liederbuch and then I'll continue with other cycles. I'm liking it so far, but what I'm wondering is what does this forum think about his opera Der Corregidor. I haven't found a complete recording neither on Spotify nor on Youtube.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I go hot and cold on Wolf - but generally enjoy his lieder. But not as much as *Othmar Schoeck*. What I really enjoy with Schoeck are his song cycles with more than piano accompaniment: _Notturno_ (string quartet), _Elegie_ (chamber ensemble).

And I wish Wolf would have done similar things. His one string quartet is pretty good, and I would have liked to hear his songs done with some variety of instrumental texture.


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