Wolff, Hellmuth Christian
Wolff, Hellmuth Christian
Wolff, Hellmuth Christian, German musicologist and composer; b. Zürich, May 23, 1906; d. Leipzig, July 1, 1988. He studied musicology at the Univ. of Berlin with Abert, Schering, Blume, and Sachs (Ph.D., 1932, with the diss. Die Venezianische Oper in der zweiten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts; publ. in Berlin, 1937; 2nd ed., 1975). He completed his Habilitation at the Univ. of Kiel in 1942 with his Die Barockoper in Hamburg 1678-1738 (publ, in Wolfenbuttel, 1957). From 1954 to 1971 he was a prof. of musicology at the Univ. of Leipzig. Beginning in 1956 he devoted a great deal of his time to painting, and exhibited in Leipzig and other German cities.
Works
dramatic: Opera: Der kleine und der grosse Klaus (1931; rev. 1940); Die törichten Wünsche (1942-3); Der Tod des Orpheus (1947); Ich lass’ mich scheiden (1950). Ballet: Moresca (1969). Scenic Oratorio: Esther (1945). Other: Incidental music. ORCH.: 3 Werke for Chamber Orch. (1932); Concerto for Orchestra (1933); Concerto for Oboe and Chamber Orch. (1933); Heitere Musik über ostinate Rhythmen (1938); Suite (1940); Inferno 1944 (1946); Serenade for Strings (1946); Concerto for Piano and Strings (1947); Violin Concerto (1948); Sinfonia da missa (1949); Double Bass Concerto (1968); Handel Suite (1970); Paul Klee Suite (1973). OTHER: Chamber music; piano pieces; songs.
Writings
Agrippina, eine italienische Jugendoper von G.Fr. Händel (Wolfenbüttel and Berlin, 1943); Die Musik der alten Niederländer (15. und 16. Jahrhundert) (Leipzig, 1956); Die Händel-Oper auf der modernen Bühne (Leipzig, 1957); Oper: Szene und Darstellung von 1600 bis 1900 (Leipzig, 1968); Die Oper (3 vols., Cologne, 1971-72; also in Eng.); Ordnung und Gestalt: die Musik von 1900 bis 1950 (Bonn, 1977).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire