Ernst Victor Wolff
Encyclopedia
Ernst Victor Wolff was a German
-born concert pianist
and harpsichordist
who maintained a career not only as a soloist
but also as a respected accompanist. Singers with whom he performed included Dorothy Maynor
and Alexander Kipnis
; he accompanied the latter in the Hugo Wolf Society recording project of the 1930s. As a harpsichordist, on February 20, 1938 he participated in the Carnegie Hall premiere of J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata
under the direction of Walter Damrosch; the other performers on that occasion included singers Charles Kullman
, Helen Jepson
, and Lawrence Tibbett
; flutist Frances Blaisdell
; violinists Jascha Heifetz
and Sascha Jacobsen
; violist Leon Barzin
; cellist Gaspar Cassadó
; and double bassist Anselme Fortier.
From 1955 until his death, Wolff taught at Michigan State University
. His widow and family donated a collection of his papers to the MSU library; it includes photographs and other memorabilia and his diary, student notes, and performing scores. MSU has established an Ernst Victor Wolff Memorial Fund to support awards to meritorious music students. Perhaps his most distinguished student was the American conductor, musicologist, and harpsichordist Alan Curtis
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born concert pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and harpsichordist
Harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord.Many baroque composers played the harpsichord, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau...
who maintained a career not only as a soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
but also as a respected accompanist. Singers with whom he performed included Dorothy Maynor
Dorothy Maynor
Dorothy Maynor was an American soprano, concert singer, and the founder of the Harlem School of the Arts.-Early life:...
and Alexander Kipnis
Alexander Kipnis
Alexander Kipnis , was a Ukrainian-born operatic bass of great artistry and vocal endowment.Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American...
; he accompanied the latter in the Hugo Wolf Society recording project of the 1930s. As a harpsichordist, on February 20, 1938 he participated in the Carnegie Hall premiere of J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata
Coffee Cantata
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht is a secular cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1732 and 1734...
under the direction of Walter Damrosch; the other performers on that occasion included singers Charles Kullman
Charles Kullman
Charles Kullman , originally Charles Kullmann, was an American tenor who enjoyed a wide-ranging career, both in Europe and America.- Life and career :...
, Helen Jepson
Helen Jepson
Helen Jepson was an American lyric soprano noted for being a "stunning blond beauty" as well as for her voice....
, and Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Mervil Tibbett was a great American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang with the New York Metropolitan Opera company more than 600 times from 1923 to 1950...
; flutist Frances Blaisdell
Frances Blaisdell
Frances Blaisdell was a pathbreaking flautist.She began her advanced flute studies with George Barrère at what is now the Juilliard School of Music...
; violinists Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
and Sascha Jacobsen
Sascha Jacobsen
Sascha Jacobsen was an American violinist and teacher of Russian descent.He graduated from Juilliard School in 1915 as a pupil of Franz Kneisel and upon graduation received the Morris Loeb Memorial Award...
; violist Leon Barzin
Leon Barzin
Léon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States...
; cellist Gaspar Cassadó
Gaspar Cassadó
Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu was a Spanish cellist and composer of the early 20th century. He was born in Barcelona to a church musician father and began taking cello lessons at age seven. When he was nine, he played in a recital where Pablo Casals was in the audience; Casals immediately offered to...
; and double bassist Anselme Fortier.
From 1955 until his death, Wolff taught at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. His widow and family donated a collection of his papers to the MSU library; it includes photographs and other memorabilia and his diary, student notes, and performing scores. MSU has established an Ernst Victor Wolff Memorial Fund to support awards to meritorious music students. Perhaps his most distinguished student was the American conductor, musicologist, and harpsichordist Alan Curtis
Alan Curtis (harpsichordist)
Alan Curtis is a noted American harpsichordist, musicologist, and conductor of baroque opera. After graduate studies at the University of Illinois , where he wrote his dissertation on the keyboard music of Sweelinck, he studied in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt, with whom he subsequently recorded...
.