Description

ERNST VICTOR WOLFF (BERLIN, GERMANY, AUGUST 6, 1889 – EAST LANSING, INGHAM COUNTY, MI, UNITED STATES, AUGUST 21, 1960)

 

 

 

 

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 Léon Barzin; cellist Gaspar Cassadó; and double bassist Anselme Fortier.

From 1947 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.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

Sonata in D major, Hob.XVI37 (Haydn)

I: Allegro con brio

II: Largo e sostenuto

III: Finale: Presto ma non troppo

Columbia 17186-D and 17187-D, 1940

 

Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 (from the Clavier-Übung II) Fugue in a minor, BWV 947 (Bach)

Overture

Courante

Gavotte I-II

Passepied I-II

Sarabande

Bourrée I-II

Gigue

Echo

Fugue in a minor, BWV 947

Ernst Victor Wolff, harpsichord (Maendler-Schramm)

Columbia Masterworks Set No. 357 (records 69462-D to 69465-D), 1939

 

Bach’s Coffee Cantata No. 211; Tobacco song

Cantata Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211 (Coffee Cantata)

Instrumental Ensemble

Soprano [Lieschen]: Ethyl Hayden; Tenor [Narrator]: William Hain; Baritone [Schlendrian]: Benjamin De Loache

Henri Bove (Flute); Ernst Victor Wolff (Harpsichord); Sterling Hunkins (Violoncello); Robert Brennand (Double-bass)

Musicraft 1035-A/B 1937 4 x 12″ 78 rpm

Recorded in New York City, New York, USA.

Matrix No.: GM93A/GM93B.