Wolff, Édouard 1816 - 1880
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Last updated：May 13, 2011
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Most Polish contemporaries of Chopin, who were active as both pianists and composers, were completely overshadowed by him and are largely forgotten today. These include A. Sowinski (1805-1880) from Ukraine, active in Paris; A. Gerke (1814-1870), who taught in Saint Petersburg; Ed. Wolff (1816-1880); and A. de Kontski (1817-1899), a world-touring pianist of his time who even visited Japan. Among them, Wolff, due to the similarities in his career and compositional style to Chopin, was often regarded during his lifetime as Chopin's doppelgänger, closely accompanying him like a shadow. Perhaps for this reason, Wolff never received proper recognition after his death, and his more than 330 works, by opus number, sank into oblivion.
Édouard Wolff was born on September 15, 1816, in Warsaw, into a Jewish family. His father was an excellent physician, and his elder brother followed in his father's profession. His sister, Regina, later became the mother of two outstanding virtuosos: the violinist Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) and the pianist Józef Wieniawski (1837-1912). Édouard, the youngest child, initially received his musical education from a teacher named Zawadzki. Deciding to pursue a musical career under the guidance of the old teacher, Wolff went to Vienna at the age of 12 and studied under W. Würfel (1790-1832). Würfel had also served as a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory and is known for having given Chopin his first organ lessons. Under this master, a renowned theater composer and pianist who also served as a theater director in Vienna, Wolff diligently honed his piano skills and soon began to attract public attention. Chopin visited Vienna in 1829 and again from 1830-31, and it is likely that the two met through Würfel. Chopin departed for Paris in 1831, but Wolff remained in Vienna until 1832.
In November 1830, the Warsaw Uprising, which erupted against Russian imperial rule, ended in failure. With a growing longing for his sorrowful homeland, Wolff returned to Warsaw, where revolutionary fervor still lingered, and received instruction in harmony and composition from J. Elsner (1769-1854), who was also Chopin's teacher. Under the guidance of Elsner, a composer of many large-scale works including symphonies, operas, and sacred music, Wolff combined the piano performance skills and compositional techniques he had cultivated under Würfel, and began to dream of pursuing a career as a virtuoso in Paris.
In 1835, Wolff arrived in Paris, following in Chopin's footsteps. In the French capital, which was tolerant of Polish exiles, Wolff was welcomed into musical circles. Wolff became acquainted with important figures in the piano world, including Zimmermann, Herz, Chopin, Hiller, and Liszt, and by the late 1830s, he was able to join the ranks of renowned pianists. Becoming a prominent pianist overnight, Wolff signed contracts with several publishers, including Schlesinger, and began publishing his works at an astonishing rate, with his opus numbers exceeding 100 within the next decade. In his Trois Romances sans paroles Op. 11 (c. 1835), likely composed around the time of his arrival in Paris, Wolff had already established a musical language with many similarities to Chopin's. While writing nocturnes and mazurkas, he also deeply admired Thalberg and published several elaborately crafted brilliant paraphrases on operatic themes, such as Souvenir de Benvenuto Cellini de Berlioz – Caprice brillant Op. 28 (c. 1839). Paraphrases and variations, often commissioned by publishers, gained immense popularity and brought considerable profit. On the other hand, Wolff also worked on more academic compositions, including 24 Études en forme de Préludes dans tous les tons mineurs Op. 20 (Book 1: 1839, Book 2: 1840), Scherzo Op. 28 (c. 1839), and the large-scale work in concerto form, Grand Allegro de Concert Op. 39 (c. 1840, dedicated to Chopin). Of these, Op. 20 and Op. 39 were published around the same time as Chopin's 24 Préludes (1839) and his Allegro de Concert Op. 46 (1841), which could be considered his third concerto. It is an interesting fact that all of these works by Wolff were published slightly earlier than Chopin's.
As a renowned virtuoso, Wolff visited Belgium and Mainz with a violinist friend in the early 1840s, receiving acclaim. He also frequently traveled to Normandy, where King Louis-Philippe's summer residence was located, and had opportunities to perform before royalty. Having attracted the attention of the press and gained considerable wealth and fame, Wolff married Mélanie Maass, a pianist and teacher, in May 1844. He settled on Rue du Mail in the former 2nd arrondissement and began to take on many students. As he had a stable income from composing and performing, it is said that he did not concern himself with lesson fees and gave generous advice to his pupils. His students, including his nephew Józef Wieniawski, often received praise from critics. It should be added here that his later pupils included Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894).
From around 1849, the year Chopin died, Wolff began to attract less attention from the press. As public taste gradually shifted from large-scale, brilliant works to elegant salon pieces, new composers successively gained fame. Amidst his gradually fading former glory, Wolff nevertheless continued to write high-quality works without compromise, such as the emotionally turbulent Barcarolle Op. 159 and the meditative Hommage à Chopin – Rêverie-Nocturne Op. 169 (1852). However, while he was dissatisfied with not being properly recognized as a composer, his frustration with "mediocre" musicians could not be contained, often spilling out of his mouth as scathing criticism, creating many adversaries.
In contrast to his early life, which was enveloped in brilliant fame, Wolff's later life was filled with much sorrow. According to Marmontel, a professor at the Paris Conservatoire who knew Wolff during his lifetime, Wolff suffered from stomach cancer at one point and experienced unbearable pain after meals. He became afraid to eat and accumulated a great deal of stress. To make matters worse, his marriage broke down due to personality differences with his wife, forcing him to endure extremely difficult days mentally. In 1871, upon hearing of the death of Thalberg, a musician who, along with Chopin, had supported his spirit, Wolff was heartbroken and dedicated Les Larmes – Élégie sur la tombe de Thalberg Op. 300 to his departed spiritual mentor.
As he gradually became isolated, his invaluable companions included the piano manufacturer Érard, who had supported Wolff's activities, and Schoenewerk, co-owner of the publishing house Durand, with whom Wolff had a strong friendship. However, despite the dedication of his friends, his illness continued to worsen. In 1880, realizing his end was near, Wolff entrusted his swan song, Solitude! – Pensée poétique Op. 333, to Schoenewerk-Durand, and passed away on October 16 at his home at 14 Rue du Mail.
Author : Kanazawa, Osamu
Last Updated: January 1, 2010
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Author : Kanazawa, Osamu
Édouard Wolff was a pianist-composer, also from Poland like Chopin, who studied with Józef Elsner in Warsaw and Wenzel Würfel in Vienna before moving to Paris. His sister, Regina, was the mother of the renowned violinist Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880). Wolff was one of Chopin's close associates, and while there was significant mutual influence, their shared origins and careers led to even greater commonalities, allowing their relationship to be likened to light and shadow. Wolff moved to Paris in 1835. In later years, Wolff became Chabrier's piano teacher, and the abrupt modulations and developments occasionally seen in his works foreshadow Chabrier's style. He composed 333 piano pieces with opus numbers, in addition to many works without opus numbers.
Works(254)
Piano Solo (29)
scherzo (3)
etude (10)
Vingt-quatre Études en forme de préludes dans tous la tons majeurs et mineurs Op.20
Composed in: 1840 Playing time: 40 min 00 sec
inpromptu (4)
fantasy (25)
mazurka (6)
waltz (28)
borello (4)
nocturne (12)
caprice (5)
barcarolle (3)
divertimento (6)
march (3)
character pieces (15)
Various works (35)
Piano Ensemble (6)
pieces (4)
fantasy (12)
divertimento (2)
character pieces (2)
Paraphrase (42)
Various works (8)