Ernst Wilhelm Wolf

Through his work and studies, Ernst Wilhelm Wolf saw only a small section of central Germany, but he obviously gained adequate inspiration in these experiences because he created a body of diverse compositions that included 20 stage works and operas, string quartets, 25 keyboard concertos, oratorios, Easter and dramatic cantatas, and Passions. Starting at a young age, he studied Baroque music, participated in choir, and was a pupil at the Gymnasien at Eisenach and Gotha. From there, he was educated at the University of Jena and later became the director of the Collegium Musicum. In 1758, three years after his arrival in Jena, he traveled to Leipzig and then to Naumburg, where he worked as a music teacher to the von Ponickau family. Detoured from an Italian destination, he ultimately reached Weimar; the great success he enjoyed in various posts in the latter town probably contributed to his decision to make it his long-term and final settlement. Initially a music tutor to Duchess Anna Amalia's sons, he was subsequently promoted to Konzertmeister in 1761 and organist in 1763. Already a brother of the composer and organist Ernst Friedrich Wolf, Ernst Wilhelm Wolf brought more music into his family life when he married vocalist and harpsichordist Maria Carolina Benda in 1770. Just two years later, he experienced one of the high points in his career when he was promoted to Kapellmeister. In addition to his many achievements, he published three theoretical works bearing long titles, one of which was Auch eine Reise aber nur eine kleine musikalische in den Monaten Junius, Julius und August 1782 zum Vergnügen angestellt und auf Verlangen beschrieben (Weimar 1784).