Christoph Wolff
Encyclopedia
Christoph Wolff is a German
-born musicologist
, presently on the faculty of Harvard University
. Born and educated in Germany, Wolff studied organ
and historical keyboard instruments, musicology
and art history
at the Universities of Berlin
, Erlangen, and the Music Academy of Freiburg
, receiving a performance diploma in 1963 and a PhD
in 1966. Wolff taught the history of music at Erlangen, Toronto
, Princeton
, and Columbia
Universities before joining the Harvard faculty in 1976 as Professor of Music. Currently, he is the Adams University Professor at Harvard University.
Christoph Wolff is best known for his works on the music, life, and times of Johann Sebastian Bach
. His books include Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge, 1991), Mozart's Requiem (Berkeley, 1994), The New Bach Reader (New York, 1998), and Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2001. (New York, 2000). He was interviewed about Bach's Art of Fugue in the documentary film Desert Fugue
. Since 2001 he is director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig
.
He was awarded the Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize
in 2006.
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 musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, presently on the faculty of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Born and educated in Germany, Wolff studied organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and historical keyboard instruments, musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at the Universities of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, Erlangen, and the Music Academy of Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...
, receiving a performance diploma in 1963 and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1966. Wolff taught the history of music at Erlangen, Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Universities before joining the Harvard faculty in 1976 as Professor of Music. Currently, he is the Adams University Professor at Harvard University.
Christoph Wolff is best known for his works on the music, life, and times of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. His books include Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge, 1991), Mozart's Requiem (Berkeley, 1994), The New Bach Reader (New York, 1998), and Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2001. (New York, 2000). He was interviewed about Bach's Art of Fugue in the documentary film Desert Fugue
Desert Fugue
Desert Fugue is a 90 minute documentary film about Johann Sebastian Bach's Art of Fugue. It was directed by Will Fraser and produced by Fugue State Films. It features organist George Ritchie, Bach scholar Christoph Wolff and organ builders Ralph Richards and Bruce Fowkes...
. Since 2001 he is director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
He was awarded the Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize
Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize
The Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize is an award given by the Royal Academy of Music and sponsored by the Kohn Foundation to performers and scholars who have made an outstanding contribution to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach....
in 2006.