Melanie Köchert and Hugo Wolf
The Köchert family has for generations been ardent patrons of the arts. And the story of Melanie Köchert and Hugo Wolf is particularly touching.
The late-Romantic composer is best remembered for setting more than 300 poems to music. While he also composed orchestral and chamber works, it is above all his art songs – or Lieder – that define his oeuvre. His correspondence with Melanie Köchert so often revealed his enthusiasm for poetic ideas, ranging from Mörike to Goethe.
From a music history perspective, Hugo Wolf succeeded in bringing the art song into the modern age following Schubert – giving old texts new meanings and sharpening them with musical irony. Revolutionaries such as Arnold Schönberg were able to draw on this development.
“Joy seemed to avoid his life altogether,” concluded Franz Grasberger, one of Wolf’s biographers. The financial difficulties, lack of a home, the criticism and hostility and, above all, illness plagued him constantly. One of the few bright spots in these depressing circumstances was his friendship with Melanie Köchert. The wealthy wife of jeweller Heinrich Köchert had taken piano lessons from Wolf, and their shared love of music blossomed into a deep friendship – a spiritual kindship – that lasted for decades. They exchanged over 250 letters on feelings, poetry, creative crises, personal reflections and more. These letters are preserved in the manuscript collection of the Vienna City Library (Wienbibliothek im Rathaus) and have since been lovingly edited.
Melanie also tried to alleviate Wolf’s financial hardship. The composer was repeatedly welcomed into the Köcherts’ lakeside country house at the Traunsee. And the two even took a trip to Italy together. Certainly this point is where Heinrich Köchert’s generosity must be underscored – especially because he never seemed to burden his wife with jealousy. Indeed, this was patronage in the truest sense.
Even in Wolf’s final years, when he was confined to the Lower Austrian State Mental Hospital and suffering from ‘mental dullness’ brought on by untreated syphilis, Melanie Köchert visited him several times a week. Eventually, she inherited his scores and estate, but it’s assumed that she did not pass on everything to future generations unaltered. Much about this relationship is unclear, although most historians assume it was a close friendship – a kind of muse-artist connection – rather than something romantic. However, Melanie Köchert never recovered from Wolf’s death. She gradually fell into depression and took her own life.
If you’re interested in the correspondence between Melanie Köchert and Hugo Wolf, here is the Vienna City Library Link zur Wien Bibliothek