Hugh Wolff

Hugh MacPherson Wolff (born October 21, 1953, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is an American conductor.

Biography

Born in France while his father was serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Wolff spent his primary-school years in London. He received his higher education at Harvard and Peabody Conservatory. Between Harvard and Peabody, he spent a year in Paris where he studied composition with Olivier Messiaen and conducting with Charles Bruck.[1] At Peabody, he studied piano with Leon Fleisher.

Wolff began his career in 1979 as assistant conductor to Mstislav Rostropovich at the National Symphony Orchestra, in Washington, D.C.[2] In June 1985, he was the first winner of the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award.[3] He was music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic from 1981 to 1986. Wolff then served as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1993.[4] From 1988 until 1992, Wolff was principal conductor of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and then served as its music director from 1992 to 2000. He was principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival from 1994 until 1997. In 1998, Wolff led the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra on their world tour.[5][6]

In Europe, Wolff was chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (now the hr-Sinfonieorchester) from 1997 to 2006. In September 2017, he became chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra.

Wolff has recorded extensively for Teldec, Sony and others, has been nominated three times for a Grammy and has twice won the Cannes Classical Award. His discography includes the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. As a conductor he has accompanied recordings by Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Jennifer Larmore, and jazz guitarist John Scofield. Wolff is director of orchestras and teaches orchestral conducting at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Wolff lives in Boston with his wife, the harpist and author Judith Kogan. They have three sons.[7]

References
  1. Allan Kozinn (February 1, 1989). "Hugh Wolff Crosses the Hudson To Make His Philharmonic Debut". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  2. Tim Page, "A Happy Return for Wolff and the NSO".The Washington Post, 10 October 2003. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Rosenblum, Ira (February 1, 1987). "Hugh Wolff Set To Conduct Concert With Mentor Rostropovich As Soloist". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  4. Henahan, Donal (November 23, 1988). "Hugh Wolff Conducts". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  5. "The American Russian Youth Orchestra (ARYO)," Friends & Partners.Org
  6. "AMERICAN RUSSIAN YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA OPENS AMERICAN TOUR WITH SPECIAL CONCERT AT BARD COLLEGE ON MONDAY, JUNE 14, AT 7 P.M.," Bard.Edu
  7. Anderman, Joan (October 13, 2009). "The kid in the halls". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Thomas Michalak		 Music Director, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic
1981–1986		 Succeeded by
Hugh Keelan
Preceded by
Thomas Michalak		 Music Director, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
1985–1993		 Succeeded by
Zdeněk Mácal
Preceded by
Christopher Hogwood		 Music Director, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
1992–2000		 Succeeded by
Andreas Delfs
Preceded by
Andrey Boreyko		 Chief Conductor, National Orchestra of Belgium
2017–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
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