Closer scrutiny of the lieder of Anton Webern can reveal the influence of Hugo Wolf. This is true not only of style, but also in the borrowing of actual musical content. This can be pitch specific, for example in "Aufblick," Webern uses a notational "perversion" of B flat-B double flat-A flat, which is identical to Wolf in "Lebe wohl," or they can be less referential, such as an ascending third followed by a descending semitone in Wolf's "Frage und Antwort." Another borrowing type includes specific chromatic chord progressions as in Webern's "Heimgang in der Frühe" and Wolf's "Das verlassene Mägdlein." Wolf's influence on Webern is widely known, which only affirms the possibility of borrowing from the elder composer. This is further strengthened by the fact that all references to Wolf's lieder are to those contained in the Mörike-Liederbuch.

Works: Webern: Aufblick (21, 22), Fromm (23-24), Heimgang in der Frühe (24-25), Sommerabend (25).

Sources: Wolf: Lebe wohl (21-22), Frage und Antwort (22), Gesang Weylas (23-24), Das Verlassene Mägdlein (24-25), Um Mitternacht (25).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Christopher Holmes