Hugo von Hofmannsthal

The house where Hofmannsthal was born, at Salesianergasse 12, Landstraße, Vienna 3[1]

Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-class Christian Austrian mother, Anna Maria Josefa Fohleutner (1852–1904), and a Christian Austrian–Italian bank manager, Hugo August Peter Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal (1841–1915).[2]

His grandfather was Augustin Emil Hofmann von Hofmannsthal and his great-grandfather was Isaak Löw Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal, from whom his family inherited the noble title "Edler von Hofmannsthal", was a Jewish tobacco farmer ennobled by the Austrian emperor.[3]

He was schooled in Vienna at Akademisches Gymnasium, where he studied the works of Ovid, later a major influence on his work.[4] He began to write poems and plays from an early age. Some of his early works were written under pseudonyms, such as Loris Melikow and Theophil Morren, because he was not allowed to publish as a student. He met the German poet Stefan George at the age of seventeen and had several poems published in George's journal, Blätter für die Kunst. He studied law and later philology at the University of Vienna but decided to devote himself to writing upon graduating in 1901. Along with Peter Altenberg and Arthur Schnitzler, he was a member of the avant garde group Young Vienna (Jung–Wien).[5]

Hofmannsthal, 1893

In 1900 Hofmannsthal met the composer Richard Strauss for the first time. He later wrote libretti for several of his operas, including Elektra (1909), Der Rosenkavalier (1911), the plot of which he developed together with Harry Graf Kessler, Ariadne auf Naxos (1912, rev. 1916), Die Frau ohne Schatten (1919), Die ägyptische Helena (1928), and Arabella (1929, but first performed in 1933).[6]

Between 1891 and 1899 Hofmannsthal wrote a number of short verse plays, influenced by the static dramas of the Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck, the dramatic monologues of the English Romantic poet Robert Browning, and the proverbes dramatiques of the French poet Alfred de Musset.[7]

In 1911 he adapted the 15th century English morality play Everyman as Jedermann, and Einar Nilson wrote the music for it. The play later became a staple at the Salzburg Festival.[6]

During World War I Hofmannsthal held a government post.[2] He wrote speeches and articles supporting the war effort, and emphasizing the cultural tradition of Austria-Hungary. The end of the war spelled the end of the Habsburg monarchy in Austria; this was a blow from which the patriotic and conservative-minded Hofmannsthal never fully recovered.[8]

Nevertheless, the years after the war were very productive ones for Hofmannsthal; he continued with his earlier literary projects, almost without a break. He wrote several new libretti for Richard Strauss operas. In 1920, Hofmannsthal, along with Max Reinhardt, founded the Salzburg Festival.[9] His later plays revealed a growing interest in religious, particularly Roman Catholic, themes. Among his writings was a screenplay for a film version of Der Rosenkavalier (1925) directed by Robert Wiene.[10]

Photograph of his younger son, Raimund

In 1901 he married Gertrud "Gerty" Schlesinger, the daughter of a Viennese Jewish banker.[15] Gerty converted to Christianity before their marriage, and they settled in Rodaun (now part of Liesing), not far from Vienna, and had three children:

• Christiane von Hofmannsthal (1902–1987), who married German indologist Heinrich Zimmer in early 1929. Zimmer taught at University of Greifswald, Heidelberg University, and Balliol College, Oxford. After they moved to New Rochelle, he became a visiting lecturer at Columbia University.[16][17]
• Franz von Hofmannsthal (1903–1929), who committed suicide on 13 July 1929.
• Raimund von Hofmannsthal (1906–1974), who married Ava Alice Muriel Astor, daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing in 1933.[18] After divorcing Ava in 1939, Raimund later married Lady Elizabeth Paget, daughter of the 6th Marquess of Anglesey.[19]

Two days after his elder son Franz committed suicide, Hugo himself died of a stroke while dressing for his funeral at Rodaun.[20] He was buried wearing the habit of a Franciscan tertiary, as he had requested.[6] His widow, who acquired Schloss Prielau in 1932, died in London in 1959.[15]

Plays

Libretti

Narrations and fictitious conversations

Novel (fragment)

Essays, speeches, prose

Poetry

• This article incorporates material from the German Wikipedia article.
• HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL, SELECT NARRATIVE PROSE, Translated with an Introduction by ALEXANDER STILLMARK, Ariadne Press, Riverside, CA, 2020.
• HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL, THE INCORRUPTIBLE SERVANT, (Der Unbestechliche) Translated with an Introduction by ALEXANDER STILLMARK (Modern Humanities Association, Cambridge 2021).
• HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL, AN IMPOSSIBLE MAN, (Der Schwierige) Translated with an Introduction and Appendixes by Alexander Stillmark (Modern Humanities Association, Cambridge 2016).

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Hugo von Hofmannsthal

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• Works by Hugo von Hofmannsthal at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Hugo von Hofmannsthal at Internet Archive
• Works by Hugo von Hofmannsthal at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) (in German)
• Hugo von Hofmannsthal Resource Center
• University of Washington Vienna 1900 Page
• Newspaper clippings about Hugo von Hofmannsthal in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW