Felix Wolfes

Felix Wolfes (Hannover, Germany, September 2, 1892 – Boston, March 28, 1971) was an American educator, conductor and composer.

Felix was born to Jewish parents in Hannover, Germany. After graduating from high school, he attended the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied music theory with Max Reger and piano with Robert Teichmüller. He also studied with Richard Strauss and later in Strasbourg with Hans Pfitzner. His conducting debut was in Breslau in 1923. He then worked as musical director and opera conductor in Essen (1924–31) and Dortmund (until 1933).

In Dortmund he had to leave his position in the spring of 1933 due to the Nazi rise to power. He emigrated first to France and later to the United States. He conducted the Monte Carlo opera in 1936 and 1937. While in France, he was also the teacher of composer Lukas Foss, who studied orchestration with him.

In 1938 he moved to New York city, where he worked as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, where he stayed until 1947. In 1948 he followed a call to the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he taught for two decades. He died in Boston, aged 78.

Wolfes composed at least 140 songs that are published. Most were composed after he moved to Boston, but he continued to set German poetry. There are a few songs in English, however. As a disciple of Strauss and Pfitzner, Wolfes composed vocal works using similar complex rhythmic and harmonic materials.

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