Hugo Wolf (March 13, 1860 - February 22, 1903) was a composer of German and Slovenian background, educated in Vienna. His primary contribution is in the form of several song cycles, comprised of about 300 songs written to text by some of the finest German poets including Goethe, Mörike and Eischdorff.

Most of Wolf's greatest works were written during two brief periods: during 1888-1891 and again 1895-1897. A man of strongly, even violently-held opinions, he was a disciple of Richard Wagner, and wrote blistering criticisms of Johannes Brahms and his followers. Wolf suffered a complete breakdown in 1897 and remained in an asylum for the rest of his life.