Wolf was born in
Grossen Behringen in
Thuringia, today part of the
Hörselberg-Hainich municipality. His elder brother Ernst Friedrich was a composer and
organist who studied under
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel. Ernst Wilhelm's musical talent manifested itself early, and already by age nine he was a skilled
harpsichordist, particularly apt at
figured bass realization. Wolf attended
gymnasiums at
Eisenach and at
Gotha, where he became a choir prefect. It was in Gotha that Wolf first heard the music of
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and
Carl Heinrich Graun; he was particularly fascinated with Bach's work. The admiration was mutual: a performance of some of Wolf's compositions in 1752 drew praise from Bach. Wolf and Bach's friendship lasted throughout their lives; Wolf helped collect subscriptions for
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's
für Kenner und Liebhaber (for Connoisseurs and Amateurs) works (piano sonatas and rondos). Following his brother's advice, in 1755 Wolf entered the
University of Jena. There he became the director of the
collegium musicum, for which he composed a number of works. After three years he moved to
Leipzig in 1758, and then to
Naumburg, where he worked as music teacher for the von Ponickau family. Wolf later decided to journey to
Italy, but ended up settling in
Weimar, where he spent the rest of his life. He first worked as music teacher to
Duchess Anna Amalia and her sons, then became court Konzertmeister (1761), organist (1763) and finally Kapellmeister (1772). In 1770 Wolf married
Maria Carolina Benda (1742–1820), daughter of the famous
Bohemian
violinist and composer
Franz Benda. At one point an offer was made to Wolf by
Frederick II of Prussia to succeed Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, but Wolf declined, possibly at Anna Amalia's instigation. In his later years Wolf's activity slowed down, and he became increasingly depressed. After a stroke, Wolf's health started deteriorating, and he died in late 1792. Wolf's reputation during his lifetime was very high already from the earliest years, when he was a child prodigy. It further increased after his sojourns in Gotha, Jena, and Leipzig, partly through the efforts of
Johann Friedrich Doles, an important practitioner of Protestant church music in the orbit of late 18th-century Leipzig, and
Johann Adam Hiller, composer and writer on music. Wolf's music was known far beyond Weimar and his writings were acclaimed by experts (even though Wolf wrote primarily for amateurs). ==Works==