Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Hugo von Hofmannsthal was born on February 1, 1874, in Vienna into an aristocratic patrician family. At age sixteen, writing under the pen name 'Loris Melikow', his dazzling lyrical poems stunned the Young Vienna (Jung-Wien) circle at Café Griensteidl, earning acclaim from Arthur Schnitzler and Stefan George.

In 1902, his influential essay The Lord Chandos Letter captured the modern crisis of language. His creative collaboration with composer Richard Strauss produced operatic pinnacles including Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, and Ariadne auf Naxos. In 1920, Hofmannsthal co-founded the Salzburg Festival, staging his morality play Jedermann on the cathedral square, where it continues to open the festival each summer.