Christian Gerhaher
Baritone Christian Gerhaher had a meteoric rise after his 1998 victory in the New York/Paris-shared Prix International Pro Musicis. Gerhaher subsequently developed a major career on both the operatic and recital stages. His repertory takes in J.S. Bach cantatas and oratorios; operas by Mozart, von Weber, and Wagner; lieder by Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler; and concert works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Mahler. He has hardly restricted himself to the German sphere, though, having performed Orff's Carmina Burana, Britten's War Requiem, Monteverdi's Orfeo, and much else. Gerhaher possesses a very distinct, attractive voice, a bit higher in the baritone range than is usual. He has performed at many of the major recital halls and operatic venues and with an extensive list of conductors that includes Harnoncourt, Rattle, and Muti. Gerhaher's résumé, apart from his considerable musical activity, is impressive: he holds a doctorate degree in medicine and has extensively studied philosophy.
Christian Gerhaher was born in the Bavarian city of Straubing on July 24, 1969. His major educational activity was in Munich: he studied voice with Paul Kuen and Raimund Grumbach and enrolled at the Musikhochschule Opera School there, simultaneously studying medicine and philosophy. Gerhaher later took master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. For Gerhaher, 1998 was a pivotal year: he obtained his medical degree, won the Prix International Pro Musicis, and joined the Stadttheater Würzburg, remaining a member until 2000. Meanwhile, he began making critically acclaimed appearances in lieder repertory with pianist Gerold Huber, including at Carnegie Hall, the Schubertiade in Feldkirch, and Wigmore Hall in London. Gerhaher quickly built a reputation in opera as well: his 2005 performance at the Frankfurt Opera in the title role of Orfeo drew rave notices. In the following season, Gerhaher appeared in Schubert's opera Alphonso und Estrella in Berlin and Schumann's oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri in Munich. Gerhaher's 2007-2008 schedule included a highly acclaimed North American tour with pianist Gerold Huber.
As Gerhaher entered middle age and his voice deepened somewhat, he took on operatic roles such as Wolfram in Wagner's Tannhäuser, which he performed at London's Covent Garden in 2010 and reprised at the Bavarian State Opera in 2017. Nevertheless, the bulk of Gerhaher's recording energies in the 2010s continued to focus on the lieder repertory. His 2012 album, Ferne Geliebte, featuring not only the Beethoven cycle An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98, but also songs by Haydn, Schoenberg, and Berg, inaugurated a multi-year relationship with the Sony Classical label that has also produced Nachtviolen (a Schubert song recital) and an album of Mozart arias. His performances of Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder deepened his relationship with Huber, which was displayed to fine effect in their 2017 recording of the unusual Brahms song set Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33. A long-held goal of Gerhaher's was accomplished in 2021 when he issued a much-heralded recording of the complete songs of Schumann. In 2022, Gerhaher and Heinz Holliger teamed up on a pair of recordings: Othmar Schoeck's Elegie with the Kammerorchester Basel and Holliger's opera Lunea, which was written for and dedicated to Gerhaher.
© Robert Cummings & James Manheim /TiVo
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Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on May 5, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
London Symphony Orchestra, Christian Gerhaher, London Symphony Chorus, Magdalena Kožená, Sir Simon Rattle
Opera - Released by LSO Live on Oct 6, 2017
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Alle Lieder
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 3, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795
Lieder (German) - Released by Sony Classical on Oct 6, 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Dichterliebe
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Aug 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoeck: Elegie, Op. 36
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Apr 22, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Frage (Lieder, vol. 1)
Lieder (German) - Released by Sony Classical on Nov 16, 2018
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Orchestral Songs
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Apr 16, 2013
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Lieder
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Oct 16, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Adagio from Symphony No.10
Magdalena Kožená, Christian Gerhaher, The Cleveland Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Oct 5, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantische Arien / Airs romantiques (Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, Weber, Nicolaï)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Sony Classical on Nov 16, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christian Gerhaher - The Art of Song
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Nov 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heinz Holliger - Lunea
Christian Gerhaher, Basle Madrigalists, Philharmonia Zürich, Heinz Holliger
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Apr 22, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on Dec 31, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Myrthen
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Oct 11, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Abendbilder
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Abendbilder
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nachtviolen - Schubert: Lieder
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jun 16, 2014
Gramophone AwardGramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Des Simplicius Simplicissimus Jugend (Intégrale)
Christian Gerhaher, Ulf Schirmer, Munich Radio Orchestra, Camilla Nylund, Will Hartmann, Michael Volle
Opera - Released by BR-Klassik on Nov 17, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Othmar Schoeck: Notturno
Christian Gerhaher, Rosamunde Quartett
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Sep 25, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -