Thomas Quasthoff
Thomas Quasthoff was a thalidomide baby, growing to only about four feet tall and, in common with many of his fellow victims of the drug, has severely undeveloped arms. However, his voice and breathing apparatus are normal -- if a bass-baritone voice that is uncommonly magnificent can be considered normal.
When Quasthoff reached school age, he was assigned, according to government policy, to school programs designed for children with cerebral palsy. A lively, intelligent, and artistic child, Quasthoff clearly needed the stimulation of normal schooling, which a change in policy soon permitted. He was raised in a highly supportive environment, being treated in exactly the same way as his normal brother. The phrase he remembers being said most often to him when he was young was "Tommy, you can do that. Do it!" As a result he grew up with a sunny and optimistic outlook. Music was special to him. But when he tried to get a musical education, he found that the highly regarded conservatory to which he applied had a strict policy that all students had to learn to play piano, and turned him away on the grounds that this was impossible for him. "That was legally correct. I have to admit that," he says. "Morally -- well, that raises a big question."
His parents procured private voice lessons for him with Charlotte Lehmann, a concert singer of Hannover. She taught him for 17 years, and proved a superb voice teacher. The great baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau said "It's clear to everyone who has heard Thomas Quasthoff that he has a wondrously beautiful voice and that he has had excellent previous training...."
While studying, Quasthoff found a position as a radio announcer in Hannover, becoming highly popular. In 1988 he won first prize in voice at the prestigious ARD music competition of Munich. This led to his beginning a concert and recital career that rapidly grew, although cautiously, Quasthoff retained his radio job for six more years. He finally adopted music as his full-time profession in 1996, the year he won the Shostakovich Prize in Moscow and the Hamada Trust/Scotsman Festival Prize, and in 1998 he won the Echo Prize. In 1996 he was appointed professor at the Detmold Music Academy, where he was one of the most popular voice teachers. He was also associated with the University of Oregon at Eugene, where he appeared regularly in the Oregon Bach Festival.
He has performed with many leading orchestras and conductors. His repertory includes the great choral/vocal/orchestral works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Mahler, and Britten. He sings opera arias in his programs, and has sung operatic roles in recordings of Beethoven's Fidelio, Haydn's L'Anima del Philosopho, and Schumann's Genoveva. It wasn't until 2003 that he appeared in opera on stage, in Fidelio (as Don Fernando) and in 2004 as Amfortas in Parsifal. Quasthoff is also a great fan of other vocal music and dedicated 2007's Watch What Happens to jazz songs and 2010's Tell It Like It Is to soul and pop songs.
He has recorded on the Hännsler, MDG, RCA, Teldec, Orfeo, and Philips labels, and since mid-1999 has been an exclusive artist on Deutsche Grammophon.
© TiVo
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Mahler, G.: Song of a Wayfarer / Kindertotenlieder / Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Thomas Quasthoff, Hakan Hagegard, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Gary Bertini
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms / Liszt: Lieder
Thomas Quasthoff, Justus Zeyen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Italian Arias
Thomas Quasthoff, Genia Kühmeier, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Golz
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Jazz Album
Thomas Quasthoff, Till Brönner
Jazz - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loewe: Ballades
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Goethe-Lieder
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Jan 24, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Evening Star: German Opera Arias
Thomas Quasthoff, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Christian Thielemann
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Arias
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Apr 10, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Lieder With Orchestra
Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Quasthoff, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Dialogue Cantatas
Thomas Quasthoff, Dorothea Röschmann, Berliner Barock Solisten, Rainer Kussmaul
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler, G.: Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen / Kindertotenlieder / Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Excerpts) (Gustav Mahler)
Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released by Phoenix Edition on Jul 28, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Romantic Songbook
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Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cantatas - Listening Guide
Thomas Quasthoff, Berliner Barock Solisten, Rainer Kussmaul
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Nov 8, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Betrachte, meine Seel
Thomas Quasthoff, Staatskapelle Dresden, Sebastian Weigle
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Betrachte, meine Seel
Thomas Quasthoff, Staatskapelle Dresden, Sebastian Weigle
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Stimme: Deutsche Opernarien
Thomas Quasthoff, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Christian Thielemann
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rhapsody in Blue. SWR Young CLASSIX
Thomas Quasthoff, SWR Big Band, Dresdener Philharmoniker
Children - Released by Helbling Verlag GmbH on May 19, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italienische Sinfonie. SWR Young CLASSIX
Thomas Quasthoff, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR
Children - Released by Helbling Verlag GmbH on Jun 15, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aus der Neuen Welt. SWR Young CLASSIX
Thomas Quasthoff, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR
Children - Released by Helbling Verlag GmbH on May 20, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo