The press cannot praise him highly enough; he is acclaimed as “a miraculous voice”, “an exceptional singer” or as “one of the most remarkable singers of his generation”. Again and again, his unique qualities enrich the world of singing and music.
All over the world, he captivates his audiences with his love of music, his unique talent and the unbelievable energy he exudes on stage. “I want to give my audience the highest standard of entertainment possible – being a good singer is not enough.”
Welcome to Thomas Quasthoff’s official website. Here you can find out more about the singer’s artistic and private life, or catch up on the latest news on concerts and recordings.
Thomas Quasthoff – the singer
A voice of honey and steel
As a classical singer, he clearly belongs to the world of serious music. However, over the years he has become known to an extremely wide audience. “I think I am immediately recognisable to around 100% of the public“, he jokes, not without a certain amount of self-irony, referring to his thalidomide disability.
His voice is at the same time insistent and powerful, like honey and steel. Thomas Quasthoff has a unique way of gripping and moving his audience. This is not only due to his expressive voice, but to a variety of things – his voice, his enormous musicality, his keen sense of humour, both on and off stage, his charisma, his persistence and his powers of self-assertion.
Thomas Quasthoff is a man who has something to say – both as a musician and as a human being. And he is not afraid of saying it.
Thomas Quasthoff – the man
“I am a happy man!”
Life’s experiences and other odds and ends
Thomas Quasthoff’s career is unprecedented. Hard work and an exceptional voice have led him to international success which he constantly confirms on stages around the world.
“To many people it might sound odd but I see myself as a lucky fellow”, says Thomas Quasthoff who now lives in Berlin. “Many things in my life didn’t work out straight away but I could never accept a ‘No’ just like that. Besides, I always had people close who believed in me.”
His experiences, his willpower and his sense of humour have not only supported him well in his creative work but have also allowed him to discover new perspectives in other areas of life.
Milestones of a Career
A Voice Conquers the World
Thomas Quasthoff receives the highest awards for his extraordinary skills:
In 1988 Thomas Quasthoff won the first prize in the ARD International Music Competition. Since then he has received many special prizes and several classic awards, such as the Shostakovitch Award in Moscow in 1996, the order of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2005 and the highest possible international distinction for an artist: the Grammy Award, which he has won three times. In 2009 Thomas Quasthoff was also awarded the Herbert-von-Karajan Prize in Baden-Baden and the honorary title of Singer of Excellence in Vienna.
Since 1999 he has had an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon; amongst many other highlights this label produced a jazz album featuring Thomas Quasthoff and Till Brönner.
As well as receiving awards and performing at all the greatest venues in the world such as the Carnegie Hall in New York and La Scala in Milan, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna or at the Salzburg Festival, for many years Thomas Quasthoff has worked with famous conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Mariss Janssons and Riccardo Muti.
Professor in Berlin
Teaching with vocal power
An indirect way to qualification
Since 1996, Thomas Quasthoff has held a full professorship for Singing. He began teaching at the Academy of Music in Detmold, and since 2004 has been a professor at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
It is certainly not unusual for a trained singer to begin teaching at a Music Academy at some point in his career. However, for Thomas Quasthoff this was by no means a foregone conclusion, for he himself was not able to study singing at a Music Academy. All of his applications to study were flatly refused: “No admission to study singing if you cannot play the piano – it was as simple as that in those days!”, says Thomas Quasthoff, now calm about his past hardships.
Instead he studied law for several semesters, which he now sees as an interesting additional experience in his life. In order to satisfy his passion for singing and train his extraordinary voice, Thomas Quasthoff took private lessons from Prof. Charlotte Lehmann and Dr. Ernst Huber-Contwig in Hannover, Germany, and, over the course of 17 years, built up a solid foundation… with international repercussions!
He places extremely high demands on his students; as an internationally acclaimed singer he knows all about the difficult conditions on the marketplace, and believes that young singers must be well equipped to contend with them.
Thomas Quasthoff does not give private lessons – singers who wish to study with him must pass the entrance examination for the Academy or enroll for a master course under his tuition.
