Biography
Hartmut Höll has drawn notice among accompanists who succeeded Gerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons through his distinctive notions of how singers and pianists should work together. Alongside his spouse, mezzo-soprano Mitsuko Shirai, and alongside Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the closing phase of the baritone’s lengthy career, Höll adopted a frequently more rugged manner, though certain reviewers found his playing less refined than that of earlier colleagues. Even so, he has repeatedly ventured toward the margins of the song repertory, often casting fresh light on lyric pieces by lesser-known or rarely performed composers.
While studying at the Stuttgart Conservatory during the 1970s, Höll encountered his future wife. Although born in Japan, Shirai had gained considerable command of German, and her engagement with literature appealed to the young pianist’s activist outlook. As a pupil of composer and accompanist Hermann Reutter, Höll gained the chance to serve as pianist for master classes led by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. The celebrated singer responded favorably both to his playing in those sessions and to his duo appearances with Shirai.
Early in the 1980s Höll attracted the interest of another leading lieder interpreter and became Fischer-Dieskau’s steady partner at the keyboard. He continued in that role for fourteen years, supplying incisive and attentive support even when the baritone occasionally performed with concert pianists less skilled in collaborative work. On disc and in one surviving video, Höll displays notable freedom, bearing out the observation by a writer in The Christian Science Monitor that he is a pianist “of spiky originality and great emotional depth.”
Through an extensive sequence of recordings issued on the Capriccio label, Höll and Shirai have examined both familiar and uncommon material. Mozart and Brahms each received detailed reconsideration on discs from the 1990s. A notable instance of inventive programming appeared in the 1991 release 2x Winterreise, which presented the cycle on one disc while the second offered Höll’s accompaniment to violinist Tabea Zimmermann together with Peter Härtling’s readings of the texts. Additional composers whose songs Höll and Shirai have documented include Robert Franz, Viktor Ullman, Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg, Reutter, Hanns Eisler, and Karl Michael Komma.
While studying at the Stuttgart Conservatory during the 1970s, Höll encountered his future wife. Although born in Japan, Shirai had gained considerable command of German, and her engagement with literature appealed to the young pianist’s activist outlook. As a pupil of composer and accompanist Hermann Reutter, Höll gained the chance to serve as pianist for master classes led by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. The celebrated singer responded favorably both to his playing in those sessions and to his duo appearances with Shirai.
Early in the 1980s Höll attracted the interest of another leading lieder interpreter and became Fischer-Dieskau’s steady partner at the keyboard. He continued in that role for fourteen years, supplying incisive and attentive support even when the baritone occasionally performed with concert pianists less skilled in collaborative work. On disc and in one surviving video, Höll displays notable freedom, bearing out the observation by a writer in The Christian Science Monitor that he is a pianist “of spiky originality and great emotional depth.”
Through an extensive sequence of recordings issued on the Capriccio label, Höll and Shirai have examined both familiar and uncommon material. Mozart and Brahms each received detailed reconsideration on discs from the 1990s. A notable instance of inventive programming appeared in the 1991 release 2x Winterreise, which presented the cycle on one disc while the second offered Höll’s accompaniment to violinist Tabea Zimmermann together with Peter Härtling’s readings of the texts. Additional composers whose songs Höll and Shirai have documented include Robert Franz, Viktor Ullman, Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg, Reutter, Hanns Eisler, and Karl Michael Komma.
Albums
