Thomas Quasthoff

Thomas Quasthoff rose above extraordinary physical obstacles to establish himself among the leading bass-baritones of his era. Born on November 5, 1959, in Hildesheim, Germany, he entered the world with profound impairments after his mother took thalidomide during pregnancy to ease morning sickness; the exposure left him permanently limited to a stature of four feet and afflicted with phocomelia affecting his upper limbs. Unable to meet the piano proficiency demanded by Germany’s leading conservatories, he pursued vocal instruction from a private teacher while simultaneously enrolling in law studies. For six years he also served as an on-air announcer at the public broadcaster NDR and lent his voice to numerous television productions. His professional breakthrough arrived in 1988 when he captured first prize at the ARD international competition and drew high praise from baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The following year he released his debut recording for EMI, a set of Carl Loewe ballads. Persistent doubts among producers about reconciling his powerful voice with his appearance ultimately steered him toward an academic path; he joined the voice faculty at the Detmold Music Academy, where he remained for more than a decade, and made occasional recordings of works by Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. Recognition came in 2000 with his first Grammy Award for a performance of Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn alongside soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. Although initially celebrated for his command of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff gradually broadened his scope to encompass Baroque repertoire and even improvisational jazz. In 2003 he took his first staged operatic role, appearing as Don Fernando in Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival. To maintain his teaching commitments he deliberately limited himself to roughly fifty concerts each year. Eventually he left Detmold to join the faculty of Berlin’s Hanns Eisler School of Music. In 2007 he issued his inaugural jazz recording, Watch What Happens.