Thomas Quasthoff

about

Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a German bass-baritone generally regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation. Although his reputation was initially based on his performance of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff has proven to have a remarkable range from the Baroque cantatas of Bach to solo jazz improvisations. Quasthoff was born with serious birth defects caused by his mother's exposure during pregnancy to the drug thalidomide which was prescribed as an antiemetic to combat her morning sickness. Thomas Quasthoff is unusually short (about four feet tall) due to shortening of the long bones in his legs, and he has phocomelia of the upper extremities with very short or absent long bones and flipper-like appearance of his hands. Quasthoff was denied admission to the music conservatory in Hannover, Germany due to his physical inability to play the piano, then a requirement for entry to the conservatory. He chose to study voice privately. He also studied law for three years. Prior to his music career, he worked six years as a radio announcer for NDR. He also did voice-over work for television. His music career was launched in 1988 when he won an important competition in Munich, earning praise from the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In 2003, he made his staged operatic debut as Don Fernando in Simon Rattle's Beethoven's Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival. His San Francisco Symphony debut took place September 2004. Thomas Quasthoff won th

top songs

albums

The Jazz Album

Tell It Like It Is

Nice 'n' Easy

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Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

Schubert Lieder

Schubert: Schwanengesang D957 / Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge, Op.121

Schumann Liederkreis

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Best Of

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Schubert: Winterreise

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The Jazz Album (International Version)

The Jazz Album - Watch what happens

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Thomas Quasthoff Singt Opern-Arien

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