Thomas Quasthoff’s brilliant career on stage lasted four decades. The powerful German bass baritone went down in history as one of the best vocal musicians of the German composers, along with Dietrich Fischer-Diskau (he called Quasthoff his direct heir in music). His career took off after he was awarded an Edinburgh International Festival prize and the Shostakovich Prize in Moscow in 1996. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for his concert debut.
He stays away from operatic parts. A significant part of this video featuring (a Barrie Gavin film) Quasthoff during practice and performance. He may be seen working with composer Aribert Reimann on a very challenging piece that was composed especially for him, painstakingly getting ready for a recording of Schubert songs, and performing Bach, Brahms, Mahler, and Loewe pieces. Quasthoff is a thoughtful, perceptive, and affable individual who also discusses his life, profession, and future goals.
Two albums by Thomas Quasthoff on Deutsche Grammophon and a performance of the “The Magic Horn of a Boy” by Mahler gave him three Grammy Awards.
In 2012, Quasthoff retired as an opera singer and found himself in jazz.
Thomas Quasthoff’s first jazz album, The Jazz Album (Watch What Happens, released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2017, earned a lot of acclaim from listeners and critics and was nominated for Grammy.
For the last ten years, Thomas Quasthoff has been travelling with his jazz trio. In 2018, he recorded an album with a big band from the German television and radio company NDR.
Critics say: “When famous opera artists take on jazz, it looks sad. But Thomas Quasthoff doesn’t have any of the grim seriousness that the opera artists have. On the contrary, he performs popular melodies and standards relaxed, swinging as if sliding, with a soft American accent that reminds us of Lou Rolls, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole”.
