Thomas Quasthoff

For almost four decades, Thomas Quasthoff has set the benchmark internationally as a singer, reaching and moving countless people with his artistry. In January 2012, he rounded off his unrivalled career as a classical singer, yet has remained closely associated with singing and the arts as a teacher, as a reciter and narrator at concerts, giving readings, and now increasingly as a jazz singer in collaboration with Wolfgang Haffner (drums), Dieter Ilg (double bass) and Simon Oslender (keyboards).

Throughout his extensive career, Thomas Quasthoff has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and called the lieder and concert stage his home, having sung at the most prominent halls and festivals. His close collaborations with conductors include names such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, Helmuth Rilling, Christian Thielemann and Franz Welser-Möst.

In 2024, Thomas Quasthoff celebrates his 50th anniversary on stage. To mark the occasion, he will perform with various jazz ensembles at the Dortmund Konzerthaus, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Bonn Jazz Festival, Wigmore Hall, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Verbier Festival, the Vienna Konzerthaus, in Frankfurt and at the Cologne Philharmonie. Alongside the Amatis Trio, he will perform as a reciter in the program entitled »Humanity in War«. As a narrator, he will appear in Schönberg’s »Gurre-Lieder« with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle and with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under Alan Gilbert.

The artist has received numerous national and international honors to date, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Three of his recordings have been awarded »Grammys« and six have received the »ECHO Klassik«.

From 1996 to 2004, Thomas Quasthoff held a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold. Since then he has taught at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. His passionate commitment to young singers also motivated the artist to found the international competition »Das Lied« in 2009.