Thomas Quasthoff
Thomas Quasthoff, the esteemed bass-baritone, may have retired from a classical singing career, but he remains musically active. Following his retirement in 2012, two years after his brother's death from lung cancer, he continues to dedicate himself to music as a professor at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. Previously, he taught at the Detmold University of Music. His musical career has encompassed an impressive range – from Bach cantatas and songs to jazz improvisations. Despite physical limitations resulting from his mother's exposure to thalidomide during pregnancy, he overcame numerous obstacles. After a stint as a radio announcer at NDR, he won the ARD Music Competition in 1988. He later returned to the stage, appearing as a narrator in Schoenberg's 'Gurre-Lieder' in 2016 and at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2021 with his jazz quartet, as well as in a speaking role in Richard Strauss's opera 'Ariadne auf Naxos'. The artist, born in 1959, who also founded 'Das Lied', an international singing competition, combines different musical worlds in his artistic work.