The greatest living Lieder singer – on the Lebrecht Interview

The greatest living Lieder singer – on the Lebrecht Interview

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norman lebrecht

July 29, 2011

Not my description – it’s what Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau called him in a Lebrecht Interview four years ago.

Who did he have in mind? Thomas Quasthoff.

Episode image for Thomas Quasthoff

The diminutive baritone, bodily disabled but spiritually immense, talks on next Monday’s Lebrecht Interview about music and life.

In the past year he has suffered a double loss – his brother died and his marriage foundered. Against this backdrop he has been thinking harder than ever about the emotions he conveys in the act of singing.

We talked for two hours, one of the most intense conversations in the series.

It’s on Monday at 10pm here, and streamed online for a week. Don’t miss it.

 

Comments

  • Petros Linardos says:

    Any chance the old DFD interview could become again available on podcast?

  • Marie Lamb says:

    I agree with Petros that it would be great if the DFD and other past interviews could be made available again as podcasts, and I’m glad the BBC has kept the 2010 interviews available. As for today’s interview, I am listening as I write this, and I am not disappointed at all! I’ve always found Quasthoff to be an insightful and intelligent artist, and not just a great voice, although he certainly has the “chops”, too. Hearing the person behind the singing has been a very enlightening hour. I hope that a lot of young artists get to hear this so that they’ll learn that being a great singer doesn’t just mean a pretty or a big sound, but being a person who strives to learn about himself or herself, about others and about the world in general. The depth of Thomas Quasthoff shows in his singing, and I don’t just refer to vocal range! Thanks for a very enlightening and uplifting interview.

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