I have listened to Thomas Quasthoff, live and recorded, since 1996,
but concentrated immersion this weekend in his performances gave me new
reason(s) to confirm admiration for an extraordinary, complete artist.
His emotional-musical-interpretive range, the consistency of mastery
over any material, without in any way allowing perceptible distance such
performances require, the intelligence and warmth in the voice...  this
is a giant among singers, setting new standards for Bach, Mozart, Schubert,
Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Liszt, Mahler equally well.  And to think we are
yet to experience Quasthoff's work in opera in any substantial way!  His
Verdi and Wagner will be superb, without question.

Next time you run into one of those fuddy-duddies complaining about how
"the great singers died out in the 1950s" (or whenever they date the
Death of Singing), refer the misguided one to Margo Briessinck's excellent
Website of information about Quasthoff, http://www.gopera.com/quasthoff/en/.
Better yet, just give him or her one of TQ's records.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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