Kurt Widmer
Kurt Widmer (born December 28, 1940 in Wil , St. Gallen ) is a Swiss singing teacher and singer ( baritone ).
Life
Widmer studied violin and singing at the Zurich Conservatory with Ria Ginster , then attended master classes with Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann and her husband Paul Lohmann in Lucerne and Wiesbaden and with Burga Schwarzbach in Vienna .
He has been a concert singer in Switzerland and internationally since 1966. When mixed choir Zurich , he worked from 1967 to 1992 as a soloist in oratorios and concerts 24. Concert tours have taken him to various cities in Europe, Israel , Canada , Russia , Japan and the USA , where he performed under well-known conductors such as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos , Michael Gielen , Paul Sacher , Wolfgang Sawallisch , Horst Stein and Jesús López Cobos . His repertoire ranges from oratorios and sacred vocal music to contemporary compositions, of which he has sung more than 100 premieres.
Since 1968 Widmer has been working as a teacher at the Music Academy of the City of Basel and leads master classes in Bozen , Kufstein , Linz , Moscow , Salzburg , Stuttgart , Tokyo , Trier , Vaduz and Vienna.
His son Oliver Widmer is also a well-known baritone and the husband of Cecilia Bartoli .
Repertoire (selection)
- Domenico Cimarosa : Requiem
- Carl Heinrich Graun : Oratorio The Death of Jesus
- Joseph Haydn : The Creation Hob. XXI: 2
- Nikolai Andrejewitsch Rimski-Korsakow : Mozart and Salieri
- Camille Saint-Saëns : Christmas Oratorio
- Othmar Schoeck : Achilles in Penthesilea
- Franz Schubert : Winterreise op.89, D 911
Discography (selection)
- Johann Sebastian Bach : St. John Passion BWV 245 (arias), EMI
- Ludwig van Beethoven : Missa solemnis in D major op. 123, Harmonia Mundi and Parnassus
- Johannes Brahms : A German Requiem op. 45, Harmonia Mundi
- Gabriel Fauré : Requiem op.48, Schwann AMS Studio
- François-Joseph Gossec : Requiem - Grande Messe des Morts, Erato Records
- Joseph Haydn: The Seasons Hob. XXI: 3, Vox
Prizes and awards
- 1967: Soloist Prize from the Swiss Tonkünstlerverein
- 1985: Regio Prize for Music from the Upper Rhine Association for the Promotion of the Economy
- 2007: Culture Prize of the City of Wil
- Prix mondial du Disque
- Grand Prix du Disque
- Diaposon d'or de l'Académie Prix du Disque Français
- German record award
- German Record Critics' Prize
Publications
- Widmer, Kurt: And nobody notices that the giraffe is on fire: song is inner movement sound . Cardamina Verlag, Weißenthurm 2018, ISBN 978-3-86424-399-8 .
Web links
- Kurt Widmer's website accessed on August 24, 2014
- Audio sample: Kurt Widmer in the Benedictus of Saint-Saëns accessed on August 24, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kurt Widmer with Bach Cantatas (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Widmer, Kurt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss singing teacher and singer (baritone) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wil , St. Gallen |