Cardiff Singer of the World
Ahead of BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year, German baritone and jury member Thomas Quasthoff offers us the benefits of his wisdom and experience
As the famous competition comes to BBC TV, judge Thomas Quasthoff describes its magic
Thomas Quasthoff first received public acclaim in 1988 when he won the ARD Competition in Munich – one of the world’s most prestigious competitions. After retiring from an international singing career at 52, he set up his own competition, Das Lied, focusing on the art of song. In June, he returns to BBC Cardiff Singer of the World as a juror in both the main competition and Song Prize.
I have a lot to thank competitions for.
The ARD Competition in Munich propelled me to the highest level in the music profession, and brought me the support of baritone Dietrich Fischer-dieskau. Any competition that doesn’t go out of its way to help its participants is useless – there should always be follow-up advice and feedback from the jury. In my own competition, Das Lied, we have discussions with our singers, so they know why they haven’t got through to the next round.
It’s unfortunate that some competitions have a reputation for corrupt practices.
There’s a danger that teachers could promote their pupils, or that managers could push their own artists… That’s why you need juries where no one sector dominates. In my competition, the jury includes soprano Dame Felicity Lott, John Gilhooly from Wigmore Hall, Dominic Meier, the boss of Vienna
State Opera and Richard Stokes, a professor at the Royal Academy. If a juror has given even one lesson to a participant, they stand down from voting in that round. That way, there’s no question of favouritism.
There’s no scientific way of judging a voice.
But there are some objective factors that you have to take into account as a juror. You start with basic points of technique: breath control, for example – any singer has to be able to phrase properly. Then I always ask myself, ‘Can I understand the words?’ It’s amazing how many singers with incredibly beautiful voices don’t take any care with the text at all – which rules them out for me. A big part of judging, though, is personal taste. For me, when I encounter a new singer, I judge the artistry, the style and overall ‘look’ of the performer. I want to see an expressive face, and I need to be touched by the voice. The ultimate question for me is, ‘Do I want to sit in a concert of two hours by this singer?’.
When things go badly, it’s often not the fault of the competition but of the jury.
During my time on the jury of the ARD Competition, we had some jurors (who shall remain nameless) who had built an entire career on singing in the wrong way. They had wrecked their own voices, and they were being asked to judge young singers. I do find that very strange. I was on the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow recently when a Russian juror, a teacher, started gesticulating to one of the participants
‘It’s amazing how many singers don’t take care with the text’
(a pupil) in order to help them. I just hate that. It meant that the singer was focusing on the jury and not communicating with the audience. On the whole, though, juries know they are there to help. In Cardiff, for instance, I never feel that anyone is on an ego trip or a nice little earner… there’s a genuine sense of responsibility to the next generation of singers.
I’m very proud to be on both the opera and the song juries in Cardiff.
The competition’s reputation has been built on finding participants with musical intelligence, personality and versatility. That’s why it has produced ‘complete’ singers like Bryn Terfel who is a tremendous dramatic animal in the opera house, but also communicates poetry so beautifully and subtly in the recital hall. (Bryn has become a very good friend, by the way. We share the same birthday!)
In some ways, singing an opera aria is easier than a song.
On stage, you have a director showing you what to do and there’s a character to hide behind. The world of song requires you to be much more personal, more exposed – it’s a test of great singing. In fact, I’ve been making a documentary on song for BBC Four called Becoming a Lied Singer: Thomas Quasthoff and the Art of German Song. It’s about Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and about me! I hope it will make people fall in love with Lieder singing, if they haven’t already.
The biggest mistake that singers make in competitions is in their choice of repertoire.
I’ve always worked really hard to learn a lot of repertoire, and then to choose very carefully what I sing. My teacher, Charlotte Lehmann, was really smart in steering me to the right things to perform. I’ve been to competitions in which every baritone seems to be singing Schubert’s Ganymede, which can get rather boring! Schubert wrote 600 songs, so it’s good to really explore what this repertoire has to offer and do something a bit different.
Competitions are the easiest way to become more known as a singer.
Some people, however, hate them. But
I would say that influential figures such as agents can’t get to every concert, so competitions are an opportunity to listen to young artists from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. For me, they have provided a chance to gauge my own level, to get a sense of where I’m at in the wider world of singing. And they have been a place for meeting my colleagues – many of my fellow participants are now friends. I would never want to miss that kind of experience. Interview by Ashutosh Khandekar
The Song Prize rounds are on Radio 3’s Lunchtime Concert (13-16 June) with the Song Prize final live on In Concert (16 June) and on BBC Four (17 June). The four rounds at St David’s Hall, Cardiff are on BBC Four (13-16 June). The Grand Final is live on BBC Four and BBC Radio 3 on 18 June with TV coverage presented by Petroc Trelawny and soprano Angel Blue.