Christoph Prégardien
Encyclopedia
Christoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor
whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio
roles, and Baroque music
. He is well known for his performances and recordings of the Evangelist
roles in Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion.
Born in Limburg an der Lahn
, Germany, he began his musical education as a choirboy at the cathedral's boys' choir, the Limburger Domsingknaben
. He then studied singing with Martin Gründler and Karlheinz Jarius in Frankfurt at the Hochschule für Musik, with Carla Castellani in Milan, with Alois Treml in Stuttgart, and attended Hartmut Höll's lieder-class.
His orchestral and oratorio repertory spans a wide range from the great Baroque, Classical and Romantic Oratorios to 20th-century works by Britten
, Killmayer
, Rihm
, Stravinsky
. Also recognized as an eminent recitalist, he regularly performs at the major recitals venues in Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Zurich, Vienna, Barcelona and Geneva, as well as during his concert tours throughout Italy, Japan and North America. He regularly collaborates with piano partners Michael Gees and Andreas Staier
.
He has made over 120 recordings, on major labels such as BMG, EMI
, Deutsche Grammophon
, Philips
, Sony
, Erato
and Teldec
. His recordings of German Lieder have been highly acclaimed by the public and press, and have received international awards, including the Orphée d'Or de l'Academie du Disque Lyrique, the Edison Award, and others. He took part in the project of Ton Koopman
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
to record Bach's complete vocal works.
In opera, Prégardien has made stage appearances in major European houses, performing leading roles as Tamino, Don Ottavio
, Tito
, Count Almaviva, Fenton
, and Monteverdi's Ulisse
.
Prégardien is also an educator. From 2000 to 2005, he was in charge of a vocal class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zurich. Since the autumn of 2004, he has been a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
. Among his students is Ulrich Cordes
. His son, Julian Prégardien (b. 1984), is also a tenor.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
roles, and Baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
. He is well known for his performances and recordings of the Evangelist
Evangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
roles in Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion.
Born in Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn....
, Germany, he began his musical education as a choirboy at the cathedral's boys' choir, the Limburger Domsingknaben
Limburger Domsingknaben
Limburg Cathedral Boys' Choir is a famous boys' choir from Limburg, Germany. Their home is the musical boarding school in Hadamar, next to Limburg. The choir was founded in 1967 by the former bishop of Limburg, Dr. Wilhelm Kempf. The main task of the choir is the musical creation of the service on...
. He then studied singing with Martin Gründler and Karlheinz Jarius in Frankfurt at the Hochschule für Musik, with Carla Castellani in Milan, with Alois Treml in Stuttgart, and attended Hartmut Höll's lieder-class.
His orchestral and oratorio repertory spans a wide range from the great Baroque, Classical and Romantic Oratorios to 20th-century works by Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Killmayer
Wilhelm Killmayer
Wilhelm Killmayer is a German composer of classical music and an academic.-Professional career:Wilhelm Killmayer studied conducting and composition from 1945 to 1951 in Munich at Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen’s Musikseminar...
, Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm is a German composer.Rihm is Head of the Institute of Modern Music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival...
, Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
. Also recognized as an eminent recitalist, he regularly performs at the major recitals venues in Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Zurich, Vienna, Barcelona and Geneva, as well as during his concert tours throughout Italy, Japan and North America. He regularly collaborates with piano partners Michael Gees and Andreas Staier
Andreas Staier
Andreas Staier is a German pianist and harpsichordist.-Life:Staier studied piano and harpsichord in the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover, with Kurt Bauer and Erika Haase for piano and from Lajos Rovatkay for harpsichord, and also in Amsterdam. From 1983 until 1986 he was the harpsichord soloist for...
.
He has made over 120 recordings, on major labels such as BMG, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Erato
Erato Records
Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 to promote French classical music. In 1992 it became part of Warner Bros. Records. In 1999 Erato launched a subsidiary Detour Records....
and Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. His recordings of German Lieder have been highly acclaimed by the public and press, and have received international awards, including the Orphée d'Or de l'Academie du Disque Lyrique, the Edison Award, and others. He took part in the project of Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
to record Bach's complete vocal works.
In opera, Prégardien has made stage appearances in major European houses, performing leading roles as Tamino, Don Ottavio
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
, Count Almaviva, Fenton
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, and Monteverdi's Ulisse
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera in a prologue and five acts , set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season...
.
Prégardien is also an educator. From 2000 to 2005, he was in charge of a vocal class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zurich. Since the autumn of 2004, he has been a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
. Among his students is Ulrich Cordes
Ulrich Cordes
Ulrich Cordes is a German tenor.-Professional career:Ulrich Cordes first studied sacred music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Winfried Bönig and Margaretha Hürholz, among others. He continued studying voice. In 2005 he was able to study at the CNSMDP in Paris with Pierre Mervant as a...
. His son, Julian Prégardien (b. 1984), is also a tenor.
Selected recordings
- J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245 BWV 245, Philippe HerreweghePhilippe HerreweghePhilippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, Collegium Vocale Gent, Christoph Prégardien, Konrad JarnotKonrad JarnotKonrad Jarnot is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a teacher at the Robert Schumann Hochschule.-Early life:...
(Vox ChristiVox ChristiVox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
), Camilla TillingCamilla TillingCamilla Tilling is a Swedish soprano in opera and concert.- Professional career :Camilla Tilling studied at the Högskolan för scen och musik in Göteborg and at the Royal College of Music in London, where she graduated in 1998.Her opera debut was the role of Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of...
, Ingeborg DanzIngeborg DanzIngeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
, Jan KobowJan KobowJan Kobow is a German classical tenor in concert, Lied and Baroque opera.-Professional career:Jan Kobow was born and raised in Berlin. He was a singer and soloist of the Staats- und Domchor, Berlin with Christian Grube. He studied the organ at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and graduated in church...
, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
2007
External links
- Christoph Prégardien Official German web site, English version is linked
- Bach cantatas includes a biography of Christoph Prégardien and his recordings and performances of Bach's music - also includes pictures