The Voice: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Thomas Quasthoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2008

The Voice is the profoundly inspiring memoir of one of the most sought after and admired classical singers in the world--a man who has arrived at the summit of his artistry by overcoming extraordinarily daunting odds.

Thomas Quasthoff, the German bass baritone, stands a shade over four feet tall, his severely underdeveloped arms and hands the result of thalidomide poisoning while he was in his mother's womb. But through stunning determination enlivened by an impish sense of human, Quasthoff has overcome his physical limitations and Dickensian childhood, cultivating his musical genius and thrilling classical music lovers with his sublime voice.

What shines through Quasthoff's astonishing story is his staunch refusal to wallow in self-pity, to see himself as a victim. Whether he is evoking a harrowing childhood marked by multiple agonizing surgeries, relating folksy family anecdotes, expressing his devotion to his students as a professor of voice, expounding on his love of jazz and American popular music (he is a great admirer of Stevie Wonder), or unburdening himself of his wickedly outspoken views on art and disability, Quasthoff's unerring sense of humanity, boisterous conviviality, and fierce honesty are always on display.

The Voice is utterly winning--a memoir to both marvel at and enjoy.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Baritone Quasthoff (b. 1959) conquered the physical limitations he suffered as having been a thalidomide baby to become a renowned interpreter of lieder, operatic roles, and art songs. The son of musical parents, he first learned many songs from the phonograph. Winning first prize in the 1988 ARD International Music Competition launched his career. Beginning with German lieder, he built a repertory now ranging through the entire vocal literature, including popular songs and jazz. Very sociable, he loves telling stories and socializing with friends after performances. Now a teacher in Berlin, he limits his performance schedule to make time for his family. Once description of his struggles in childhood is over, he writes freely, drawing the reader into his life and career with anecdotes, comments on surviving in the cutthroat world of performance and recording, and examples of his generous humanity toward others and those who helped him surmount his infirmities. The enjoyable memoir of a great and otherwise remarkable singer. --Alan Hirsch

Review

"If Thomas Quasthoff appeared on an awards show, he would play the master of ceremonies. If he were an animal, he would be a lion, king of the jungle. If he were to play a romantic lead, he'd be the inventively eloquent Cyrano. But Quasthoff, blessed with a bass-baritone voice as soaring and generous as his own spirit, has the great good fortune to play them all--from the playful poet singing lieder to the soulful and magisterial prophet Elijah. Catch him during at unguarded moment offstage, and he'll even indulge in a little Dixieland scat. For a man born with such severe physical limitations, it appears, in fact, that there are no limits."
--Time

"With an appearance and life story so compellingly strange, it would be easy for the miracle of his perseverance and triumph, or the miracle of his perseverance and triumph, or the miracle of such a powerful and deep voice emerging from such a small body, to overwhelm the concert experience. Instead, if there is anything miraculous about Quasthoff, it is that a few minutes into a recital you stop thinking about his physique . . . He channels all of his feelings into his expressive face and subtly shaded voice . . . He holds you with his ability to communicate the mood and meaning of a song."
--The New York Times Magazine

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon (June 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375424067
• ISBN-13: 978-0375424069
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 3.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Classical

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, but best in its early chapters, January 3, 2009

By 

Jennifer M. Love (Oregon, U.S.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Voice: A Memoir (Hardcover)

I was thrilled to learn about this memoir from one of the world's most beautiful singers. The book is a good read, although it is best in its early chapters, where Thomas Quasthoff describes in detail how his parents taught him to love and respect his body--strikingly different from that of normally abled children--and to walk confidently, fall safely, and fight back vigorously against neighborhood bullies.

Reading these chapters, I learned that Thomas's mother used a Pavlovian method to teach her young child to walk, when his doctors had previously declared that he never would be able to. I also discovered that Thomas's father, himself an accomplished singer, brought home a big tape recorder/mixer one day when Thomas and his brother were children and invited Thomas to record his (already impressive) voice and blend it in with that of already famous vocalists. Reading these early chapters, it became clear to me that Thomas Quasthoff owes the foundations of his self-confidence--and his success--to the convictions and enthusiasm of his terrific parents.

The later chapters of the book were less enjoyable for me. It's not that I lost any respect for Thomas Quasthoff as a person; he seems pleasant and assured and not arrogant, considering the hugeness of his talent. It's more that the chapters seemed to lack the discreteness and focus of the childhood sections. He writes about his life as a performer, one who meets a lot of famous people, travels to far-away places, etc., and it all starts to kind of blend together and get diffuse and lose the momentum that the early chapters have. (Perhaps this is because in those early chapters, we're eagerly waiting for Quasthoff to "be discovered" and "get famous"--which isn't a very thoughtful way to read a book about a great artist, but I confess that's how I approached it.) I guess that once Quasthoff reaches the point in his book where he *is* famous, well, there's less to really hook the reader and propel us forward.

I did love reading about Quasthoff's visits to Eugene, Oregon (my hometown) to perform in the Oregon Bach Festival, and his visits to nearby beauty spots like Oregon's Crater Lake. Being a romantic, I also liked the sections in which Quasthoff describes his loving relationships with women. In one superb passage, Quasthoff talks about getting embarrassed and trying to change the subject when an interviewer asks him about sex, while his girlfriend speaks up stoutly about their intimate life and ends up making Thomas feel both good and silly at the same time.

Overall, I liked this book. But I would also like to read a second memoir by Thomas Quasthoff, one written years in the future when he has the chance to look back on a long career and single out some key moments and experiences that were meaningful to him.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joyful celebration of life, August 24, 2008

By 

soul survivor (jackson, mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voice: A Memoir (Hardcover)

It's silly of any serious music lover to give this book less than 5 stars. "The Voice" is an exuberant, humorous, joyful celebration of life. It's a triumphant achievement. "Thin"? Ich don't think so. Unless "Portrait of the Artist as Young Man" and "The Tin Drum" are thin, which they aren't. Look for your Schubert interpretation elsewhere. This is the most exciting memoir I've read in the past several years. Bravo!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A charming book, if a little thin., July 25, 2008

By 

M. Parfitt (Brookline, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Voice: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Quasthoff's story is an amazing and inspiring one, and he tells it with humor and charm. This is a quick, light read, and it cleaves pretty closely to the conventional formulae for books of this kind. But conventions don't matter much when the subject himself is so exceptional. You might not learn a great deal about singing or about music from this book, but you get a lot of insight into the personality of this great talent, and the kinds of challenges he has to overcome -- still -- in order to maintain his performing and recording schedule. I would have liked a bit more substance on matters such as his interpretation of Schubert, but I still found this to be a satisfying read.