Thomas Hamberger (Bass-Baritone)

Born: 1956 - Bayreuth, Germany

The German bass-baritone, Thomas Hamberger, was brought up as the second of four children in Rosenheim (located between Munich and Salzburg), in a musical family. Both in the school choir and in the choir of his father he could gain first singing experience. After the humanist Abitur he studied mechanical engineering, but began already to draw his way as a singer.

Thomas Hamberger's first engagement as a soloist was with the vocal ensemble ‘Camerata Vocale’, with which he could study and specify works from the Renaissance to the modern era as bassist a-cappella. In this time he also began his private singing training with Waldemar Wild, which he whould continue later with Michael Felsenstein in breath technique and voice development.

When after achieving the engineer diploma the question arose to assume either to receive a secured place as civil servant or the risky way of a free singer career, he decided for the music. He became a member in the choir of the Bavarian Broadcast, where he gained experience from many great conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis and many others.

In the meantime Thomas Hamberger has established himself predominantly as a soloist in the oratorio and Lieder singing. With frequent appearances in Munich he has also appeared all over Germany (Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Frankfurt, Rostock...), as well as in Austria (Salzburg), Italy (Florence, Siena), and France (Marseille, Aix, Auxerre). Invitations followed to appear at international music festivals, among which the Israel Festival (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv), where he interpreted Elias and Messiah, Schubert’s Winterreise and Schumann’s Dichterliebe. He likes particularly to sing in the J.S. Bach’s Passions (Jesus, arias), Haydn’s The Creation (Raphael, Adam) or Orff’s Carmina Burana. Among his extensive repertoire rank, beside rarely-heard works, almost all the well-known works, oratorios and cantatas of J.S. Bach, Mozart, George Frideric Handel, Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, Franck, Martin and other composers. Besides, he performs Lieder, particularly of Schubert and Schumann. In addition he is committed to the modern trend. In September 2000 he interpreted the title role with of the Italian Culture Association ‘Tempo Reale’ in the premiere of Gesualdo by the composer H.J. Gerung (Sylvano Bussotti pupil).

Source: Thomas Hamberger Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (August 2001)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2001)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Enoch zu Guttenberg

Bass

BWV 244

Gerald Häußler

Tenor

BWV 245 [1^st, Jesus]

Michaela Prentl

Bass

BWV 63, BWV 243, BWV 245, BWV 248

Links to other Sites

Konzertsänger Thomas Hamberger