Julius Pfeiffer (Tenor)

Born: 1974 - Augsburg, Germany

The German tenor, Julius Pfeiffer, grew up in Augsburg in a musical family. From infancy he received piano and transverse flute instruction. In 1995 he started to study music at school in Stuttgart, including also his first singing instruction. From 1998 to 2002 he studied singing with Gisela Krenkel and in the oratorio-class of Professor Dieter Kurz. In the summer 2000 he attended a master-class of James Wagner and received a scholarship of the International Richard-Wagner-Verbandes.

In the meantime Julius Pfeiffer unfolded an active concert activity as oratorio and Lieder singer and has developed a wide and varied repertoire from the Renaissance to the new music. Beside George Frideric Handel's big oratorios and Haydn's Schöpfung and Jahreszeiten, particularly form J.S. Bach's Cantatas, the Mass in B minor (BWV 232) the Evangelist part in Weihnachts-Oratorium, (BWV 248), Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) and Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) form the emphasis of his work. Here his special interest applies for historically informed performances. In 2000 and 2002 he was engaged at the Jungen Oper of the Stuttgarter Staatsoper. He sang there in each case the main role in Lukas Foss' The Jumping Frog and in Manuel de Falla's Meister Pedros Puppenspiel. Since the 2000-2001 season he is member of the SWR Vokalensemble. Since 2005 he is ensemble member likewise of Sette Voci under the direction of Peter Kooy. As a soloist he has appeared with the Radiosinfonie-Orchester Stuttgart, SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden & Freiburg, Rundfunkorchester Kaiserslautern, Württembergischen Philharmonie Reutlingen, and has sung under the baton of Michael Gielen, Hans Zender, Manfred Schreier, and Dieter Kurz. In recent years he has worked increasingly together with baroque orchestras, such as the Barockorchester L’arpa festante München, the Leipziger Barockorchester, and the Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt. In May 2005 he sang the tenor part in two Bach Cantatas on a tour by the most famous cathedrals of Spain with the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges under the direction of Christophe Coin. Other concert tours have led him also to Festivals in Prague and Nice. In July 2004 he won the renowned International Bach Competition in Leipzig.

Source: Junger Kammerchor Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (April 2006)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (April 2006)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

René Jacobs

Tenor

BWV 244 [Radio]

Rudolf Lutz

Tenor

DVD: BWV 63, BWV 93, BWV 132, BWV 155, BWV 180

Markus Stenz

Tenor

BWV 245

David Timm

Tenor

BWV 207, BWV 214

Links to other Sites

Julius Pfeiffer - Tenor (Junger Kammerchor) [German]

Faszination Musik - SWR.de: Julius Pfeiffer - Tenor [German]