Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a Germa… Read Full Bio ↴Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a German bass-baritone generally regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation. Although his reputation was initially based on his performance of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff has proven to have a remarkable range from the Baroque cantatas of Bach to solo jazz improvisations.

Quasthoff was born with serious birth defects caused by his mother's exposure during pregnancy to the drug thalidomide which was prescribed as an antiemetic to combat her morning sickness. Thomas Quasthoff is unusually short (about four feet tall) due to shortening of the long bones in his legs, and he has phocomelia of the upper extremities with very short or absent long bones and flipper-like appearance of his hands.

Quasthoff was denied admission to the music conservatory in Hannover, Germany due to his physical inability to play the piano, then a requirement for entry to the conservatory. He chose to study voice privately. He also studied law for three years. Prior to his music career, he worked six years as a radio announcer for NDR. He also did voice-over work for television.

His music career was launched in 1988 when he won an important competition in Munich, earning praise from the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In 2003, he made his staged operatic debut as Don Fernando in Simon Rattle's Beethoven's Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival. His San Francisco Symphony debut took place September 2004.

Thomas Quasthoff won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance in 2000. It was for his performance together with the soprano Anne Sofie von Otter of Mahler’s Lieder aus "Des Knaben Wunderhorn". They were accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado. He won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for the second time in 2004. It was for Schubert: Lieder with Orchestra which Quasthoff performed with von Otter and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Abbado. Quasthoff won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for the third time in 2006 with Rainer Kussmaul leading members of the RIAS Chamber Choir of Berlin Baroque Soloists in their recording of J.S.Bach: Cantatas.

Additionally, Quasthoff's recordings of the songs of Brahms, Liszt and Schubert accompanied by pianist Justus Zeyen were nominated for the Grammy in 2000 and 2001. Thomas Quasthoff records for Deutsche Grammophon.

Quasthoff is a full-time voice professor and performs only about 50 times a year. He was a professor at the music academy of Detmold, Germany. He currently teaches at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.

For the 2006-2007 concert season, Quasthoff was one of Carnegie Hall's "Perspectives" artists. However, illness forced him to cancel his first two appearances in that capacity.

In 2006 he took his first jazzalbum, "The Jazzalbum - Watch what happens", with Till Brönner, Alan Broadbent, Peter Erskine, Dieter Ilg and Chuck Loeb.

In the spring of 2012, Quasthoff announced his retirement at the age of 52. During an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, Quasthoff said that his retirement was due to grief at the death of his brother, as well as a recent bout of laryngitis. He also went on to speak that he was now satisfied that the world had not just listened to his art due to his physical challenges, but that his art was truly respected for itself.

Kissing My Love
Thomas Quasthoff Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
Yeah thump a thumping in my head

Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
I close my eyes and see a pretty city
With a million flowers babe

Now I can hear the angels sing
Songs that only angels sing
She's such a pretty thing
That I can feel my heart
Just a thumping and a skipping
When I'm kissing my love

Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
Feel the blood a pumping in my veins
Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
She's such a tender sender
With her sweet young friends

She's so good at what she does
All she wants to do is kiss and hug
She's got me in love
And I can feel my heart
Just a thumping and a skipping
When I'm kissing my love

[Repeat x8]
Put your foot on the rock and pat your foot,
Don't stop, put your foot on the rock

Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
Feel the blood a pumping in my veins
Whoa now
When I'm kissing my love
She's such a tender sender
With her sweet young friends

Whoa now

She's so good at what she does
All she wants to do is kiss and hug
She's got me in love
And I can feel my heart

Just a thumping and a skipping
When I'm kissing my love

Overall Meaning

The song "Kissing My Love" by Thomas Quasthoff is an expression of love and passion. The first stanza describes the physical sensations experienced by the singer when he is kissing his love. It talks about a thumping sound in his head and the feeling of being transported to a beautiful city with a million flowers. The second stanza speaks about a deeper emotional response, with the singer hearing songs that only angels can sing when he is with his love. The lyrics convey a sense of joy and elation, with the singer feeling his heart thumping and skipping as he kisses her.

The song also makes reference to the tenderness and sweetness of the singer's love interest. She is described as a tender sender, with her sweet young friends, and as being good at kissing and hugging. The final repeat of the chorus reinforces the idea that the singer's love is all-consuming, with him feeling his heart thumping and skipping whenever he is with her.

Overall, "Kissing My Love" is a romantic song that celebrates the physical and emotional aspects of love. It is an uplifting and joyful expression of the overwhelming feelings that can occur when two people are deeply in love.

Line by Line Meaning

Whoa now
Feeling a rush of excitement

When I'm kissing my love
When I am with my lover

Yeah thump a thumping in my head
My heart is beating fast with excitement

I close my eyes and see a pretty city
I am lost in a beautiful dream

With a million flowers babe
Filled with beauty and wonder

Now I can hear the angels sing
It feels like a spiritual experience

Songs that only angels sing
A divine melody fills my heart

She's such a pretty thing
My lover is beautiful and captivating

That I can feel my heart
My heart is filled with emotions and passion

Just a thumping and a skipping
Beating fast with excitement

Feel the blood a pumping in my veins
My body is filled with energy