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.
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life
Thomas Quasthoff Lyrics
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In fields of dawn and forests of the night
And when you stand before the candles on a cake
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make
What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and South and East and West of your life
I have only one request of your life
All the seasons and the times of your days
All the nickels and the dimes of your days
Let the reasons and the rhymes of your days
All begin and end with me
I want to see your face in every kind of light
In the fields of dawn and the forests of the night
And when you stand before the candles on a cake
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make
Those tomorrows waiting deep in your eyes
In the world of love that you keep in your eyes
I'll awaken what's asleep in your eyes
It may take a kiss or two
Through all of my life
Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall of my life
All I ever will recall of my life
Is all of my life with you
"What are you doing the rest of your life?" is a love song about a man who wants to spend the rest of his life with his beloved. He desires to see her face in every kind of light, whether it's the dawn or nightfall. Additionally, he wants to be the one who hears her silent wishes when she blows out the candles on her birthday cake. The man asks a single question that he cannot get out of his head, "What are you doing the rest of your life?" and pleads for her to spend it with him. He wants to be a part of everything she experiences, including all of the seasons and times, nickels, and dimes of her days. The man desires to be the reason and rhyme for her days and wants to see her in a world of love that she keeps in her eyes.
The lyrics of the song were written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, and the music was composed by Michel Legrand. The song was originally recorded by Michael Dees in 1968, and it subsequently became a hit when Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1969. Since then, it has been covered by various artists such as Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, and Johnny Mathis.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to see your face in every kind of light
I want to know you in all aspects of your life.
In fields of dawn and forests of the night
I want to be with you in the times of joy and the times of sorrow.
And when you stand before the candles on a cake
I want to be there to share in your special moments.
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make
I want to be someone who you trust enough to confide your deepest desires and wishes.
What are you doing the rest of your life?
I want to know if you will be with me for the rest of your life.
North and South and East and West of your life
I want to be with you no matter where life takes us.
I have only one request of your life
My only request is for you to spend your life with me.
That you spend it all with me
I want to share all of life's experiences with you.
All the seasons and the times of your days
I want to be with you in all the different phases of your life.
All the nickels and the dimes of your days
I want to be with you in the small, mundane moments of your life.
Let the reasons and the rhymes of your days
I want to be part of your reasons for living and the beauty in your life.
All begin and end with me
I want our relationship to be the start and end of everything in your life.
Those tomorrows waiting deep in your eyes
I see a bright future with you in your eyes.
In the world of love that you keep in your eyes
Your eyes reveal the love you have in your heart.
I'll awaken what's asleep in your eyes
I will bring forth the passion and love that you may not realize you have.
It may take a kiss or two
I will show my love for you through simple gestures like a kiss.
Through all of my life
Throughout my entire life.
Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall of my life
In all the different seasons of my life.
All I ever will recall of my life
All I will remember and cherish in my life.
Is all of my life with you
Is the memories and moments we share together for a lifetime.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALAN BERGMAN, MARILYN BERGMAN, MICHEL LEGRAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind