The Voice: A Memoir

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.

Anyone fortunate enough to have attended one of Thomas Quasthoff's performances knows the love of life that comes through his gorgeous voice. Quasthoff is a supremely gifted singer and once his first note is sounded his physical disability is immediately forgotten by the listener. This autobiography gives us some insights in what makes him tick - his loving family, his difficult schooling, his rise to the heights of his profession and his ever present sense of humor and joy in life. It is full of humorous anecdotes about his friends, family and travels and his philosophy of singing.

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!

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.