Quasthoff decided to study singing privately. After he had graduated from school he went to university to study law. He did not enjoy the subject, and after studying for three years he chose music as a career. At first he worked as a radio announcer. He got some experience in singing oratorio. Then, in 1988, he won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. Many people, including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, were very impressed with his singing. He became known as a Lieder singer. He first sang in America in 1995. He won many awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance in 2000. It was for his performance together with the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter of Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn. They were accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado. He won prizes for his singing of songs by Schubert, Brahms and Liszt, and Bach Cantatas.
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