Thomas Quasthoff

Thomas Quasthoff overcame remarkable personal challenges to emerge as one of the premier bass-baritones of his generation. Quasthoff was born in Hildesheim, Germany, on November 5, 1959. During pregnancy, his mother was prescribed the drug thalidomide to combat morning sickness, and as a result he was born with severe birth defects, never growing past the height of four feet and suffering phocomelia of the upper extremities. Because his condition left him physically unable to play piano -- a requirement at the majority of Germany's preeminent music conservatories -- Quasthoff ...