Kurt Huber is a Swiss tenor for concert and Lied

Lied

is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...

er.

Biography

Kurt Huber studied voice

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 with Anton Dermota

Anton Dermota

Kammersänger Anton Dermota was a Slovene tenor.He was born in a poor family Born in the Upper Carniolan village of Kropa, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire . He went to the Ljubljana Conservatory with the intention of studying composition and organ, but in 1934 he received a scholarship...

.

He performed solo parts in works of Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

, especially the Evangelist

Evangelist (Bach)

The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...

 in his passions and oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

s. On 19 March 1967 he performed the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion in the Tonhalle Zürich with the Zuercher Bach Chor. He sang in the Konstantinbasilika

Aula Palatina

The Basilica of Constantine , or Aula Palatina, at Trier, Germany is a Roman palace basilica that was built by the emperor Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century....

 with the Trierer Bachchor, in 1971 in the Christmas Oratorio

Christmas Oratorio

The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...

, along with Julia Hamari

Julia Hamari

Julia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...

, in 1973 in the St. John Passion

St. John Passion

Several composers have written works known by the title St John Passion, which denotes a passion based on the Gospel of John...

, with Wolfgang Schöne

Wolfgang Schöne

- Biography :Schöne was born in Bad Gandersheim. He began his studies of voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Naan Pöld in 1964 and moved with him to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in 1986, achieving his diploma as a concert singer and music teacher in 1969.His...

, and in 1980 in the St. Matthew Passion, with Hildegard Laurich

Hildegard Laurich

Hildegard Laurich , is a German classical contralto singer.- Professional career :Hildegard Laurich studied at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, in Berlin with Hermann Weissenborn, and in private study with Fred Husler in Cureglia.She sang mostly in concert, particularly in works of Johann...

. He sang the St John Passion in Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

 with the choir Ulmer Kantorei on 4 May 1985.

Kurt Huber frequently performed the tenor part in the recordings of Bach cantata

Bach cantata

Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....

s with the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra

Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra

Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, full German name: Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, full English name South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, is an internationally known German chamber orchestra based in Pforzheim.- History :...

 and Fritz Werner

Fritz Werner

Fritz Werner was a German choral conductor, church music director, conductor, organist and composer...

, also the Evangelist of Bach's Ascension Oratorio. A reviewer described his performance:

He sings with excellent, plangent tone and is wonderfully fluent in the very difficult chromatics of his aria ... Much though I admire Helmut Krebs

Helmut Krebs

Helmut Krebs was a distinguished German tenor in opera and concert, who sang a wide range of roles from Baroque to contemporary works.-Professional career:...

 I think that Huber actually makes a more ingratiating sound. He seems, dare I say it, more polished than his distinguished colleague and his voice is certainly more even.

Kurt Huber has appeared in Handel's oratorios Messiah

Messiah (Handel)

Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...

, Judas Maccabaeus, Israel in Egypt, Samson, Saul

Saul (Handel)

Saul is an oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the 1st Book of Samuel, the story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel’s relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred,...

and Joshua

Joshua (Handel)

Joshua is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It was composed in a month, between 19 July 1747 and 19 August 1747 and is Handel's fourth oratorio based on a libretto by Thomas Morell. The oratorio premiered on the 9th March, 1748 at the Covent Garden Theatre, London...

. He sang in Haydn's The Creation

The Creation structure

The Creation, the oratorio by Joseph Haydn, is structured in three parts. He composed it in 1796–1798 on German text as Die Schöpfung. The work is set for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Its movements are listed in tables for their form, voice, key, tempo marking, time signature and...

and The Seasons

The Seasons (Haydn)

The Seasons is an oratorio by Joseph Haydn .-Composition, premiere, and reception:Haydn was led to write The Seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio The Creation , which had become very popular and was in the course of being performed all over Europe...

, in Mozart's masses and Requiem

Requiem (Mozart)

The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...

, Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...

and Missa solemnis

Missa Solemnis (Beethoven)

The Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123 was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819-1823. It was first performed on April 7, 1824 in St. Petersburg, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Galitzin; an incomplete performance was given in Vienna on 7 May 1824, when the Kyrie,...

. Oratorios from the period of Romanticism

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

 have included Liszt's Christus

Christus (Liszt)

Christus is an oratorio by the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt. The oratorio takes the traditional plot of Jesus Christ's life from his birth to his passion and resurrection, using Bible texts, and is thus somewhat reminiscent of another famous religious work, Messiah by George Frideric...

and Mendelssohn's Elijah

Elijah (oratorio)

Elijah, in German: Elias, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. It depicts various events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Old Testament....

and Paulus

St. Paul (oratorio)

St. Paul , Op. 36, is an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn.The libretto was begun in 1832 by the composer with Pastor Julius Schubring, a childhood friend, pulling together passages from the New Testament and Old Testament...

. He has performed in Bruckner's masses, Dvořák's Requiem

Requiem (Dvorák)

Antonín Dvořák's Requiem in B-flat minor, Op. 89, B. 165, is a funeral mass for soloists, choir and orchestra, composed in 1890.- Background :...

and Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater (Dvorák)

Stabat Mater for soli, choir and orchestra is a religious cantata by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. The work was sketched in 1876 and completed in 1877.- Background :...

, Verdi's Requiem and works of Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...

 and Franz Schmidt

Franz Schmidt

Franz Schmidt was an Austrian composer, cellist and pianist of Hungarian descent and origin.- Life :Schmidt was born in Pozsony , in the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . His father was half Hungarian and his mother entirely Hungarian...

.

In 1963 Kurt Huber participated in the Swiss premiere of Mozart's Apollo und Hyacinth

Apollo et Hyacinthus

Apollo et Hyacinthus is an opera, K. 38, written in 1767 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was 11 years old at the time. It is Mozart's first true opera . It is in three acts...

. With the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn

Heilbronn

Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....

 he sang in concert Bach's Hohe Messe in h-moll with Herrad Wehrung, Claudia Hellmann

Claudia Hellmann

Claudia Hellmann is a German contralto singer in opera and concert.- Biography :Claudia Hellmann studied voice in Berlin with Erika Garski....

, Jakob Stämpfli

Jakob Stämpfli (bass)

Jakob Stämpfli is a Swiss bass concert singer and an influential academic teacher and director of the conservatory in Bern, also a teacher in Saarbrücken.-Biography:...

, Maurice André

Maurice André

Maurice André is a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field.-Biography:He is a classical virtuoso trumpeter, born in Alès, France in the Cévennes into a mining family. His father was an amateur musician....

 (trumpet), Hermann Baumann

Hermann Baumann

Hermann Baumann is a virtuoso horn player, teacher and composer.After starting his musical career as a singer and jazz drummer he switched to horn at the age of 17...

 (horn), the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn

Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn

The Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn is one of the renowned German Chamber Orchestras, located in Heilbronn .The Orchestra was founded by Prof...

, conducted by Fritz Werner in 1967, in Mendelssohn's Elias with Siegmund Nimsgern

Siegmund Nimsgern

Siegmund Nimsgern is a German bass-baritone, born in Sankt Wendel, Saarland, Germany.After leaving school in 1960 he studied singing and musical education at the Hochschule für Musik Saar with Sibylle Fuchs, Jakob Stämpfli and Paul Lohmann.He made his debut at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in...

 in the title role in 1968, and in Handel's Messias with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn

Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn

The Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn is one of the renowned German Chamber Orchestras, located in Heilbronn .The Orchestra was founded by Prof...

 in 1985, also in the Stadtkirche Bad Wimpfen

Bad Wimpfen

Bad Wimpfen is an historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.-Geography:...

. With the choir Philharmonischer Chor Schwäbisch Gmünd

Schwäbisch Gmünd

Schwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen...

 he performed Haydn's Die Schöpfung (The Creation) in 1971 with Ursula Buckel

Ursula Buckel

Ursula Buckel was a German soprano singer, known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...

 and Roland Hermann, Bruckner's Große Messe No. 3 f-Moll

Mass No. 3 (Bruckner)

The Mass No. 3 in F minor WAB 28 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ. After the 1867 success of Bruckner's Mass No...

and Te Deum

Te Deum (Bruckner)

The Te Deum in C major WAB 45 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the early Christian Te Deum hymn text for chorus, soloists and orchestra, and organ ad libitum...

with Kari Lövaas, Hildegard Rütgers and Günter Reich

Günter Reich

Günter Reich , also spelled Günther Reich and Gunther Reich, was an Israeli baritone of German birth...

, and Verdi's Messa da Requiem in 1987, also in the Münster of the Zwiefalten Abbey

Zwiefalten Abbey

- References :...

. In 1982 he performed the tenor part of Puccini's Messa di Gloria

Messa (Puccini)

Giacomo Puccini's Messa or Messa a quattro voci is a Mass composed for orchestra and four-part choir with tenor, bass and baritone soloists...

.

Kurt Huber has been a teacher at the Musikhochschule Zürich.

Selected recordings

His recordings besides Bach have included rare repertoire such as Carissimi's oratorio Jephte, a Magnificat

Magnificat

The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...

of Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...

 and one of Heinrich Schütz

Heinrich Schütz

Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...

, all with the Spandauer Kantorei and Helmuth Rilling

Helmuth Rilling

Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...

, German Lieder by Ludwig Senfl

Ludwig Senfl

Ludwig Senfl was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and was an influential figure in the development of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style in...

, and the oratorio Das Gesicht Jesajas (The Vision of Isaiah

Isaiah

Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...

) op. 41 of Willy Burkhard

Willy Burkhard

Willy Burkhard was a Swiss composer.Willy Burkhard was an extremely influential composer of the 20th century...

, with Adele Stolte

Adele Stolte

Adele Stolte is a German soprano singer in concert and Lieder, and an academic voice teacher.- Biography :...

, Jakob Stämpfli

Jakob Stämpfli (bass)

Jakob Stämpfli is a Swiss bass concert singer and an influential academic teacher and director of the conservatory in Bern, also a teacher in Saarbrücken.-Biography:...

 and the Berner Symphonieorchester conducted by Martin Flämig

Martin Flämig

Martin Flämig was a German church musician, cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1971 to 1991.- Biography :...

.

External links

• Entries for recordings by Kurt Huber on WorldCat
  WorldCat
  WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...