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The German tenor, Martin Steffan, studied singing at the Hochschule Mozarteum Salzburg under Otto Rastbichler. Master-classes with Kurt Widmer, Jessica Cash, Evelyn Tubb, and Nicholas Clapton, as well as Baroque performance practice courses with Richard Wistreich, Nigel North, and Anthony Rooley, provided groundbreaking impulses. The practical singing training was preceded by a degree in Musicology and English at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg.
As a sought-after concert singer with a wide-ranging repertoire, Martin Steffan is stylistically authentic, moving from the music of the Middle Ages to new music. On the one hand, he is a specialist in Baroque music (eg Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel) with a high affinity to J.S. Bach, but on the other hand also a renowned interpreter of the classical-romantic repertoire (eg W.A. Mozart, Haydn, L.v. Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn)). In addition, he has rich experience in the field of new music. Numerous concerts u.a. with works by Frank Martin, Kurt Weill, Hugo Distler, Klemens Vereno and various world premieres testify to this.
This versatility, combined with an exceptionally harmonious, focused vocal sound, reflects radio and CD recordings as well as concerts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and France; in collaboration with well-known conductors of the early music scene such as Diego Fasolis or Arno Paduch. Many of these concerts have taken place during well-known festivals, such as the Tagen Alter Musik in Herne, Festival van Flaanderen in Bruges, Festival Oudemuziek in Utrecht, Monteverdi Festival in Cremona, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Progetto Martha Argerich and Vesperali, both in Lugano.
In addition to his solo engagements, Martin Steffan teaches, both privately and at Musikschule der Gemeinden des Überwaldes und des Weschnitztals, singing and trumpet based on bipolar breath type theory (Terlusollogie®). Since 2006, he has been perfecting his vocal and pedagogical skills working with Brigitta Seidler-Winkler (Immesheim), the leading representative of breathtaking vocal education. He married the German soprano Doris Steffan-Wagner on August 18, 1997, and currently lives in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. |
