Jan Kobow
Encyclopedia
Jan Kobow is a German
classical tenor
in concert, Lied
and Baroque
opera.
. He was a singer and soloist of the Staats- und Domchor, Berlin with Christian Grube
. He studied the organ
at the Schola Cantorum
in Paris
and graduated in church music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in 1994. He continued to study singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg
with Sabine Kirchner, graduating in 1999.
In the field of historically informed performance
he has worked with Nikolaus Harnoncourt
and took part in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of John Eliot Gardiner
and the Monteverdi Choir
. In 2002 he recorded several cantatas for Pentecost
of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
, conducted by Ludger Rémy
, with one voice per part, the four soloists forming the choir. In 2003 he recorded Bach cantata
s with Philippe Herreweghe
and the Collegium Vocale Gent, Johannette Zomer
, Ingeborg Danz
and Peter Kooy
, including Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2, written for the second Sunday after Trinity
of 1724. In 2007 he recorded more Bach cantatas with Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields
, Matthew White
and Peter Kooy. In 2007 he performed with Herreweghe the tenor arias of Bach's St John Passion in Alice Tully Hall
. In 2008 he sang the part of the Evangelist
in an arrangement of this passion by Robert Schumann
. A review states: "Jan Kobow’s rendition of the evangelist’s role is brilliant—compellingly dramatic and wonderfully fluent, and the ease of his high range is remarkable."
He has performed Baroque
opera, such as in 2004 the part of Telemaco in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie
in a production also shown at the Lincoln Center
in New York
, in Caen
and in Luxembourg
. In 2007 he sang the title role of this opera in concert performances with Les Talens Lyriques
, directed by Christophe Rousset
.
He has performed and recorded Lieder of the period of Romanticism
accompanied on period instruments
. He sang Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin
and Schwanengesang with Kristian Bezuidenhout (Hammerflügel), Lieder of Siegmund von Seckendorff on words of Goethe
with Ludger Rémy (Pianoforte
), and Lieder and Ballads of Carl Loewe with Cord Garben. In 2010 Kobow took part in the project Robert Schumann: Sammlung von Musik-Stücken alter und neuer Zeit, which was initiated by Radio Bremen
und resulted in a series of broadcasts and CDs. Artists such as Veronika Winter and Andreas Pruys
performed the 70 compositions which Schumann
had added to the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
from 1838 to 1841.
Kobow co-founded the ensemble Himlische Cantorey, performing works of Claudio Monteverdi
and John Dowland
, among others.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
classical tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
in concert, 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...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
opera.
Professional career
Jan Kobow was born and raised in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He was a singer and soloist of the Staats- und Domchor, Berlin with Christian Grube
Christian Grube
Christian J Grube is a German choral conductor.-Education:Christian Grube was born in Hanover, Germany. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik and at the Kirchenmusikschule in Hanover, majoring in conducting, voice, flute, organ, and Renaissance instruments...
. He studied the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
at the Schola Cantorum
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and graduated in church music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in 1994. He continued to study singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg
The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger universities of music in Germany.It was founded 1950 as Staatliche Hochschule für Musik on the base of the former private acting school of Annemarie Marks-Rocke and Eduard Marks.Studies include various music types from church music...
with Sabine Kirchner, graduating in 1999.
In the field of historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
he has worked with Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
and took part in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
and the Monteverdi Choir
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
. In 2002 he recorded several cantatas for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel was a prolific German composer.-Biography:Stölzel grew up in Schwarzenberg, Saxony in the Erzgebirge. From 1707 he was a student of theology in Leipzig, and of Melchior Hofmann, the musical director of the Neukirche. He studied, worked and composed in Breslau and Halle...
, conducted by Ludger Rémy
Ludger Rémy
Ludger Rémy is a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist.- Biography :Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert in Paris. He was a teacher at several German academies including the Folkwang Hochschule and the Hochschule für...
, with one voice per part, the four soloists forming the choir. In 2003 he recorded 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 Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
and the Collegium Vocale Gent, Johannette Zomer
Johannette Zomer
- Biography :Johannette Zomer studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charles van Tassel and received her Performance Diploma in 1997....
, Ingeborg Danz
Ingeborg Danz
Ingeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
and Peter Kooy
Peter Kooy
Peter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
, including Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2, written for the second Sunday after Trinity
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
of 1724. In 2007 he recorded more Bach cantatas with Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields
Dorothee Mields
Dorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.-Career:Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Gabriele Schreckenbach...
, Matthew White
Matthew White (countertenor)
Matthew White is a Canadian countertenor.-Career:Matthew White graduated in English Literature from McGill University...
and Peter Kooy. In 2007 he performed with Herreweghe the tenor arias of Bach's St John Passion in Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
. In 2008 he sang the part of 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 an arrangement of this passion by Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
. A review states: "Jan Kobow’s rendition of the evangelist’s role is brilliant—compellingly dramatic and wonderfully fluent, and the ease of his high range is remarkable."
He has performed Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
opera, such as in 2004 the part of Telemaco in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera in a prologue and five acts , set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season...
at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in a production also shown at the Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
and in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. In 2007 he sang the title role of this opera in concert performances with Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques is a baroque orchestra founded in 1991 by French conductor Christophe Rousset.The ensemble takes its name from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opéra-ballet Les fêtes d'Hébé ou les talens lyriques .- External links :...
, directed by Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.-Biography:...
.
He has performed and recorded Lieder of 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...
accompanied on period instruments
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
. He sang Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin
Die schöne Müllerin
Die schöne Müllerin , is a song cycle by Franz Schubert on poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the earliest extended song cycle to be widely performed. The work is considered one of Schubert's most important, and it is widely performed and recorded....
and Schwanengesang with Kristian Bezuidenhout (Hammerflügel), Lieder of Siegmund von Seckendorff on words of Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
with Ludger Rémy (Pianoforte
Fortepiano
Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
), and Lieder and Ballads of Carl Loewe with Cord Garben. In 2010 Kobow took part in the project Robert Schumann: Sammlung von Musik-Stücken alter und neuer Zeit, which was initiated by Radio Bremen
Radio Bremen
Radio Bremen , Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state of Bremen...
und resulted in a series of broadcasts and CDs. Artists such as Veronika Winter and Andreas Pruys
Andreas Pruys
- Professional career :Andreas Pruys studied singing and church music at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. He worked as a church musician for several years, also as director of the music school in Emmerich. He has been a member of the choir NDR Chor since 2001....
performed the 70 compositions which Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
had added to the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik was a music magazine published in Leipzig, co-founded by Robert Schumann, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke...
from 1838 to 1841.
Kobow co-founded the ensemble Himlische Cantorey, performing works 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 John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
, among others.
Selected recordings
- Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann 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...
: Christmas OratorioChristmas OratorioThe 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...
, Elisabeth SchollElisabeth Scholl- Professional career :Elisabeth Scholl was the first girl to sing with the boys choir Kiedricher Chorbuben. From 1982 to 1987 she sang the role of the First Boy in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden...
, Gerhild Romberger, Sebastian Noack, Knabenchor Hannover, Barockorchester L'Arco, conductor Heinz HennigHeinz HennigHeinz Hennig was a German choral conductor and an academic, known for founding the Knabenchor Hannover in 1950 and leading it until 2001.- Biography :...
, Studio Wedemark 1999 - Georg Friedrich Telemann: Der Tod Jesu, Dorothee MieldsDorothee MieldsDorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.-Career:Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Gabriele Schreckenbach...
, Britta Schwarz, Klaus MertensKlaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
, Michaelstein Telemann Chamber Orchestra, Magdeburg Chamber Choir, conductor Ludger RémyLudger RémyLudger Rémy is a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist.- Biography :Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert in Paris. He was a teacher at several German academies including the Folkwang Hochschule and the Hochschule für...
, cpo 2000 http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=11258 - Johann PachelbelJohann PachelbelJohann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
: Arien & Concerti, Emma KirkbyEmma KirkbyDame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, DBE is an English soprano singer and one of the world's most renowned early music specialists. She attended Sherborne School For Girls in Dorset and was a classics student at Somerville College, Oxford, and an English teacher before developing a career as a soloist...
, Kai WesselKai WesselKai Wessel is a German countertenor and a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.- Professional career :Kai Wessel started singing in school choirs and as a boy soprano at the Christus-Kirche of Hamburg-Wandsbek and received lessons on piano, organ and oboe...
, Klaus MertensKlaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
, London Baroque, 2007, Cavalli Records review Steven Plank in Opera Today - J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245 BWV 245, Philippe HerreweghePhilippe HerreweghePhilippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, Collegium Vocale Gent, Christoph PrégardienChristoph PrégardienChristoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
(Evangelist), Konrad JarnotKonrad JarnotKonrad Jarnot is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a teacher at the Robert Schumann Hochschule.-Early life:...
(Vox ChristiVox ChristiVox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
), Camilla TillingCamilla TillingCamilla Tilling is a Swedish soprano in opera and concert.- Professional career :Camilla Tilling studied at the Högskolan för scen och musik in Göteborg and at the Royal College of Music in London, where she graduated in 1998.Her opera debut was the role of Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of...
, Ingeborg DanzIngeborg DanzIngeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
, Jan Kobow, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
2007 - Bach: Mass in B minor, Frans BrüggenFrans BrüggenFrans Brüggen is a well-known Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.-Biography:Brüggen studied recorder and flute at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. He also studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1955, at the age of 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal...
, Cappella Amsterdam, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Dorothee MieldsDorothee MieldsDorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.-Career:Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Gabriele Schreckenbach...
, Johannette ZomerJohannette Zomer- Biography :Johannette Zomer studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charles van Tassel and received her Performance Diploma in 1997....
, Patrick Van GoethemPatrick Van GoethemPatrick Van Goethem is a Belgian countertenor, known for performing early music.-Professional career:Patrick Van Goethem studied with Paul Esswood, Julia Hamari and Andreas Scholl...
, Frans Fiselier, Rapidshare 2009
External links
- Jan Kobow at Orfeo artist management
- Jan Kobow at Bachwoche Ansbach (in German)
- Jan Kobow at Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Chor (in German)
- Entries for recordings by Jan Kobow on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat 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...