Wolfgang Holzmair

Wolfgang Holzmair was born in Vöcklabruck in Austria and studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts with Hilde Rössel-Majdan (voice) and Erik Werba (lied).

Particularly noted for his intelligent and committed performances of Lieder, Wolfgang Holzmair performs in recital throughout the world. In 2003/04 he appeared, inter alia, in London, Lisbon, New York, Ottawa, Graz, Vienna, and at the Risör and Bregenz festivals. 2004/05 included recitals in New York, Washington, Dublin, London, Vienna and at the Bath Festival (UK), Menuhin Festival (Switzerland) and Carinthian Summer Festival (Austria), and in 2005/06 again Lisbon, London, New York, Washington, but also Dublin, Galway, Strasbourg, Geneva amongst others. Pianists he works with regularly include Imogen Cooper, Till Fellner, Russell Ryan, Roger Vignoles and Gérard Wyss.

Holzmair is also active in the opera world. He recently appeared as Pelléas at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris) under Haitink, as Enrico in Haydn's Isola disabitata in Lyon under Holliger, as the Count in Capriccio in Cagliari under Frühbeck de Burgos, Speaker of the Temple in Die Zauberflöte at Opéra Bastille (Paris). In addition to the title role in a new Casanova opera composed for the Menuhin Festival Gstaad by Daniel Schnyder, Wolfgang Holzmair's forthcoming roles include Papageno in Dallas, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier in Seattle, the Musicmaster in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Teatro Real in Madrid and Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte) in Lyon under William Christie.

Equally in demand on the concert platform, he has sung with leading European and American orchestras, such as the Israel Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Cleveland and Concertgebouw Orchestras, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, etc. under eminent conductors including Blomstedt, Boulez, Chailly, von Dohnany, Frühbeck de Burgos, Haitink, Harnoncourt, Norrington, Ozawa. In 2003/04 he sang Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Minnesota Orchestra under Kreizberg, orchestrated Schubert songs with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall under Norrington, and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Vienna Festival. Recent appearances include the Irish Chamber Orchestra under McGegan, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin at the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt and in Berlin, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Kreizberg. Future performances include Mahler's Rückert Lieder with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Hickox, with the Minnesota Orchestra under Litton and with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris with John Nelson.

Wolfgang Holzmair has an extensive discography, and his recordings have met with critical acclaim. His numerous recordings include lieder by Clara and Robert Schumann and Eichendorff songs by various composers, all with Imogen Cooper (Philips), various Schubert recordings with Gérard Wyss (Tudor), Pelléas et Mélisande with Haitink and the Orchestre National de France (Naive), and Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Herbert Blomstedt (which won a Grammy award).

Since 1998 he has been teaching lied and oratorio at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and giving master classes in Europe and North America.