Jan Kobow (born 1966) is a German classical

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

in concert, Lied, and Baroque opera.

Professional career

Jan Kobow was born and raised in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. He was a singer and soloist of the ''Staats- und Domchor, Berlin'' with

Christian Grube Christian J Grube (born 20 September 1934) 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, flut ...

. He studied the organ at the Schola Cantorum in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and graduated in church music at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

in 1994. He continued to study singing at the

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'' (Public college of music) on the base of the former private acting school of Annem ...

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 Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

and the

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

. In 2002, he recorded several cantatas for Pentecost of

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 in – 27 November 1749 in Gotha) was a prolific German composer of the Baroque era. Stölzel was an accomplished German stylist who wrote a good many of the poetic texts for his vocal works. Biogr ...

, conducted by

Ludger Rémy Ludger Rémy (4 February 1949 – 21 June 2017) was a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Kalkar, Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert ...

, with one voice per part, the four soloists forming the choir. In 2003 he recorded

Bach cantata The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas (German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cant ...

s with

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Re ...

and the

Collegium Vocale Gent Collegium Vocale Gent is a Belgian musical ensemble of vocalists and supporting instrumentalists, founded by Philippe Herreweghe. The group is dedicated to historically informed performance. Founding and program Collegium Vocale Gent was founded ...

Johannette Zomer Johannette Zomer is a Dutch classical concert and opera soprano. Career After having worked as a microbiology technician, Johannette Zomer shifted gears in 1990 and studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charle ...

Ingeborg Danz Ingeborg Danz (born 1961 in Witten) is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer. Career Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels. She took advanced classes with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, am ...

and

Peter Kooy Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music. Biography Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin stud ...

, including ''

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2 (Oh God, look down from heaven), 2 is a chorale cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for the second Sunday after Trinity in 1724. First performed on 18 June in Leipzig, it is the second cantata of his chorale cantata cycle. The church can ...

'', written for the second Sunday after

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

of 1724. In 2007, he recorded more Bach cantatas with Herreweghe,

Dorothee Mields Dorothee Mields (born 15 April 1971) 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 Ga ...

, Matthew White 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 is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

. In 2008, he sang the part of the

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

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 presented at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

in New York, in Caen and in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. In 2007, he sang the title role of this opera in concert performances with

Les Talens Lyriques The French musical ensemble Les Talens Lyriques was created in 1991 in Paris, France, by the harpsichordist and orchestral conductor Christophe Rousset. This instrumental and vocal formation derives its name from the subtitle of '' Les fêtes d'H� ...

, directed by

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 1 ...

. He has performed and recorded Lieder of the period of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

accompanied on

period instruments In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

. He sang Schubert's ''

Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...

'' and ''

Schwanengesang ''Schwanengesang ( Swan Song)'', 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: # Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) # Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) # Frühlingssehnsucht (Rells ...

'' with Kristian Bezuidenhout (

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

), Lieder of Siegmund von Seckendorff on words of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

with Ludger Rémy (

pianoforte The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

), and Lieder and

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Carl Loewe Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (; 30 November 1796 – 20 April 1869), usually called Carl Loewe (sometimes seen as Karl Loewe), was a German composer, tenor singer and conductor. In his lifetime, his songs ("Balladen") were well enough known for s ...

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 (RB), Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerhaven). With its headquarters sited in Bremen, Radio Brem ...

and resulted in a series of broadcasts and CDs. Artists such as

Veronika Winter Veronika Winter (born February 2, 1965 in Limburg an der Lahn) is a German soprano. She is particularly noted for her recordings of Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed ...

and

Andreas Pruys Andreas Pruys (born in Kleve) is a German classical bass singer. 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 m ...

performed the 70 compositions which

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

had added to the ''

Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 'Die'' (; en, " heNew Journal of Music") is a music magazine, co-founded in Leipzig by Robert Schumann, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke. Its first issue appeared on 3 April 1834. His ...

'' from 1838 to 1841. Kobow co-founded the ensemble ''Himlische Cantorey'', performing works of Claudio Monteverdi and

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

, among others.

Awards

*1998: First prize at the 11th International Bach Competition of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

*2004: Luitpold Prize (German: ''Luitpoldpreis'') of the festival

Kissinger Sommer The Kissinger Sommer is a classical music festival held every year in the summer in the city of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Southern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986. At the beginning the focus of the festival was on the improve ...

Selected recordings

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

: ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'',

Elisabeth Scholl Elisabeth Scholl (born 1966 in Kiedrich) is a German soprano and academic teacher. 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 ...

, Gerhild Romberger, Sebastian Noack, Knabenchor Hannover, Barockorchester L'Arco, conductor Heinz Hennig, Studio Wedemark 1999 * Georg Friedrich Telemann: ''Der Tod Jesu'',

Britta Schwarz Britta Schwarz (born 1964) is a German contralto from Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Between 1980 and 1983 she studied vocals at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" under Christa Niko, and then studied at the Hochschule für Musik Ca ...

, Klaus Mertens, Michaelstein Telemann Chamber Orchestra, Magdeburg Chamber Choir, conductor

, cpo 200

* Johann Pachelbel: ''Arien & Concerti'',

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...

, Kai Wessel, Klaus Mertens, London Baroque, 2007, Cavalli Record
review
Steven Plank in ''Opera Today'' * '' J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245'' BWV 245,

, Christoph Prégardien (Evangelist),

Konrad Jarnot Konrad Jarnot (born 1972) is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule. Early life Born at Brighton,Vox Christi Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratch ...

), Camilla Tilling,

, Jan Kobow,

2007 * Bach: '' Mass in B minor'',

Frans Brüggen Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the last of the nine children of August Brüggen, a textile factory o ...

, Cappella Amsterdam, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century,

, Patrick Van Goethem, Frans Fiselier, Rapidshare 2009 * ''Telemann and the Leipzig Opera: popular arias from the collection Musicalische Rüstkammer''. Includes opera arias by Georg Philipp Telemann, Melchior Hoffmann, Reinhard Keiser and Johann David Heinichen performed by Jan Kobow and United Continuo Ensemble. Heidelberg, Germany: MusiContact, ℗2011. Pan Classics PC 10237

References

External links

Jan Kobow
at Orfeo artist management
Jan Kobow
at

Bachwoche Ansbach The Bachwoche Ansbach (Ansbach Bach Week) is a biennial music festival in Ansbach, Germany, dedicated to the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach, held since 1947. The main venues are the Orangerie and the great hall of the palace Residenz Ansb ...

(in German)
Jan Kobow
at Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Chor (in German)
Entries for recordings by Jan Kobow
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobow, Jan 1966 births Living people German operatic tenors Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover alumni Singers from Berlin 21st-century German male opera singers 20th-century German male opera singers