Helmut Deutsch ranks among the finest, most successful and most sought-after song recital accompanists in the world. He was born in Vienna, where he studied at the Conservatory, the Music Academy and the University. He was awarded the Composition Prize of Vienna in 1965 and was appointed professor at the age of 24.
From his student days his main focus of interest was song accompaniment. However, for several decades he also worked as a chamber musician in various ensembles, with many of the world’s leading instrumentalists.
At the beginning of his career, he worked with the soprano Irmgard Seefried, but the most important singer of his early career was Hermann Prey, whom he accompanied for twelve years, in several hundred concerts.
Subsequently, Helmut Deutsch has worked with many of the most important Lieder singers and performed at the world’s major music centres. Today his favourite partners include Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau and Michael Volle as well as the young Swiss tenor Mauro Peter.
Helmut Deutsch‘s work is documented on more than one hundred recordings. Some of these reflect one of his central concerns as a performer: the revival of unjustly forgotten composers from the past.
In recent years, the development of young talent has also become especially close to his heart. After his professorship in Vienna, he continued his teaching primarily in Munich at the University of Music and Theatre, where he was a professor of song interpretation for 28 years. He also continues to give an increasing number of masterclasses in both Europe and Asia, and remains connected to various conservatories and universities through guest professorships.
His students have included — among many others — Juliane Banse, Christian Gerhaher, Dietrich Henschel, Jonas Kaufmann and Wolfram Rieger.
