Karola Theill is a German pianist and

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

. Born in Cologne, she grew up in a musical family. Her father,

Gustav Adolf Theill Gustav Adolf Theill (7 February 1924 – 29 November 1997) was a German composer and musicologist. Life Theill was born in Remscheid as son of the factory owner and his wife Auguste. In his pietist parents' house, which was very much influenc ...

was a part-time musicologist. She studied at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger College or university school of music, universities of music in Germany. It was founded in 1950 as ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' (Public college of music) on the base of t ...

, with Shoshana Cohen in Jerusalem, at the

Universität der Künste Berlin The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

and at Indiana University, School of Music in Bloomington. She attended Lied courses with

Aribert Reimann Aribert Reimann (, 4 March 1936 – 13 March 2024) was a German composer, pianist, and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera '' Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietr ...

and was invited for several years to accompany

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

in his lessons. Theill gives concerts in Germany, e.g. at the Berliner Festwochen, the

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (SHMF) is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist and conductor Justus Fr ...

, the

Internationale Maifestspiele The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival, IMF) is a theater festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the Bayreuth Festival, the festival is one of the most distinguished internationa ...

, the Moselfestwochen, the Kasseler Musiktage, as well as in other European countries (e.g. Musikverein Vienna,

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...

, Paris), in Israel and the USA. Her Lied partners include Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Benjamin Bruns,

Angela Denoke Angela Denoke (born 27 November 1961) is a German opera singer (soprano). Born in Stade, she studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm (1992–1996), where she sang Fiordiligi (''Così ...

Matthias Goerne Matthias Goerne (born 31 March 1967) is a German baritone. He has performed and recorded extensively, both on the opera stage and in Lieder settings. Goerne has been referred to as "Today's leading interpreter of German art songs" by the ''Chica ...

, Bettina Jensen,

Carola Höhn Carola Höhn (30 January 1910 – 8 November 2005) was a German actress. Selected filmography Film * '' The Weekend Bride'' (1928) * '' Don Juan in a Girls' School'' (1928) * '' From a Bachelor's Diary'' (1929) * '' Youthful Indiscretion'' (1929 ...

, Klaus Häger, Thomas Mohr, Silvia Weiss. She is also a member of the ensemble "liedtrio". Theill teaches as honorary professor at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, 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 ...

Prof. Karola Theill on HfM Berlin
(retrieved 30 November 2020) and supervises a Lied class at the

Rostock University of Music and Theatre The Rostock University of Music and Drama (short HMT, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock in German) is a College or university school of music, college of music in Rostock, Mecklenburg, Germany. It opened in 1994 and is situated in a ...

. She also gives regular

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

es in Berlin, Hamburg, at the Akademii Muzycznej in Poznań, the Conservatorio di Musica in Alessandria, the

Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (), is a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. History The Jerusalem Conservatory of Music was founded in ...

and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

References

External links

* * German classical pianists Classical accompanists German women classical pianists Musicians from Cologne Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Germany-classical-musician-stub