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Holger Falk (born 1972) is a German baritone, opera and concert singer.

Life and career
Holger Falk comes from a musical family. His father plays the clarinet and saxophone. At ten years old, he entered the cathedral boys choir at the Regensburg Cathedral in Regensburg, Germany (Regensburger Domspatzen) and attended its connecting performing arts school. With the boys choir, he went on concert tours worldwide, as well as played the piano and organ.

After completing high school, he studied singing at the Musikhochschule Würzburg with Sigune von Osten, and later continued his studies with Franco Corelli in Mailand and Neil Semer in New York. Following his studies, he was a chorus member for two years at Oper Frankfurt before beginning his solo career as an opera singer and art song performer.

He has been invited to sing at opera houses such as Teatro Real, Bayerische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre de la Monnaie Brussels, Oper Frankfurt and the Theater Basel. Additionally, he has appeared as a guest artist at many prestigious concert halls and festivals, such as the Gewandhaus (Leipzig), the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Boston Early Music Festival as well as the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele. In 2018, he made his American debut with Julius Drake at the Frick Collection (New York City) and at the Phillips Collection (Washington) in a recital tour.

His broad repertoire spans all time periods, from early and classical music to contemporary, with a particular focus on 20th and 21st Century music.

He frequently works with living composers and has premiered compositions by Péter Eötvös’ (Der goldene Drache, Paradise reloaded), Beat Furrers (La biancha notte), Manfred Trojahn (Ein Brief), Georges Aperghis’ (Le soldat inconnu), Michael Wertmüllers (Diodati.Unendlich; Weine nicht, singe!), Miroslav Srnkas (Make No Noise) and Steffen Schleiermachers (Kokain). In addition, he has sung classical roles from Monteverdis Orfeo (L’Orfeo) and Rossini’s Figaro (The Barber of Seville) to the main roles of Wolfgang Rihm's operas (Jakob Lenz, Die Eroberung von Mexico and Dionysos). Holger Falk has collaborated with numerous renowned conductors, including Christopher Hogwood and Gabriel Garrido, and directors such as Calixto Bieito and Werner Schroeter. He also sings regularly with ensembles like Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Sinfonietta Basel, MusikFabrik NRW, Elyma, Concerto Köln and nuovo aspetto.

In 2016, he received the ECHO Klassik Award for Best Song Recording of the Year (Satie: Mélodies et Chansons), as well as the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Hanns Eisler: Lieder und Balladen 1929–1937) in 2017. He was the first singer to record all of Francis Poulenc’s 115 mélodies composed for male voice, which he collaborated on with Alessandro Zuppardo. Together with Steffen Schleiermacher at the piano, he also made recordings of Wolfgang Rihm's song cycles and Josef Matthias Hauer's settings of Hölderlin (all recorded by MDG Records), in addition to making a complete recording of Erik Satie’s mélodies. In 2017/2018, a 4-volume CD compilation of Hanns Eisler’s songs was released in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk Kultur and MDG. His next album, Il gondoliere veneziano: A Musical Voyage Through Venice, a compilation of 18th C. Canzoni da battello interwoven with soundscapes recorded in today’s Venice, will be released in 2020 through Prospero Classical. The musical partners on this album are the baroque ensemble nuovo aspetto and the sound artists Merzouga.

Holger Falk currently resides in Frankfurt am Main with his two children. In 2019, he was appointed as Professor of Song Interpretation and Oratorio at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz and subsequently created the Performance Practice for Contemporary Music degree program.

Discography

 * 2020 Il gondoliere veneziano: A musical voyage through Venice (Holger Falk, Bariton; nuovo aspetto; Merzouga), Prospero Classical
 * 2019 Hanns Eisler: Songs und Ballads 1898-1962 (Vol. 4) (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2018 Hanns Eisler: Songs und Ballads 1898-1962 (Vol. 3) (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2017 Hanns Eisler: Songs and Ballads 1948–1962 (Vol. 2) (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2017 Hanns Eisler: Songs and Ballads 1929–1937 (Vol. 1) (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2017 Fabián Panisello: Música vocal (Leigh Melrose, Laia Falcón, Holger Falk, Pluralensemble, Fabián Panisello), Columna Música
 * 2016 Peter Eötvös: Paradise reloaded (Holger Falk, Lucifer; Hungarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra; Gregory Vajda), BMC Records
 * 2016 Hans-Jürgen von der Wense: Pianoworks, Lieder, Chambermusic (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier; Jan Philipp Reemtsma, Rezitation; Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin; Johannes Kalitzke, Dirigent), Es-Dur
 * 2015 Erik Satie: Intégrale des Mélodies et Chansons (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2014 Wolfgang Rihm: Lieder (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2013 Francis Poulenc: Intégrale des mélodies sur des poèmes de Paul Éluard et Louise de Vilmorin (Holger Falk, Bariton; Alessandro Zuppardo, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2013 Francis Poulenc: Mélodies sur des poèmes des poètes divers (Holger Falk, Bariton; Alessandro Zuppardo, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2011 Josef Matthias Hauer: Music with Hölderlin (Holger Falk, Bariton; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2010 Francis Poulenc: Intégrale des mélodies sur des poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire (Holger Falk, Bariton; Alessandro Zuppardo, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2009 Hommage an August Stramm (Holger Falk, Bariton; Hildegard Wiedemann, Sopran; Steffen Schleiermacher, Klavier), MDG Records
 * 2007 Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Ullmann, Mohammadi: Sinnig zwischen beiden Welten (Holger Falk, Bariton; Stefan Geier, Klavier; Ensemble Hafez), MDG Records
 * 2006 Franz Schubert: Schwanengesang/ Zyklus (Holger Falk, Bariton; Stefan Geier, Klavier)

Awards

 * 2016: ECHO Klassik Song of the Year: Erik Satie: Intégrale des Mélodies et Chansons (Holger Falk, baritone; Steffen Schleiermacher, piano), MDG Records
 * 2017: German Critic Award / Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik: Hanns Eisler: Songs and Ballads 1929–1937 (Vol. 1) (Holger Falk, baritone; Steffen Schleiermacher, piano), MDG Records