Wolfgang Holzmair

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

He performs in recital throughout the world, including London, Lisbon, New York, Washington, at the
Risör Festival (Norway), Bath Festival (UK), Menuhin Festival (Switzerland), Bregenz Festival and
Carinthian Summer Festival (Austria), and in 2010/11 again in London, New York and at the Carinthian
Summer Festival, as well as in Amsterdam, Cambridge, Liverpool, Oxford, Linz and Vienna (where he
curates, and sings in, a Mahler project). Alongside his outstanding artistic relationship with the British
pianist Imogen Cooper and his collaboration with a number of important accompanists, he performs with
some of the leading pianists of our time, most recently with Andreas Haefliger.

Wolfgang Holzmair is also active in the opera world. Most recent performances include Papageno and
Eisenstein in Dallas under Graeme Jenkins, Faninal Der Rosenkavalier in Seattle under Asher Fish and
in Hong Kong under Edo de Waart, Don Alfonso in Lyon under William Christie and in Toronto under
Richard Bradshaw, the Music Master Ariadne auf Naxos in Madrid under Jesús López-Cobos, Wolfram
Tannhäuser in Erfurt under Gugerbauer, Eduard Neues vom Tage by Hindemith in Ancona, Demetrius A
Midsummer Night’s Dream in Toronto under Anne Manson and the Father Hansel and Gretel on a Japan
tour under Ozawa. In 2010/11 he will resume the role of Don Alfonso under William Christie, this time
at the Met, and sing Masino in Haydn’s La vera costanza in concert performances in Cologne. Future
plans include Beckmesser Meistersinger in Japan and Agamemnon Iphigenie in Aulis by Gluck/Wagner in
Bayreuth.

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, Dresden
Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland and Concertgebouw Orchestras and the Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, under eminent conductors including Blomstedt, Boulez, Chailly, Frühbeck de Burgos,
Haitink, Harnoncourt, Kreizberg, Norrington, Ozawa. This season his concert appearances include
Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Klangforum Wien in Vienna and Amsterdam, orchestrated
Wolf songs with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer in Budapest and Brahms Ein deutsches
Requiem under Friedrich Haider in Oviedo.

Wolfgang Holzmair has an extensive discography, and his recordings have met with critical acclaim.
These 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), the Austrian
Pasticcio Award winning Songs from the British Isles with Trio Wanderer (Cyprés), Wolf Songs with
Imogen Cooper (Wigmore Hall Live Series), 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. For years he has also been a committed advocate of works, especially lieder, by formerly persecuted
composers substantiated by his Krenek, Mittler, Zeisl, Schreker and Terezin/Theresienstadt CDs (ORF,
cpo, Bridge Records).

Since 1998 he has taught lied and oratorio at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and given master classes in
Europe and North America. He is also a visiting professor and fellow of the Royal College of Music
(London).