Kurt Widmer

Kurt Widmer (born 28 December 1940) is a Swiss baritone and voice teacher, who has appeared internationally with a focus on concert singing.

Born in Wil, Canton of St. Gallen, Widmer studied violin and voice at the Zürich Conservatory with Ria Ginster, and took master classes with Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann and her husband Paul Lohmann in Lucerne and Wiesbaden.

From 1966, Widmer performed in concert in Switzerland and internationally. He was a soloist with Der Gemischte Chor Zürich between 1967 and 1992, in 24 oratorios and concerts. He toured in Europe, and also in Israel, Canada, Russia, Japan and the US, with conductors such as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michael Gielen, Paul Sacher, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein and Jesús López Cobos. He sang in the premieres of more than hundred contemporary compositions.

From 1968, Widmer was a teacher at the City of Basel Music Academy. He held master classes in Bolzano, Kufstein, Linz, Moscow, Salzburg, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Trier, Vaduz and Vienna.

His son Oliver Widmer is also a notable baritone and the husband of Cecilia Bartoli.

• Domenico Cimarosa: Requiem
• Graun: Der Tod Jesu
• Haydn: Die Schöpfung
• Rimsky-Korsakov: Mozart und Salieri
• Saint-Saëns: Weihnachtsoratorium
• Othmar Schoeck: Penthesilea (Achilles)
• Schubert: Winterreise

• Bach: St John Passion (arias), EMI
• Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Harmonia Mundi
• Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Harmonia Mundi
• Fauré: Requiem, Schwann AMS Studio
• François-Joseph Gossec: Requiem – Grande Messe des Morts, Erato Records
• Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten, Vox

• 1967: Solistenpreis des Schweizerischen Tonkünstlervereins
• 1985: Regio Preis für Musik des Oberrhein–Vereins zur Förderung der Wirtschaft
• 2007: Kulturpreis der Stadt Wil
• Prix mondial du Disque
• Grand Prix du Disque
• Diaposon d'or de l'Académie Prix du Disque Français
• Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
• Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik