Deutsche Grammophon Signs Long-Term Exclusive Recording-Agreement with Mojca Erdmann
Hamburg, July 2009. Deutsche Grammophon has signed an exclusive recording-agreement with soprano Mojca Erdmann. This gifted, versatile singer has received international acclaim for her Mozart and Haydn roles at the Salzburg Festival – reviewers cite her “strong personality” and “a beautiful, warm, technically perfect voice that is highly expressive” (Oesterreich). In the 2009 premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Proserpina, an exceptionally demanding work written especially for her, Mojca Erdmann’s technical and musical mastery prompted the Stuttgarter Nachrichten to declare that “one could only marvel at the clarity and precision of her singing. She dominated the performance not only vocally but also through her forceful acting.”
Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon, says: “We are happy to welcome Mojca Erdmann to our roster of artists. The beauty of her voice and her compelling stage presence have impressed both audiences and critics alike. In celebration of our 111th anniversary this year – I can think of no better gift to ourselves (and to the public) than having Mojca join Deutsche Grammophon.”
Mojca Erdmann adds: “I signed my first recording contract today – and it was with Deutsche Grammophon! This label was already part of my life as a child with its series “Wir entdecken Komponisten” (We Discover Composers). For me it has always represented the pinnacle of classical music. I’m overjoyed how the company has taken me into its family – and I can't wait to begin our collaboration.”
Born in Hamburg, Mojca Erdmann began violin lessons at the age of six – and sang in the children’s chorus at the Hamburg State Opera. At 14, she began vocal studies with Evelyn Herlitzius, then worked with Hans Sotin at the Köln Musikhochschule, where she also studied the violin. She continues today with her vocal coach, Ingrid Figur. In the 2002 Bundeswettbewerb (German Federal Competition), Mojca Erdmann won both First Prize and the Special Prize for Contemporary Music. In August 2005, she was awarded the NDR (North German Radio) Music Prize at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival as well as the Luitpold Prize at the Kissinger Summer Festival.
While still a student, Mojca Erdmann was a member of the ensemble at Berlin’s Komische Oper – and also appeared at Berlin’s Deutsche Oper and in Basel and Mannheim in roles including Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Norina (Don Pasquale), and Humperdinck’s Gretel. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in 2006 in the title part of Mozart’s Zaide under Ivor Bolton, and returned the following year as Zelmira in Haydn’s Armida, also under Bolton – and was acclaimed by audiences and the press as the “surprise of the festival”. With the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle, she sang in and recorded Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges. Rattle also invited her to sing the Forest Bird in his new production of Wagner’s Siegfried in Aix-en-Provence and at the Salzburg Easter Festival. During the 2009/10 season she will make her debut as Sophie in Strauss’s Rosenkavalier in Stuttgart under Manfred Honeck and as Ännchen in Weber’s Freischütz under Bertrand de Billy at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien.
Also a sought-after interpreter of contemporary music-theatre works, Mojca Erdmann made her Berlin Staatsoper debut in the world premiere of Takemitsu's My Way of Life, conducted by Kent Nagano. She is also well regarded in concerts and recitals. Nikolaus Harnoncourt invited her to sing in Schumann’s Paradies und die Peri at the Vienna Musikverein as well as in Schumann’s Scenes from “Faust” at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In 2009 she has appeared with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, toured Spain with the Wiener Symphoniker under Fabio Luisi in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, and performed Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch with baritone Christian Gerhaher and pianist Gerold Huber on tour in Germany and at London’s Wigmore Hall. At the end of the 2009/10 season she will perform in the world premiere of a new opera by Wolfgang Rihm (commissioned by the Salzburg Festival).
Mojca Erdmann’s first studio recording for Deutsche Grammophon is scheduled in 2010 – to be released around her European tour in 2011.
