Teacher:
Hendrik Bräunlich, was born in Leipzig. Prof. Bräunlich’s pianistic talent, as well as his general involvement in music have been nurtured since early childhood.
From 1986 to 1992 he studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Music Conservatory) “Felix Mendelssohn Bertholdy” in Leipzig with emphasis on vocal accompaniment, piano solo and instrumental accompaniment. There, under the tutelage of Maestro Eugen Wangler, he developed a love for the singing voice, and a passion for accompanying it.
From 1992 to 1997 he studied song interpretation in the postgraduate program at the same conservatory with Lied professor and mentor Prof. Karl-Peter Kammerlander, During this same period he was given the opportunity to work privately with Charles Spencer, with whom he studied most extensively, and Prof. Hartmut Höll – both great lied interpreters. In addition, he accompanied master classes of well-known singers such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier, Thomas Hampson and Jakob Stämpfli. Mr. Stämpli, impressed with his work, invited him to accompany a master class in Sion (Suisse) during the Tibor Varga Festival.
Prof. Bräunlich’s success at the Varga Festival as well as his association with other famous artists led to additional invitations to accompany international singing competitions such as the Schumann in Zwickau and the Bach in Leipzig. Charles Spencer used his influence to introduce Mr. Bräunlich to world-renowned mezzo-soprano, Christa Ludwig, with whom he became associated for many years – accompanying her master classes in Gumpoldskirchen near Vienna, Wiener Musikverein, Villecroze in France and a national conference of German-speaking singing teachers in Halle/Saale,) to name a few.
Prof. Bräunlich’s accompanying skills were indeed also acknowledged by the fact that he himself became a prize-winner: in 1993 he won the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Prize in Berlin, and in the same year, the accompanying prize at the International Singing Competition in Tauberbischofsheim. In 1994 he received an award at the International Brahms Singing Competition in Hamburg, and in the 1997 Deutscher Musikwettbewerb awarded him a scholarship. In 1998 he was prize-winner at the first International Hilde Zadek Singing Competition in Passau.
The attention generated by these German music competitions enabled Prof. Bräunlich to start a concert career. It also resulted in repeated invitations to accompany the above-mentioned competitions and master classes.
Prof. Bräunlich has recorded for all major German broadcasters. He has also participated in various CD projects, including the first recording of Lieder by Georg Göhler. Other CD recordings include “Hausmusik bei Schumanns” with the Calmus Vocal Ensemble Leipzig, and the award-winning CD of the clarinetist Nicola Jürgensen.
In 1992 Prof. Bräunlich was offered a permanent full-time teaching position at the Leipzig Conservatory; the association with this institution continues to this day. The pedagogical commitment he has to his students, and his support of their individual development is obviously enriched by his personal history of performing and accompanying.
In 2005, under the auspices of the ERASMUS exchange program, he was invited – together with Leipzig Conservatory Voice Prof. Dr. Jeanette Favaro-Reuter – to participate in coaching Lieder of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the Royal College of Music in London. During this period he also tought during the Leipzig Summer Courses of Puccini’s “Tosca” as well as master classes of clarinettist Allan Key and Prof. Dr. Favaro-Reuter.
Over the last years Prof. Bräunlich has offered classes, free of charge, at the Leipzig Conservatory with primary emphasis on Piano Lied literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has offered addition classes on topics such as “Robert Schumann´s Lieder” and “Claude Debussy´s Lieder and Chants”.
His involvement with 20th and 21st century Lied has led Prof. Bräunlich to an even greater concentration on contemporary music. In 2022, together with soprano Lisa Fornhammar, he developed a special New Music Program. The theme for the 2023/24 session is “New Music is not per se dissonant”.
