Armin Thalheim

Born in Kamenz (Saxony) in 1944, Armin Thalheim is an organist, harpsichordist, pianist, and improviser. He studied church music and improvisation with Karl Frotscher, Robert Köbler, and Johannes- Ernst Köhler at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Dresden and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig; in 1972, he was awarded second prize in the harpsichord category at the Bachwettbewerb Leipzig. As cantor at the Zionskirche in Berlin (1969–1975) he was successor to Roland Münch. Between 1969 and 1974, he was repetiteur at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin, and at the Palucca-Schule in Dresden between 1974 and 2000. Since 1972, he has toured almost all European countries, Japan, Mexico, Cuba, and Paraguay as a soloist, duo partner (Eckhart Haupt, Ludwig Güttler), continuo player and organist with St Thomas’s Boys Choir KL1410_Booklet. Leipzig, the Kreuzchor Dresden, and many orchestras and chamber music ensembles. He taught Early Music, Lied accompaniment, and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin between 1974 and 2009, and improvisation at the Musikhochschule Leipzig between 1996 and 2008. Armin Thalheim attended classes in Early Music with Kenneth Gilbert (Amsterdam), Huguette Dreyfus (St Maxima), and Gustav Leonhardt (Cologne). Numerous CD recordings feature him as a soloist with works by members of the Bach family, and as an accompanist of the flute and recorder (including Adelheid Krause-Pichler and Susanne Ehrhardt), mainly at the harpsichord. Articles on historically informed performance practice, reviews (‘Musik und Gesellschaft’, ‘Forum Kirchenmusik’), and compositions emphasize his versatility—as does the CD ‘Die 10 Gebote’, which he coproduced with rock musician Lexa Thomas in 2000. Alongside the instrument builder Martin-Christian Schmidt, Armin Thalheim can count himself among the initiators of the Akademie für Alte Musik in 1980. He toured with the percussionist, timpanist and composer Andreas Aigmüller between 1981 and 1985, performing the latter’s jazz-influenced music. Armin Thalheim improvises in many styles at the piano and organ, also engaging with minimalist and jazz styles. He has lived in Berlin since 1969.