Bodo Wartke

Pianist and all-round entertainer Bodo Wartke’s solid work ethic gave rise to a prolific career as a performer and composer in Germany. Ever since his first live concert in 1996, Wartke wasted no time in building his hard-working reputation. Just two years later, in 1998, he had released his debut piano cabaret album, Ich Denke, Also Sing’Ich. The same year he took a role as composer and musical director for a production of Under the Dairy Forest (Dylan Thomas) directed by Sven Schutze. Wanting to master his craft, he enrolled at The University of Arts Berlin to study piano and singing, a course he would see through to 2005. While studying, he found the time to write a new German libretto for Orpheus of the Underworld (J. Offenbach) in 2002, release his second piano cabaret, Achillesverse, in 2003, and received the “Kleinkunstpreis” (German Cabaret Award) in the “Chanson” category at the Mainzer Unterhaus. In 2006, the year after he completed his studies, he released his third piano cabaret, Noah War ein Archetyp. He was also asked to moderate an annual songwriting competition called Songs on a Summer Evening, which was broadcast on Bavarian Radio; he would continue to host every year up to 2011. In 2009, Wartke challenged himself by performing and recording his first solo play, König Ödipus, which required him to play multiple roles. Although he remained very active for the next two years, it wasn’t until 2012 that he released his fourth piano cabaret, Klaviersdelikte, followed by his fifth piano cabaret release, 2015′s Was, Wenn Doch? ~ Liam Martin