 In 1979, he was awarded a second place in the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German Music Competition), and appeared on the TV show "Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre" ("Anneliese Rothenberger has the honour" [of meeting ...]).In 1986, he married the soprano Lucia Popp, 15 years his senior.She died in 1993, after which he married another soprano, Petra-Maria Schnitzer.