Thomas Hampson: The famous baritone and his love for the songs of Franz Schubert

Thomas Hampson is one of the best contemporary singers of opera and Lieder. Born in the United States, he now lives in Switzerland and is a passionate teacher. We met him at the Schubert Week 2021 in Berlin. For six days, he transformed the Pierre Boulez Saal into a laboratory for Franz Schubert’s Lieder and helped eight young singers from around the world find their way to the Austrian composer.

For Hampson, Schubert’s great talent was his skill at expressing inner states such as happiness, jealousy and love through music. On one of the evenings, the maestro himself sang Franz Schubert’s Erlkönig, an undisputed highlight of Berlin’s Schubert Week.

Hampson’s Schubert Week also had to comply with pandemic restrictions, of course. Participants had regular antigen tests and had to wear masks in the corridors. There was no audience in the hall itself, but the workshops and concerts were streamed online. And physical distancing was mandatory.

00:00 Franz Schubert: Erlkönig (excerpt)
05:49 Franz Schubert: Der Wanderer an den Mond (excerpt)
07:54 Franz Schubert: Der Sänger (excerpt)
09:50, 10:57 Franz Schubert: Das Zügenglöcklein (excerpts)
12:26 Franz Schubert: Im Freien (excerpt)
13:20 Franz Schubert: Der Atlas (excerpt)
15:26 Franz Schubert: Ihr Bild (full length)

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Photo thumbnail: © Peter Adamik