Thomas Hampson Brings Mahler to NYC and Beyond

Following three performances of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder with the New York Philharmonic and its music director, Alan Gilbert (Jan 6-8), Thomas Hampson will perform and discuss songs by Mahler - as well as music by Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and American composers - in a front of a live studio audience at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR on Monday, January 10. This will be broadcast live at 7pm on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR and www.wqxr.org, and will be available as a live video webcast at www.thegreenespace.org. The music of Gustav Mahler, who was born 150 years ago and died a century ago next May, is the centerpiece of Hampson's 2010-11 season, when the baritone will perform Mahler's music in 50 recital and concert programs with the world's greatest orchestras and leading conductors. His new recording of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Wiener Virtuosen - described by the Wall Street Journal as "superb" - was released last month on Deutsche Grammophon, and a film crew has been following Hampson throughout his Mahler odyssey for a documentary about the composer's life and music that will be broadcast this spring in Europe.

A reviewer for BBC Music magazine called Hampson's new Wunderhorn recording, "a wonderfully fresh imaginative take on the songs" and "a constantly absorbing recital" that benefited from Hampson's "pungent characterizations." A review at the website Classical Review noted, "Magnificently supported by the Wiener Virtuosen - a conductor-less ensemble comprised of members of the Vienna Philharmonic - Hampson embarks on an intimate journey during which he imbues the familiar Mahlerian landscapes with innovative hues and tones... . This one-of-a-kind Des Knaben Wunderhorn embodies the soul of the Mahlerian Lied... . A firm contender for my Record of the Year list, 2010. Or 2011? Why not both!"

Hampson began the worldwide celebrations of Mahler's life and music on July 7, 2010 - the 150th anniversary of Mahler's birth - in Kaliste, Czech Republic, with a recital from the composer's birth house, streamed live on medici.tv, as well as an internationally televised orchestral concert, available on DVD. Later in the summer he performEd Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg and Alan Gilbert on a four-city tour that included the final concert of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. Hampson's current performances with the New York Philharmonic are his first with the orchestra since his term last year as its first Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. This spring, the baritone joins Gilbert and the orchestra on tour in Europe for the second consecutive season, performing Mahler songs in several cities (May 12-23, venues tba).

Hampson's other Mahler performances this season include concerts with such orchestras as the Vienna Philharmonic, Hamburg's NDR Sinfonieorchester, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, and Czech Philharmonic, with conductors including Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, and Antonio Pappano. Hampson also features the composer's songs in a series of recitals in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, Zurich, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan, Madrid, and Oslo, and - as "Mahler Artist-in-Residence" - presents the complete songs at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. A detailed list of his upcoming performances follows below.

Thomas Hampson discusses Mahler's songs in a "Cultural Conversation" published in the Wall Street Journal on January 6 and available here: tinyurl.com/25tmeh6.

For regular news updates, a calendar of engagements, and a complete biography, visit www.thomashampson.com.

Follow Hampson on Twitter: twitter.com/ - !/thomas_hampson

Visit Hampson on Facebook: www.facebook.com/w.thomashampson

Thomas Hampson: upcoming performances and special events

January 6-8
New York, NY
Mahler concert (Kindertotenlieder)
New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert

January 10, 7pm
New York, NY
Special performance and interview with WQXR host Jeff Spurgeon
Live broadcast and video webcast from The Greene Space at WQXR

January 14
Vienna, Austria
Mahler concert (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen)
Vienna Philharmonic / Mariss Jansons

January 16
Paris, France
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

January 18
Hamburg, Germany
Mahler concert (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen)
Vienna Philharmonic / Mariss Jansons

January 20 & 21
Prague, Czech Republic
Mahler concert (Kindertotenlieder)
Czech Philharmonic / Eliahu Inbal

January 26
London, UK
Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony
London Philharmonic / Vladimir Jurowski

January 29 - February 4
Mahler tour (Kindertotenlieder) with Czech Philharmonic / Eliahu Inbal
Paris (Jan 29); Luxembourg (Jan 31); Rotterdam (Feb 1)

February 15
Duke University, Durham, NC
"Song of America" recital

February 18
Athens, GA
Bolcom: Laura Sonnets (world premiere)

February 27
London, UK
Mahler concert (Das Lied von der Erde)
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Antonio Pappano

March 1
Hamburg, Germany
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

March 2
Hamburg, Germany
Symposium ("Mahler's Life through his Songs")

March 4 & 5
Mahler Festival concerts (early songs) with NDR Sinfonieorchester / Alan Gilbert
Hamburg (Mar 4); Bremen (Mar 5)

March 13
Oslo, Norway
Mahler and "Song Of America" recital with Craig Rutenberg

March 16-22
Heidelberg, Germany
Teaching residency
Heidelberg Frühling Festival: Heidelberg Lied Academy

March 20
Heidelberg, Germany
Recital with Wolfram Rieger
Opening Concert, Heidelberg Lied Academy

March 23
Bayreuth, Germany
Mahler/Liszt recital with Wolfram Rieger

March 25
Munich, Germany
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

March 28
Milan, Italy
Recital with Wolfram Rieger

April 2-20
Mahler tour of Europe with Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester / Philippe Jordan
(Das Lied von der Erde and Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
Interlaken, Switzerland (April 2 & 3); Paris, France (April 5); Vienna, Austria (April 7, 8, & 9); Athens, Greece (April 11 & 12); Madrid, Spain (April 14); Lisbon, Portugal (April 16 & 17); Turin, Italy (April 19 & 20)

April 28
Washington, DC
Crumb: American Songbooks
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

April 29
New York, NY
Crumb: American Songbooks
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

May 5-7
Berlin, Germany
All-Strauss program with Renée Fleming
Berlin Philharmonic / Christian Thielemann

May 12-23
Mahler tour of Europe with New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert (cities and repertoire TBA)

May 29
Zurich, Switzerland
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

May 31 & June 1
Amsterdam, Holland
Recital and master class with Wolfram Rieger

June 2
Saarbrücken, Germany
Recital with Wolfram Rieger

June 4
Brussels, Belgium
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

June 6
Vienna, Austria
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

June 13
London, UK
Mahler recital with Wolfram Rieger

June 26 - July 10
Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich Opera
Wagner: Parsifal (Amfortas)

July 14 & 15
Winona, MN
"Song of America" recitals with Craig Rutenberg

www.thomashampson.com

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