Organization

Conductor

Leonard Bernstein

Singer

Baritone

Thomas Hampson

Orchestra

Wiener Philharmoniker

Musikverein

Mahler, Kindertotenlieder

Vienna

Austria

The American baritone Thomas Hampson, born in 1955, is one of the most sought-after singers of our time. His repertoire ranges from the baroque to the modern and includes opera, oratorio and song, as well as musicals and operettas. Thomas Hampson has made a name for himself through his versatility as well as through his achievements in the recording studio, in musicological research and in vocal pedagogy. He has received numerous major awards and is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music.
Hampson studied singing with Marietta Coyle (a student of the legendary Lotte Lehmann), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Martial Singher and Horst Günter. His glittering career began in Europe after winning first prize in a 1981 Metropolitan Opera competition in New York. Düsseldorf and Zurich were the first stops. Since the late 1980s, Hampson has been one of the best and most versatile musicians in his field and has performed all over the world.
Whether it's Monteverdi, Mozart or musicals, grand opera or subtle lieder - the border crosser Thomas Hampson moves confidently through all genres. With his warm, melodic voice he opens up the whole cosmos of music. He also demonstrates a broad horizon in the thorough study of the sources and the time of origin of the works. In addition to his dedication to the art of singing, he imparts his knowledge and experience in master classes.
This recording was made in October 1988 in Vienna's Musikvereinssaal.
In addition to the genre of the symphony, it was primarily the song that Gustav Mahler paid the greatest attention to throughout his life. Mahler's most important songs are written for voice and orchestra, so they clearly bear the stamp of the symphonist on the outside. In addition to the "Songs of a Journeyman", the "Kindertotenlieder" written between 1900 and 1902 achieved the greatest popularity. Mahler set five of Friedrich Rückert's poems to music here, in which he gave passionate expression to the pain of the death of his son. The use of a deep singing voice and pale, dark orchestral sounds underscores the painful scenery.
"Even in his first song recording, the American baritone Thomas Hampson presented himself as an outstanding Mahler singer. This reputation is confirmed and even intensified in the three orchestral song cycles, in which the Vienna Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein also once again present themselves as great Mahlers - exegetes in the sensualistic fanning out of the multicolored sparkling instrumental color." (Der Musikmarkt, December 1991)
"Then Mahler's Kindertotenlieder with the American baritone Thomas Hampson: his voice-writing borders on perfection, the articulation is exemplary, the intensive and nuanced performance gripping. Bernstein carries the soloist between these folk-song tones and the shattering expression of despair and the orchestra practically on hands." (courier, Vienna)
"The timbre of his magnificent baritone is soft and velvety, and it blends impressively into the world of sound. In the songs 'Nun will the sun' rise so brightly' or 'In this weather' he has great, touching moments." (New Kronen Zeitung, Vienna)

Mahler, Kindertotenlieder by Various, From (1988/1988), Conductor Leonard Bernstein, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria

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