Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's First Collaboration with Baritone Thomas Hampson

Mahler Song Cycle 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn' Performance
Chamber Music Concert Also... Brahms 'Four Serious Songs'

Thomas Hampson, the world-renowned baritone born in the United States, will collaborate with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) for the first time.

The SPO announced on the 25th that it will present the regular concert "Yap Pan Zweden and Thomas Hampson" at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on the 28th and at the Lotte Concert Hall on the 29th.

Hampson is scheduled to sing Gustav Mahler's songs. Hampson is a world-class baritone who has performed over 80 opera roles, recorded more than 170 albums, and received numerous recording awards including the Gramophone Award. His interpretation of Mahler is well recognized, to the extent that Leonard Bernstein, a master of Mahler's music, selected him as a soloist.

Baritone Thomas Hampson [Photo by Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (c)Marshall Light Studio]

After the overture of Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro," the first piece of this concert, Hampson will take the stage to perform five songs from Mahler's song cycle "Des Knaben Wunderhorn." The five songs he will sing are "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" (The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow), "Wo die sch?nen Trompeten blasen" (Where the Beautiful Trumpets Sound), "Urlicht" (Primeval Light), "Das himmlische Leben" (The Heavenly Life), and "Der Tamboursg’sell" (The Drummer Boy).

In the second half, Dvo??k's Symphony No. 7 will be performed. This piece was composed at the request of the London Philharmonic Society and is a work that clearly reflects Dvo??k's unique style.

Hampson will also appear on the stage of the SPO's second chamber music regular concert of the year, held at the IBK Chamber Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on the 30th. On the chamber music stage, Hampson will sing Brahms' late masterpiece, the song cycle "Four Serious Songs."

"Four Serious Songs" is a song cycle composed by Brahms in 1896, the year his lover Clara passed away. It is motivated by sublime love, life, and death, with lyrics taken from the Bible. A poignant anecdote tells that after Clara's death, Brahms himself played the piano and sang this piece with deep sorrow. In this performance, the piano part will be played in an arrangement for string orchestra by British composer David Matthews.

In addition to this, the chamber music concert will feature Hermann's Overture No. 1, Brahms' Piano Trio No. 3, and Bruch's String Octet.