Thomas Hampson Coming to Carnegie Hall with Pianist Wolfram Rieger

On Monday, February 9 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall presents celebrated baritone Thomas Hampson in recital with pianist Wolfram Rieger in a program that features the world premiere of Civil Words by Jennifer Higdon, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. The program also includes works by Strauss, Hindemith, Vaughan Williams, Ives, and more. Please see below for full program details. Mr. Hampson, considered one of the most important interpreters of German Romantic song, has become known as the "Ambassador of American song" after his collaborative project with the Library of Congress called Song of America. Comprising more than 150 albums, Mr. Hampson's discography includes winners of a Grammy Award, five Edison Awards, and the Grand Prix du Disque. He was most recently featured on the album Christmas at Downton Abbey, released by Warner Bros. in November.

This concert airs on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York as part of the fourth annual Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon. Concerts in the series are available for live streaming on wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. During every live broadcast, WQXR and Carnegie Hall will host live web chats, including Twitter commentary by the broadcast team, from backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other. This year, the WFMT Radio Network, the classical music and arts radio distributor and producer based in Chicago, has signed on to distribute select live concerts nationally. The complete Carnegie Hall Live line-up will also be available via WFMT Radio Network to public radio stations throughout the United States and internationally as a 13-part series starting in April 2015.

American baritone Thomas Hampson has performed in the world's most important concert halls and opera houses with many renowned singers, pianists, conductors, and orchestras. One of the most respected, innovative, and sought-after soloists performing today, he was recently inducted to Gramophone's 2013 "Hall of Fame;" honored as a Metropolitan Opera Guild "Met Mastersinger;" and presented with the first Venetian Heritage Award (2013) and the Concertgebouw Prize (2011).

Mr. Hampson was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has won worldwide recognition for thoughtfully researched and creatively constructed programs that explore the rich repertoire of song in a wide range of styles, languages, and periods. Through the Hampsong Foundation founded in 2003, he employs the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.

He received the 2009 Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, and was appointed the New York Philharmonic's first Artist-in-Residence. In 2010, he was honored with a Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he serves as Special Advisor to the Study and Performance of Music in America. He carries the titles of Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera and Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the Republic of France, and was awarded the Austrian Medal of Honor in Arts and Sciences. In 2011, Mr. Hampson was again named ECHO Klassik's "Singer of the Year," marking the fourth time he has received that distinction over a 20-year period.

Wolfram Rieger received his first piano lessons from his parents and later from Konrad Pfeiffer in Regensburg. He soon developed a deep affection for lied interpretation and therefore continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich with famous lied pianists, Dr. Erik Werba and Helmut Deutsch. After earning diploma with distinction, he attended several master classes with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hans Hotter, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Even during his studies, he began teaching at the Hochschule für Musik until 1991, when he started his own lieder class for singers and pianists. In 1998, he became a professor of lied at Berlin's Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. Mr. Rieger regularly holds master classes in Europe and Japan.

Mr. Rieger is a regular guest artist at many important music centers and festivals throughout the world, including the Schubertiade Feldkirch, Schubertíada a Vilabertran, Royal Concertgebouw, Théâtre du Châtelet, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Salzburg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Kölner Philharmonie. He appears both as recital accompanist and chamber musician with such renowned artists as Brigitte Fassbaender, Barbara Bonney, Juliane Banse, Michelle Breedt, Anja Harteros, Thomas Hampson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Olaf Bär, Matthias Goerne, Thomas Quasthoff, Peter Schreier, Michael Schade, Cherubini Quartet, Vogler Quartet, and the Petersen Quartet.

A prolific recording artist, Mr. Rieger is well represented on numerous CDs, many of which have received various awards. Awards and distinctions include the honorary medal of the Associació Franz Schubert de Barcelona.

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