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Critical acclaim for Brahms’ Requiem performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons

“… baritone Thomas Hampson — a model of dignity, vocal presence, and deep investment in the texts that Brahms so lovingly chose and set.”

David Weininger – The Boston Globe

 

 

“Hampson sang with a firm, stentorian voice that had the conviction of a country preacher’s sermon. Yet he was equally capable of capturing the plush warmth of “Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis” in the sixth movement of the work.”

Aaron Keebaugh – Boston Classical Review

“… polished solos from baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Camilla Tilling. The special qualities are rather difficult to quantify; it goes beyond great musicians making great music. Rather, there was a meditative quality to the more circumspect passages…  Baritone Thomas Hampson’s solo in the third movement brought pathos that captured the meaning of the text “Surely every man walks in a vain show…” which he sang with a rich timbre as if in a Lied. His big, burnished voice remained nicely controlled, but ready to explode later in a stunning display of virtuosity in the sixth movement.”

Georgia Luikens – The Boston Musical Intelligencer

“Thomas Hampson who, at sixty-one, has lost none of the tone, power, or focus of his mighty voice … The biggest highlight of the night, from my seat, was Thomas Hampson, who simply owned the Requiem’s baritone solos with an authority I’ve rarely encountered in this piece … an intensity of tone, projection, and intonation that’s staggering. I’ve never heard the responsorial “Herr, lehre doch mich,” for instance, sound more like an operatic scene than it did on Thursday. And, for the vigor of his solos in the “Siehe, ich sehe euch ein Geheimnis” section of the sixth movement, Hampson may as well have been St. Paul addressing a scribe, so concentrated and powerful his execution of Brahms’s writing.”

Jonathan Blumhofer – The Arts Fuse

Image by Winslow Townson