On June 14, Thomas Hampson presents his interactive lecture, ‘Schubert’s American Dream: Song as an Identity-Shaping Force.’ Drawing on his own transatlantic career and life, Hampson explores art song as an identity-forming force on personal, cultural, and societal levels. Engaging directly with the audience through musical and audio examples, he examines how song shapes personal and collective identity against the backdrop of the American cultural mosaic, defined by its history of immigration, diverse political thought, and artistic variety.

The event anchors the festival’s ‘Schubert’s American Dream’ theme day, offering an evocative window into the composer’s imagination. In his final days, Franz Schubert immersed himself in James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales (Lederstrumpf), dreaming of America in search of freedom, individual self-determination, and the idealized world he repeatedly sketched throughout his lieder.

The lecture takes place place at 2:30pm at the Konzerthaus Stadthalle Heidelberg.