FIELDS OF WONDER

American “singer of the century” Thomas Hampson has championed works by African American composers throughout his life. In 2021, he curated the festival “Song of America: A Celebration of Black Music” at the Elbphilharmonie. Now, as part of Liedstadt Hamburg, he presents the song cycle “Fields of Wonder” by Robert Owens, which can be heard in its entirety at the Elbphilharmonie for the first time.

He is accompanied not by a piano but by the Rothko String Quartet, which brings in a double bass for this concert. With choreography by Andreas Heise, dance by Ana Dordevic and Nicholas Isaiah King Rose the music becomes a moving, deeply physical experience. The program also includes songs by Leonard Bernstein, Florence B. Price, and Margaret Bonds, which complement the profound emotional world of “Fields of Wonder” in fitting ways.