Liedfestival

Since 2011, singer and art song ambassador Thomas Hampson has headed the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie. The academy has evolved from its former role as a focal point of the Musikfestival into an independent, year-round development program for young singers and pianists. The programme includes master classes with the artistic director and principal instructor, as well as other renowned instructors, and concert performances in Heidelberg.

AC: You’ve been the artistic director and lead instructor at the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie since 2011. At the start of each class, how do you tell what kind of group you’re dealing with? How do the dynamics of the students’ personalities differ from one class to the next?

TH: Putting together this “class,” as I call it, is always an incredibly exciting process. Last summer, I watched videos from nearly 140 applicants. The selection process during the auditions isn’t just about identifying the most talented ones. Above all, I have to assess the nature of their artistic personalities and determine with whom I can make a truly productive contribution. I want to understand where each of these young colleagues stands and whether and how I can help them move forward. This time we’ve admitted mostly women; last year it was mostly men. That’s just how it turned out, but it’s a lot of fun! They’re wonderful people, truly interesting personalities. Compared to the early years, we now have a much more comprehensive academy program with three to four modules and additional instructors; the Schubert Week in January at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin was added as an attractive highlight.

AC: What changes do you see in the mindset and education of young people?

TH: The question, of course, is whether people have changed or whether my perception has changed. I still believe that the actual technique and understanding of the body’s mechanics are given too little attention in vocal training. Perhaps the main change is that the 24- to 26-year-olds who come to us are more ambitious about pursuing a career. Once they’ve achieved their first successes, they sometimes tend to underestimate the enormous amount of work they’ll have to keep putting in—basically, for their entire singing career! —they will have to put in consistently. Understanding our craft, studying, developing technique, warming up, taking care of our health, and growing with our own age: all of this adds up to a very, very long career. In this respect, young people today are perhaps a bit impatient.

AC: You mean an awareness of the basics of vocal hygiene? The patience to let things develop organically? A bit of the old-school “knowing singer” approach?

TH: The path from identifying a talent to performing on stage has become much shorter—perhaps a little too short. One of the strengths of our Liedakademie lies in slowing that process down a bit and paying even closer attention to the fundamentals, so that the content that is actually meant to be sung can become clearer. The old school—that was a process that took place in a much more private setting and lasted much longer. We no longer live in that world, but it’s still important to be aware of it. You can’t start early enough when it comes to mastering a discipline. Especially young singers, who by the age of 25 already have a sense of their own potential, should be encouraged to pay very close attention to ensuring that the fundamentals are in order. Talent, training, development, knowledge—it is the interplay of all these factors that makes for a well-rounded singer. Basically, he or she has to love studying more than performing—that’s just the way it is…

AC: How do lessons at a Liedakademie differ from traditional voice lessons?

TH: I see it as a complement, a continuation. We work in the realm where a more subtle, conscious fusion of intention, technique, and the meaning of singing is to be found. In a way, it’s liberating to be able to ask oneself calmly: For what purpose am I singing? What story do I want to tell? Often, the technical execution of a phrase is so demanding that what’s meant to be communicated is, so to speak, left behind. My task is to increase the balance of these demands as much as possible for each and every member of the group. Incidentally, it’s also incredibly exciting for the audience to experience the very different levels of the participants and to see the various ways in which the elements of singing interact in each case. I take this task—meeting them at their very specific level and building them up—very seriously. It used to be said that a singer is educated through their ears by their teacher. I see it that way, too. And the ears are always connected to the heart and credibility.

AC: What does that mean, specifically?

TH: Schubert’s “Nacht und Träume,” for example—that’s no secret science. The song is relatively straightforward and easy to understand. But you have to be able to sing it. The legato, the voice’s range of resonance, the color of the vowels—the audience shouldn’t be aware of any of these things. They should experience the work of art and the illusion that there are no pauses for breath. That’s technique; that’s the physical work of evoking transcendence. That’s where the greatest pleasure a singer can experience lies. It doesn’t matter whether three people are listening or three thousand…

The interview was conducted by Anselm Cybinski, Director of Programme and Dramaturgy at Heidelberger Frühling.