cancelled: Thomas Hampson · Hartmut Höll

In the midst of the preparations for the opening of the Horst Günter Library and the song recital, we have received the news that Thomas Hampson has to cancel his participation for personal reasons. We regret this very much. In his place, mezzo-soprano Yajie Zhang, whose career has taken an unusually successful course since her operatic debut (2013), will join Hartmut Höll for a song recital under the banner of Gustav Mahler.
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Horst Günter (1913–2013) was a renowned singer and singing teacher. In the course of his long life, he compiled a library that includes books and other writings on singing from four centuries and is probably unique in the world in its claim to be encyclopedic. Singing treatises from the 17th to the 19th century, many in valuable first editions, singing lexicons, studies in singing science and medicine, and biographies of singers are united here in a collection which, because of its unity, has the character of a scientific study library.

Through the mediation of Horst Günter's student Thomas Hampson, the university was able to acquire this treasure trove of books, which will from now on be publicly accessible as the "Horst Günter Library" in one of the Kavaliershäuser. Parts of the older collection will also be digitized. 

The library is the heartpiece of a planned center for vocal research, which aims to promote a lively dialog between science and practice.