I am America too. With these powerful words, Afro-American poet Langston Hughes expressed the right of coloured people to be an equal part of American culture and society. As a member of the »Harlem Renaissance«, a dynamic movement initiated by Afro-American artists in the 1920s, Hughes became a true classic. With his deeply humanistic attitude, his intellect, sense of humour and incorruptible integrity, he produced works that remain timeless and touching to this day. The concert programme Langston Hughes: Singing Harlem in Europe features musical settings of his texts by composers like Wilhelm Grosz, Florence Price and Leonard Bernstein, showing that humanity and truthfulness know no bounds – neither then, nor now.

Note: All Hamburg International Music Festival 2021 concerts are available to stream free of charge. Once premiered, each concert stream can be accessed for the whole festival period.