some of the world's most renowned pianists (incl. John Browning, Geoffrey Parsons, Wolfram Rieger, Craig Rutenberg, Wolfgang Sawallisch), orchestras (incl. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Spokane Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, UBS Verbier Orchestra) and conductors (incl. Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti, Vladimir Jurowski, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Franz Welser-Möst). In 1990, Hampson released his first solo recital album on Teldec titled Des Knaben Wunderhorn, in collaboration with Geoffrey Parsons. The piano used for the recording had belonged to Mahler himself. The New York Times praised the recording, saying that "the performances have a luminous beauty and cast a storyteller's spell." In February and March of the same year, Hampson continued his partnership with Bernstein, first in a widely appreciated performance of Mahler's Rückert-Lieder and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and then for his Carnegie Hall debut, performing Mahler's two cycles with the Vienna Philharmonic (Bernstein's last public performances in the venue). In November, he made his San Francisco Opera debut, performing the title role in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria and role debut as Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1991, Hampson opened the New York Philharmonic season in a Live from Lincoln Center telecast, singing Aaron Copland's Old American Songs in a performance conducted by Kurt Masur. He also sang in the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Metropolitan Opera, which was recorded live for video/CDV. The same year, he released a Cole Porter tribute album on EMI/Angel. In 1992, he was named the Musical America's Singer of the Year, alongside John Corigliano, Robert Shaw, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Yo-Yo Ma. The year included many notable performances, including: the Rossini 200th birthday gala at Avery Fisher Hall, the title role in Britten's Billy Budd at the Met, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at Florence's Maggio Musicale conducted by Zubin Mehta, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Daniel Barenboim at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and two performances of Schumann's Dichterliebe: one in Geneva and the other in his first recital at Carnegie Hall. Hampson began 1993 by performing his first rendition of the title character in Thomas' Hamlet in Monte Carlo. The performance was subsequently recorded for EMI/Angel. That year, he continued to add to his repertoire with performances including Il