eviewWorld Harp congress

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLD HARP CONGRESS, INC.

FALL 2019 • VOLUME XIII, NO. 5

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HONORARY BOARD OF DIRECTORSBernard Andrès, France Pierre Bartholomée, BelgiumMarco Betta, ItalyRobert Freeman, USAPierick Houdy, France

The World Harp Congress was established in 1981 and incorporated in 1982. It originated from the Harpweeks in The Netherlands, organized by Phia Berghout and Maria Korchinska, that first met in 1960. The WHC is held every three years around the world and seeks to promote the exchange of ideas, stimulate contact, and encourage the composition of new music for the harp.

1983 Maastricht, The Netherlands1985 Jerusalem, Israel 1987 Vienna, Austria 1990 Paris/Sèvres, France1993 Copenhagen, Denmark1996 Tacoma/Seattle, Washington, USA 1999 Prague, The Czech Republic

Founder: Phia Berghout, The NetherlandsWORLD HARP CONGRESS, INC.

WORLD HARP CONGRESS, INC.Founder: Phia Berghout, The NetherlandsFounding Chair: Ann Stockton, USAFounding Artistic Director: Susann McDonald, USAFounding WHC Review Editor: Linda Wood Rollo, USAChair Emerita: Patricia Wooster, USA

Founding Committee Phia Berghout, The NetherlandsMario Falcao, Portugal/USAKumiko Inoue, JapanMarcela Kozikova, CzechoslovakiaSusann McDonald, USASylvia Meyer, USARobert A. Ouimette, USALucile Rosenbloom, USADeane Sherman, USAAnn Stockton, USA

MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATIONDaphne Boden, United KingdomAlexandre Bonnet, The NetherlandsClíona Doris, IrelandMario Falcao, Portugal/USAMercedes Gómez, MexicoKumiko Inoue, JapanMieko Inoue, Japan Kathy Kienzle, USA Sheila Larchet Cuthbert, IrelandSusann McDonald, USAIsabelle Perrin, Norway/FranceLieve Robbroeckx, BelgiumNatalia Shameyeva, Russia Ernestine Stoop, The Netherlands Helga Storck, GermanyKaren Vaughan, United Kingdom Linda Wood Rollo, USAPatricia Wooster, USAElena Zaniboni, Italy

BOARD OF DIRECTORSChair: Kathy Kienzle, USAArtistic Director: Isabelle Perrin, Norway/FranceAssociate Artistic Director: Karen Vaughan,

United KingdomVice-President: Alexandre Bonnet, The NetherlandsVice-President: Mieko Inoue, JapanVice-President: Mercedes Gómez, MexicoSecretary: Lieve Robbroeckx, BelgiumTreasurer: Jaymee Haefner, USAEditor, WHC Review: Isabel Moretón Achsel, Germany

Milda Agazarian, RussiaKirsten Agresta Copely, USAAnn Benjamin, USA Maria Cristina de Carvalho, Brazil

Clíona Doris, IrelandMario Falcao, Portugal/USALucrecia Jancsa, Argentina Jung Kwak, Korea Marcela Méndez, ArgentinaKaori Otake, Japan/CanadaSirin Pancaroglu, TurkeyNicoletta Sanzin, ItalyErnestine Stoop, The NetherlandsHelga Storck, GermanyCaryl Thomas, Wales, United Kingdom Guan Wang, ChinaPatricia Wooster, USA Angela Yau, ChinaAnn Yeung, USADan Yu, China

Sergiu Natra, IsraelPaul Patterson, United Kingdom Libor Pesek, Czech RepublicR. Murray Schafer, CanadaDavid del Tredici, USA

2002 Geneva, Switzerland 2005 Dublin, Ireland2008 Amsterdam, The Netherlands2011 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada2014 Sydney, Australia2017 Hong Kong, China2020 Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Phia Berghout

eviewWorld Harp congress

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLD HARP CONGRESS, INC.

FALL 2019 • VOLUME XIII, NO. 5

3 WORLD HARP CONGRESS NEWSLetter from the Chair – Kathy KienzleGreetings from the Artistic Director – Isabelle PerrinPreliminary Program Highlights of the Fourteenth World Harp Congress in

Cardiff 2020

7 PEOPLEEdward Witsenburg: About Rosa Spier, Grandjany and Harnoncourt

– Kerstin Scholten

12 HARP HISTORYMirella Vita (1919-2012) – Marcela Mendez

14 SPOTLIGHTThe Ginastera Harp Concerto op. 25 – Sidsel Walstad

15 IN MEMORIAMLibuše Váchalová – Ivana DohnalováNathalie Brooke-Benckendorff – Karen Vaughan

16 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS AND COMPETITIONSEdinburgh International Harp Festival – Elinor EvansPratté International Harp Festival and Competition

– Delphine Constantin-ReznikUSA International Harp Competition – Isabel MoretonSuoni d’arpa – Nicoletta SanzinInternational Harp Competitions At-A-Glance

23 NEW MUSICWim Henderickx: Harp ConcertinoRecent Premieres and Publications

25 NATIONAL NEWS

37 MEET THE CORRESPONDENTSThailandAustria

38 WORLD HARP CONGRESS CORRESPONDENTS

38 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS to the World Harp Congress Review

39 NATIONAL HARP ASSOCIATIONS OF THE WORLD

ON THE COVER:See page 37 for details.

Cover design by Petra Bryan.

C O N T E N T SFALL 2019 • VOLUME XIII • NO. 5

EDITOR Isabel Moretón Achsel

ADVERTISING MANAGER Sydney Campen

GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Petra Bryan

The World Harp Congress Review is pub-lished biannually in November and May and is distributed to over 50 countries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the World Harp Congress, Inc.

Memberships to the World Harp Congress, address changes, and other business matters should be directed to:Leanna Johnson, Membership Chair14501 Montfort Drive, #1625 Dallas TX 75254, USAEmail: membership@worldharpcongress.comThe WHC Review is included in membership dues.

Advertising in the WHC Review is open to all harp-related businesses and events as well as schools and conservatories. Dead-lines for ad copy are September 1 and March 1. Advertising copy, payment and inquiries should be directed to: Sydney Campen4612 S. Tewkesbury Ct.Mapleton, IL 61547, USAEmail: whcr.ad@gmail.com

News items should be directed to the official correspondents of each country.

Editorial letters and photos must be re ceived by 15 August (Fall issue) and 15 February (Spring issue). Articles must be sub mitted by 1 June (Fall issue) and 1 December (Spring issue). Please direct all material to:Isabel Moretón Achsel, EditorLange-Hop-Strasse 7630559 Hannover, GermanyEmail: whcr.moreton@gmail.com

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© 2019 World Harp Congress, Inc.All rights reserved. printed on recycled paper

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Review • Fall 2019 3 Back to the Table of Contents

Dear Friends and Colleagues,We are now less than a year away from our next World Harp

Congress, to be held in Cardiff 24-30 July 2020, back in Europe after visiting North America, Oceania and Asia.

This past summer, we, the Board of Directors of the WHC met to organize the last details of our 14th WHC to make your experience in Cardiff unique. The local team is already expert in organizing all kinds of harp events and no doubt this one will be as successful as all the others.

And now, as you are reading these lines, most of our program is put together and the greatest names and talents will come and join us in Cardiff to make those days truly unforgettable. The artistic committee, among them my dearest friends Caryl Thomas, Chairman, and Catrin Finch, Artistic Director, have received and been through nearly five hundred very interesting proposals. Needless to say it has been difficult to make choices and leave out so many wonderful talents and ideas - we really wish we could have had concerts and lectures 24 hours a day to be able to include all the many talents we have in the harp world!

Now everything is in place and we just need YOU, our audi-ence, to make it the greatest possible success. Wales is a most beautiful place to visit and we encourage you to take a vacation before or after the congress. From the WHC2020 website you will know everything about the program, the stars coming, the beautiful concerts and great lectures, the lodging and sightsee-ing possibilities. So, make your reservation and bring your friends and family along, they will love it as well!!

With my warmest regards,

Isabelle Perrin, Artistic DirectorWHC Board of Directors

Letter from the Chair

Greetings from the Artistic Director

W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S N E W S

Dear Friends,We are now less than a year away from our first Congress in

Europe in twelve years! It is so exciting to return to the conti-nent of our origin, and to go to a country which has such a long history with the harp. By the time you read this, most of the programming will be listed on the website, whc2020.wales.

The Board of Directors of the World Harp Congress recently held our annual summer meetings. Eighteen Board members travelled to France at their own expense, and four more attend-ed the meetings online. I feel honored to be working with such a dedicated group.

One of the items the WHC Board is working on is a new Vision and Mission statement for the World Harp Congress. We are lucky to have working with us several of the founding commit-tee members; Mario Falcao, Kumiko Inoue, Susann McDonald, and the Founding WHC Review editor, Linda Wood Rollo. With their help we are updating our Vision and Mission statements to bring us into the 21st century, while still honoring the Vision and Mission of our founders, especially Phia Berghout. It was her vision that created the Harpweeks in The Netherlands, which led directly to the founding of the World Harp Congress.

Another subject the Board discusses at every one of our meet-ings is where we might hold future Congresses. If you think your city and country might be a potential host for a future Congress, feel free to contact me for additional information about the requirements for hosting a Congress, harpkath@aol.com.

I hope to see lots of you in Cardiff. This is going to be a very exciting and inspiring Congress!

Kathy Kienzle, ChairWHC Board of Directors

Board of Directors meeting in France, July 2019.Row 1: L to R: Pat Wooster (US), Isabelle Perrin (FR/NO), Lieve Robbroeckx (BE), Nicoletta Sanzin (IT), Kaori Otake (JP/CA), Mario Falcao (via video, PT/USA), Angela Yau (HK), Karen Vaughan (GB), Mercedez Gómez (MX).Row 2: L to R: Guan Wang (CN), Ann Yeung (US), Clíona Doris (IE), Caryl Thomas (UK), Lucrecia Jancsa (AR), Kathy Kienzle (US), Daphne Boden (UK), Ernestine Stoop (NL), Isabel Moreton (DE).

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W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S N E W S

With less than a year to go, the Artistic Committee is excited to share with you some of the programme highlights of the 14th World Harp Congress in Cardiff. So many of the world’s greatest harpists will be performing, representing all musical genres and all manner of different harps. With recitals, masterclasses, lectures, workshops, orchestral concerts, celebrity interviews, chamber ensembles, discussions, parties, jazz, world music, historical harps, contemporary music, a wellness programme, the Focus on Youth programme, orchestral auditions, harp ensembles, this Congress will be a full six day extravaganza that is a must for any harp lover.

The programme has been specially chosen to enrich, enlight-en and entertain, and together with the numerous opportuni-ties to perform and participate throughout the week, every delegate will also have the chance to visit the extensive harp exhibition, explore a living folk museum, and experience the delight of the Cardiff shopping and dining scene. This is defi-nitely a Congress not to be missed!

Here is the Evening Concerts Programme, and as an added bonus, every concert will feature pre and post folk and jazz performances at the same venue.

Saturday, 25th July

Opening Party for Delegates at Cardiff City HallWith a dazzling display of virtuosic artistry exploring contemporary styles and innovative ideas, and pushing back musical boundaries, Remy van Kesteren, Gwyneth Wentink and Nikolaz Cadoret open the Congress in their own unique way. Come and join the party as we welcome you all to Cardiff, a chance to meet old and new friends and to celebrate in style in a magnificent Edwardian building.

Sunday, 26th July

A World of Harps at the Wales Millennium CentreA global concert celebrating the diversity and ingenuity of harps from across the world and a chance to visit Cardiff’s iconic Opera House; featuring the Kora from Western Africa, the Koto from Japan, the Qanun from Syria, as well as ancestral and traditional Columbian, Paraguayan, Triple and Celtic harps.

Remy van Kesteren

Sixto Corbolan Wales Millennium Center

Gwyneth Wentink

Seckou Keita

Nikolaz Cadoret Cardiff City Hall

CARDIFF | WALES

24-30 JULY 2020

WORLDHARP

CONGRESS2020

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

Review • Fall 2019 5 Back to the Table of Contents

W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S N E W S

Monday, 27th July

Concerto Evening at St David’s HallOur very own Artistic Director, Catrin Finch, will take centre stage tonight as she premieres Sally Beamish’s Concerto for Harp and Orchestra with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Also on the programme, one of the most popular harp concertos ever to have been written, the Reinhold Glière Concerto featuring Anneleen Lenearts as soloist.

Tuesday 28th July

Double Concertos at St David’s HallWhat could be better than a harp concerto? Well, we would say a double harp concerto of course! Tonight’s concert is an opportunity to hear four double concertos featuring harpists from Russia, China, Europe and South America. Parish Alvars’ perennial favourite will be played by Sofia Kiprskaya and Yuying Chen, Karl Jenkins’ Over the Stone by Jana Bouskova and Ieuan Jones, Mexican composer Gerardo Tamez’s Dos Dalios by Mercedes Gomez and Lucretia Jancsa as soloists, and another opportunity to hear one of Sally Beamish’s works, her Seavaigers Concerto for Celtic harp and Scottish fiddle played by Catriona McKay and Chris Stout. Sinfonia Cymru will accompany under the baton of Fabrice Pierre.Jazz Spectacular at the Royal Welsh CollegeThe same evening will see a jazz extravaganza at the main Congress venue featuring Park Stickney and other amazing jazz geniuses.

Catrin Finch

Anneleen Lenearts St Davids Hall

Sofia Kiprskaya Jana Bouskova Yuying Chen Mercedes Gomez Catriona McKay

14TH WHC IN CARDIFF | 24 TO 30 JULY 2020 WEBSITE: WHC2020.WALESTWITTER: @WHC2020 FACEBOOK: WORLD HARP CONGRESS 2020

Park Stickney

6 Review • Fall 2019 Back to the Table of Contents

Wednesday, 29th July

Celtic Connections at St Fagans National Museum of History – winner of the Art Fund UK Museum of the Year 2019It would be remiss of us not to share with you our wonderful Welsh heritage, so tonight we shall take you to the outskirts of Cardiff to visit an open-air museum that will be alive with traditional music and dance. As you walk around the beautiful grounds, pop in and listen to a triple harpist in the tiny chapel, a penillion singer in the farmhouse, a storyteller in the cock-fighting pit, a folk duo in the schoolhouse, join the traditional dancers outside the Gwalia stores, and feast on good old fashioned fare at the market square. The evening will end with a twmpath or ceilidh before returning by bus to Cardiff. (All transport and food included in the delegate ticket.)

Thursday, 30th July

The Harp in Opera, Gala Finale at St David’s HallOpera star Sir Bryn Terfel joins Alexander Boldachev and five Royal Harpists in a celebration of the harp in opera. The evening will showcase famous arias, well-known singers and dancers, as well as an extra special ensemble of fifteen harpists conducted by the one and only Sylvain Blassel. The evening will end with a closing party at the Royal Welsh College; a chance to say hwyl fawr, bon voyage and à bientôt, to the rhythm of a jazz-harp band.We will be updating our website regularly with news of concerts and artists, so do visit us at www.whc2020.wales We will be featuring some of our esteemed soloists - Leticia Belmondo, Sylvain Blassel, Emmanuel Ceysson, Sivan Magen, Maria Luisa Rayan and Naoko Yoshino, as well as putting the spotlight on jazz, world and lever harpists, and highlighting historical harps and contemporary music. Delegate tickets are now available through the website, so get yours soon.

http://cat.llgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon?host=localhost%209901%20DEFAULT&sear...

DescriptionA harpist and his harp, surrounded by a large crowd in the street.

Corwen gorsedd (1895)

CymraegLogin Register

Abernodwydd Farmhouse Llys Llywelyn

Sylvain Blassel

Celtic village at St Fagans National Museum of History.

Corwen Goresedd (1895)

Alexander Boldachev

W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S N E W S

CARDIFF | WALES

24-30 JULY 2020

WORLDHARP

CONGRESS2020

14TH WHC IN CARDIFF | 24 TO 30 JULY 2020 WEBSITE: WHC2020.WALESTWITTER: @WHC2020 FACEBOOK: WORLD HARP CONGRESS 2020

Review • Fall 2019 7 Back to the Table of Contents

P E O P L E

For the Dutch Harp Magazine, translated by Brenda Dor-Groot and reprinted with permission.

In September 2019, Edward Witsenburg will turn 85, an excellent reason for an interview. On Monday the 4th of June, 2019, I find myself travelling the familiar journey to his home in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The student concerts always took place at Edward’s house and I am one of many students for whom Edward’s harp room is a cherished place. The most beautiful harps from a diversity of centuries and countries have a home here. Upon my arrival, while Edward is putting the kettle on, I am allowed to look around, and I am reassured: nothing has changed. The collection of instruments is beautifully maintained as always, and the paintings of Rosa Spier and Marcel Grandjany are still in the same place!

In preparation for this conversation with Edward Witsenburg, I dived into my old editions of the Dutch Harp Bulletin, and relived thirty years of harp society history. I came across a multitude of articles written by Edward, about Phia Berghout, Toos Stotijn, Ank van Campen, Mary Ragetli, Margot Flipse, and others, but also about harp maintenance, baroque interpretation and correct harp posture. I also found an interview from 2002, which I wrote together with Pien Tieman.Kerstin Scholten: After almost seventy years of playing the harp, what do you personally consider the most important subjects that we should address?

Edward Witsenburg:About Rosa Spier, Grandjany and Harnoncourt

by Kerstin ScholtenEdward Witsenburg: That would be this: I would most like to talk about Rosa Spier, Grandjany and Harnoncourt!KS: Could you start by telling us how you started to play the harp? I found an article in the first ever Dutch Harp Bulletin, written by your mother, Mrs. E. Witsenburg-Horsman, in which she describes her ‘harp house‘.EW: Yes, I do remember that. What a lovely thing for you to uncover. My mother has been a journalist her entire life.KS: Did you come from a musical family?EW: Yes, my mother played the piano and the harpsichord, and a lot of music was made at our house. We always sang at the piano too. The harp was what you could call pure coincidence. I was fifteen years old and I had played the piano since I was seven. My parents thought it would be a good idea if I would pick up a second instrument, so that I could participate in the school orchestra. To this end, I was taken to concerts everywhere. We lived in Amstelveen, which is close to Amsterdam where there was always something on. One time, there was a recital in the Bachzaal by Haakon Stotijn (solo oboist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra at the time) and Rosa Spier. I fell for the harp with a great blow, there was something about it... I was just completely enchanted. That is how it started. My parents laughed terribly; they said, “Who on earth would play the harp?”. But they did support me and found an instrument for me: an old, gritty Erard. I received it as a gift for my sixteenth birthday. The most precious birthday present I have ever received! Later on, my brother Chris played everything along on the harp, it just came to him so easily.KS: And then, did you immediately call someone for lessons? EW: Yes, my father happened to be in rather close touch with Rosa Spier; he occasionally chauffeured her with the harp if she did not feel like driving herself. Rosa actually didn’t have the energy to teach anymore, but she thought I should have a good teacher, and that Phia Berghout was the one to turn to.KS: So Phia Berghout taught you a few years before you went to the conservatory of music?EW: Yes, I studied privately with her for three years. And after I graduated grammar school, I went to the Conservatory of Amsterdam where Phia Berghout was teaching. I completed my Bachelor studies in two years, graduating in 1956.KS: I read that you succeeded Rosa Spier as professor of harp at the Conservatory of The Hague in 1956, after six years of harp lessons. You were also the solo harpist of the Residentie Orchestra. That must have been a very intensive time!EW: It was indeed! I was young and enthusiastic of course, I thought I knew how to do it all. And the older you get, the more you think: “I know nothing at all.” I started at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with one student and gradually built up a class. I ended up staying on for forty years!

Celebration of Edward Witsenburg’s 85 Birthday on 8 September 2019 in Laren, The Netherlands. L to R: Eduard van Regteren Altena, Eva Curth, Jenny van Tol, Abbie de Quant (flute), Ernestine Stoop, Edward Witsenburg, Rachel Ann Morgan, Astrid Haring, Carla Bos, Alexandre Bonnet, Manja Smits, and Renske de Leuw. Second row: Inge Hey-Frimout and Harrie Starreveld.

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Edward Witsenburg

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P E O P L E

Rosa Spier (1891-1967) KS: I have heard you are working on a book about Rosa Spier!EW: Rosa Spier has influenced my entire life! I am indeed working hard on a book about her at the moment. I have one more chapter to write, but it is quite a job altogether.KS: You studied with her for a short while, didn’t you?

EW: Yes, when Phia Berghout was touring America with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rosa temporarily took on the lessons.KS: And that is when you absorbed everything she did?EW: Yes, she had a certain technique for example; when I brought a piece... I still remember, it was the second study by Dizi. I played it and she said, “That doesn’t sound like anything, you have to play it much more beautifully and romantic.” The next lesson I played it differently, and she would ask:

“What is the matter with you, are you in love? You have to play it exact and rhythmical, and make a good sound.” The next les-son I played it more strict and rhythmical, and then she asked: “Are you in a bad mood? No? Then play it differently: tender!” This took two months and I became quite desperate. I never seemed to do it right, and every lesson something else was wrong. After those two months, ten bars in, she said: “Right, you know it by now”, and I have never played the piece again.

It wasn’t until later that I understood her intention, the idea behind which is of course incredibly good. To explore the music from all perspectives, like a photographer who illuminates his subject in many different ways. KS: What else did you learn from Rosa Spier?EW: Her tone! She was so much in search of that sound! She had a technique, for example: plucking the string at the top, then all the way down, and up again, closely listening. And then she’d say: “There! There! That’s where the tone is that you’re looking for.” That cultivation of sound was incomparable. She also used to say: “You must be able to play beautifully and well on a bad harp too.” It is very good to not blame the harp! She had techniques for that as well. Sometimes she didn’t have the right strings and put on a string that was an octave thinner, and one wasn‘t allowed to let that be audible. I’m actually still working on it every day. I have a portrait of her on the wall in the room downstairs, and I will look at it and ask: “Am I doing well, Rosa?”KS: Did she do compliments?EW: No, not directly. She was an honorary guest at that first competition in Israel in 1959 (this will also appear in my book). She wrote a diary there in which she was actually very appreciative, about me as well. But she could also write about someone: “Not a nice harp, and she has no connection with that piece.” Bam! She was an indomitable one! She also did not

tolerate any contradiction. I remember, I was in possession of a recording of Lily Laskine - at that time there were almost no recordings, Zabaleta made many recordings, and Lily Laskine. Laskine had recorded Fauré’s Impromptu and I had it on an old 78-rpm record. I was so proud and really enjoyed it. I was visiting Mrs. Spier and played the record for her. Well, the first phrase wasn’t over yet when she said, “That woman doesn’t understand the piece at all.” She sat down at the harp furiously and played it the way she thought it should be done. And for example the Hindemith Sonata, she changed all kinds of things about it. She said: “That sounds better if you play it like this” or “a bass should be added here”. Later on, I had to unlearn all that again. It was her generation that did these things, she wasn’t alone in that. She had a unique position of course: before her, the harp world in The Netherlands was a void.KS: Then whom did Rosa Spier study with herself?EW: At that time, there was a mediocre teacher at the conservatory of The Hague. Rosa wanted to study with Otto Müller, the harpist of the Berliner Philharmoniker. During the Summer he would be in the Netherlands and Rosa would go to him. She also took lessons from him in Berlin, and that is how she built up her entire technique. Rosa Spier has taught at the conservatory of The Hague herself for more than forty years, and she passed on her tone to all her students. Famous students of hers are Phia Berghout, Mary Ragetli, Ellen Stotijn and Toos Stotijn.KS: Was she a strict teacher?EW: She was indeed. The class immediately after the war, her last three students, always came out crying, even though they agreed with each other: “We are not going to cry.” You have to understand, Rosa had been held in a concentration camp, Theresienstadt. She had a very tough life. It is understandable that this hardened her personality a great deal. She was no longer patient, she had been through too much. Previously, before the war, she did have patience. But afterwards she could be quite short-tempered and moody. Two of her three students could not cope and dropped out. Inez Kraker is the only one who stayed on, and she continued her studies with me when I took over the harp class in 1956.KS: Did Rosa Spier have a sense of humour?EW: Very much so, she absolutely loved to crack Jewish jokes. She exchanged them with my father. He wasn’t Jewish himself, but he knew a lot about it.KS: So she had a special relationship with your father?EW: Yes, she did. My father has been very much into harp maintenance.

Yes, that’s how I remember Rosa: on the couch at our home in Amstelveen, howling with laughter - “do you know this one yet?“. Fortunately she did indeed have an amazing sense of humour!

Rosa Spier (1891-1967)

Review • Fall 2019 9 Back to the Table of Contents

Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) KS: Grandjany, was he present at the harp competition in 1959 in Israel? Is that where you met him?EW: Certainly, he was on the jury. I spoke with him after the competition, and that is when he offered me to come and complete my studies with him in New York. I immediately had a good connection with him. With the

help of Phia Berghout, I received a state grant for travel and accommodation. I was able stay for a whole season. It was not at the Juilliard School, but privately with him, although I was allowed to attend all the classes, and I went to all the concerts.KS: So not only did you learn to play from him, but you also learned how he taught.EW: That’s right. As a result, I became stricter in my teaching. He was a very mild man, but high demands were made. For example, I made a pedal mistake during my first lesson. He said, “No, no, no pedal errors are made during my lessons, that is a lack of discipline.” Well, I hardly dared to go to class anymore! And if it happened again later, it would be analyzed, you had to say it out loud. You had to switch pedals exactly on a rhythmically correct moment in the bar, and shortly before the change, so that it would still be fresh on your mind. These are all important things, you had to consciously raise your foot, that is how it was really trained, so errors would indeed no longer occur. I learned so much that way. I have to say it was quite a shock at first, but later on I thought: “Obviously, the man is absolutely right.”KS: Could you give a summary of the key points of his technique teachings?EW: Yes I can. I wrote it down, as this is very important for everyone.

Firstly, raising the pace of your basic technique. Grandjany considered my technique to be too slow. I hadn’t specifically worked on that before, and that’s when you get stuck at a cer-tain point. He gave the Mozart concerto as an example: if your scales technique is slower than the technique needed for the concerto, you will have no reserve and that can’t be. So, sup-pose you play the first part at 112 on the crotchet, you have to make sure you can perform your basic technique at 120, so you will have a run-out. He taught me how to do that, the proper use of a metronome. Not to run wild after a wildly-ticking met-ronome. He said: start with a pace that is high, but that you can handle very well. Keep practising that for a few weeks and at a certain point you will notice it has become easier. That is the moment to speed up to the next line, and this is how you grow your technique.

Other methods were:• Doubling hands, e.g. the left hand plays along

with the right hand, which is also very good for the development of the left hand.

• Practicing with rhythmic variations.• Lifting out difficult passages. He said: “You have

to reduce it to the smallest element, locate the difficulty.” You keep reducing the passage before and after, until you reach the section of which you can say, “Look, there it is, that is what I have to tackle with exercises.” Afterwards, you expand it again with a measure before and after, and another measure, and that works perfectly.

• Mute the strings in such a way that the harmo-nies don’t ring through one another.

KS: And the studying backwards you taught us, was that also one of his methods?EW: It certainly was. Putting a sheet of paper over your music, and start with the last note of a passage. Then shift the sheet forward little by little to uncover more of the passage and extend it.

He really taught me how to practice. He was all about very strict technical control. He said that we must demand the same of ourselves as pianists and violinists. Don’t think: “A harp is a difficult instrument.” Essentially, you just need to have enough reserve on a stage, that is the main objective.

Another aspect he was very strict about was being able to make a legato melody. Tone control was very important to him. He used to say: “We can try to make it sound even better.”KS: Was this a French approach or did he develop it all himself?EW: He started with the French approach, as he was a student of Henriette Renié. He started private lessons with her at a very young age. His parents died when he was three years old and he has been raised by an older cousin of his. She was a friend of Henriette Renié, and Renié took him under her wings. He has always kept in touch with her. But yes, we also develop by ourselves, and form our own ideas. He switched to the American harps, he was a Wurlitzer fan, a lovely thing to note. Just like Rosa Spier in a way, he was searching for a distinctly warm sound. When Wurlitzer ceased business, at the start of the war, he immediately bought a golden Lyon & Healy style 23. A magnificent harp, which we were allowed to play on a few occasions.KS: Is there anything else you would like to tell about Grandjany? You said he was a lovable man.EW: In the United States, his students absolutely loved him. Mr. G. is what they called him. He had a very large following of students. That is what he originally went to the USA for. Grandjany already had many American students in France at the American School in Fontainebleau, near Paris. American girls were introduced to French culture there. These students suggested: “Maître, you should go on tour in the United States” and that is what he did.

He suffered greatly during the First World War, he did not touch a harp between 1914-1918 at all. He was organist and choir-master of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris at the time, being an excellent piano player as well. When the Second World War was about to happen, he felt he couldn’t go through that again. He emigrated to America with his wife and young son in the late 1930s, before the war began in Europe. It didn’t take long until he was appointed as a teacher at the Juilliard School in New York. He was an authority and that was immediately recognized.

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Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975)

10 Review • Fall 2019 Back to the Table of Contents

By the way, Grandjany argued that you should not practice more than four hours a day, he thought that was the absolute maximum. He said: “It is a heavy instru-ment, both physically and mentally, and if you practice longer you will do more harm than good.”

Grandjany was also very religious, you received life lessons from him: “Human fame is only very short, it will be over quickly, and then you will be forgotten. You make music ‘pour la gloire de Dieu’.”

That was quite moving, I thought, yes, he clearly understands what it is about.

This perfecting of technique. He used to say: “If you empha-size technique so much, people may think you are only con-cerned with technique itself, but the opposite is true. Our tech-nique is the foundation that enables us to musically express anything we want. But first you have to master that technique, it should not be an obstacle.”

One more thing about Grandjany: ‘jalousie de métier‘ is something he could not understand. It only takes energy. That was of course also a good example for me.

Nicolaus Harnoncourt (1929-2016) KS: How did you get to know Harnoncourt?EW: In the early 1970s, he was teaching a course at the conservatory of The Hague about Monteverdi. I knew nothing about Monteverdi. Well, it was a revelation, such fascinating, fantastic music! I went to all of his lectures. They performed the Orfeo under his direction, and I played the harp part myself, alternating with students. Later on, when Monteverdi was programmed for the Holland Festival, Harnoncourt asked me to play the harp part. Not with a pedal harp, that was not done. I borrowed a Briggs harp from the Gemeentemuseum (municipal museum) and played the part on that. In 1975, I started playing at the Zurich opera under the direction of Harnoncourt. I stayed on for a number of years, during which they performed three Monteverdi operas.

For two out of these three operas, L’incoronazione and Il ritorno, Harnoncourt wrote a second harp part. He was very fond of the harp, we were placed directly to his right. As seen from the audience, the lutes were on the left and the harps were on the right. Whenever he gave an introduction to the audience about the instruments, he would say: “The most extraordinary instrument is the harp.” He thought the timbre of the harp was exceptional.

Once, while working on the opera L’incoronazione di Poppea, Harnoncourt said to me: “I don’t think the lutes are strong enough in this aria, could you please write a harp to add to that?” I said, “I don’t know if I can do that.” “Of course you can,” he said, “just write it down, come an hour early for the rehears-al tomorrow, and we will go over it.” He gave instructions such as: “Put that voice one octave up”, “a little more bass there”, and “you can add another chord there”, “no arpeggio here, play an arpeggio there”. It was ready in no time, and I had an additional harp part! He knew exactly what he wanted.

Exclusive handcrafted wooden music stands

Made in France www.clavelmusic.com

P E O P L E

Edward Witsenburg

Review • Fall 2019 11 Back to the Table of Contents

harp. Eventually it ended up with Mercedes herself and when I was visiting her with Willem and Chris, I really wanted them to hear that harp. She still had it, it was taken out - the cover was still on it - and then she said, “I would like to give it to you as a gift.” I was speechless... It is living here now! That was actually the third Celtic harp I have ever seen.

And then gradually the celtic harp arrived in our country. Ank van Campen has greatly contributed to that. It was difficult to get instruments, but gradually more harp builders emerged in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

At some point, I was able to buy a single action Erard, they were not expensive at all at the time, because nobody was interested in it. Nowadays those old instruments cost a fortune!KS: And so the collection expanded.EW: It did indeed. I had a Pleyel harp for a while, but it didn’t suit me, I wasn’t taken by the sound either. A colleague eventually bought it from me. Because I thought, if I don‘t play it, it won’t be of any use.KS: So all the harps in the room downstairs are actually being played on? They are not museum pieces?EW: Yes, they are living instruments, they are being played everywhere. They are not wasting away like in the Gemeentemuseum. It saddens me, that collection is just standing there, doing nothing, with all the strings breaking.

Each of my harps has its own story. For example, I have that famous harp from Rosa Spier, which survived the war. It is here in my study, I have had it for almost fifty years now.

Now that I am writing the story about Rosa Spier, I look at that harp with different eyes. The instrument has been through so much, and it was one of her three most beloved harps. There are a few years during the war of which nobody knows what happened to that harp.

I got to know the “triple harp” in Wales, and it took some time, but eventually I started playing that too. Now I think it’s becom-ing too heavy, also in terms of concentration. So I have lent it to a former student of mine, who is greatly enjoying playing on it. The soundboard broke, so it is being restored at the moment.

With all those harps, I thought: “I want to be able to play that too!”KS: How do you keep carrying on, maintaining instruments all your life and always practicing? Is that an inner force? EW: Yes it is. And I like to practice, that certainly makes a difference! Yet the interest in the instrument itself is the most important aspect: it is almost a living thing, and you have to bring it to life! KS: Do you have good advice for the harpists, students and teachers who are reading this at the end of this interview? EW: Keep learning all your life! I think it is important that harpists also pick up learnings from other harp schools. Take note of everything and think: “How can I use this?” More often than not, it will be educational and enriching.

KS: Which aria was that?EW: It was the aria at the death of Seneca the philosopher, who is forced to commit suicide.KS: What were his innovations in the performance practice of this music?EW: He tried to go back as far as possible, he was incredibly well-read. He visited museums everywhere to see what he could learn from that time about interpretation. He was also a fantastic musician. He really lived an opera. He experienced every word.KS: So you played these operas on a small harp.EW: Indeed. And then I became very interested in old instruments with lighter string tension, thinner soundboards and so on, which provide a very transparent sound. Tim Hampson built a harp for me especially on my instructions and I was extremely pleased with it. Harnoncourt was too, he said, “Du has aber eine tolle Harfe!” (You have an excellent harp). I once performed Mozart’s Flute and Harp concerto with him, and that was an exceptional experience.

I remember when I first worked in Salzburg, and I would be invited home by colleagues. Whenever I dropped Harnoncourt’s name, everyone would freeze and shout “Musikmord!” (Music murder!)

At first, I was quite shocked by that, later on I started to like it, a little bit of pushing around. He eventually received the appreciation he deserved there as well. He was a celebrity, a world class artist.

Collection of historical harpsKS: Your interest has always gone beyond the pedal harp aloneEW: Yes, when I started playing the harp, the Celtic harp had virtually no existence in The Netherlands. I went to see harps in the Gemeentemuseum with my parents and brother, and that’s where I saw a Briggs harp for the first time. I was still in school, and there was a singer there, Luc Montigny, who played a clarsach, a small Celtic harp. I had also met an Irish harp player, Mercedes Garvey, who had played here in The Hague. And she advised me to visit Ireland. In 1958 I went to Ireland, I even stayed overnight with her parents. Her mother said, “I have always collected harps, but when the children leave the house they get a harp to take along, so I haven’t got many harps left.” We went to the salon and there were ten harps there of all sorts and sizes! After that, I ordered a Briggs harp and it must have been 1960 when I got it.KS: So the Briggs has been the first harp of the collection?EW: Yes, that was the first harp. And I was pretty much the first to do this. There was no deployment at all for other harps than the usual pedal harp in the past. Nowadays it is regularly accepted, but when I started with that Celtic harp, no one else was playing it. It may be hard to imagine now, but was really groundbreaking at the time. Sometimes colleagues didn’t get it at all, “We have such a beautiful modern harp, what would you do with those old instruments?” They couldn’t be convinced, they did not like the tone either. It is a very different sound, much lighter. It is such a challenge too, you discover that sound more and more.

There was a beautiful Briggs by the way, at Mercedes Garvey’s mother’s house, and I was completely in love with that

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Edward Witsenburg

12 Review • Fall 2019 Back to the Table of Contents

cal experience!” Nazarena Recchia2

“Mirella did not accept compromises. She hated transcriptions written after a composer’s death. The performances had to be always supported by a magnificent and full sound. She could not bear uninteresting or out of style embellishments, or notes that lacked weight on the fingers. Her musical rigor reflected an inner moral, rigor that did not admit disrespect of any kind, much less among colleagues. She compared the relationships between

chamber music col-leagues with a mar-riage in which trust and mutual respect must prevail. Her brain was a dia-mond with a thou-sand facets and her intellectual curios-ity a fire that infect-ed those around her. Her passion for harp, music and the world in all its cul-

tural and human expressions made her unique. Her teaching was a real school of life, no theme was taboo and her mission as a teacher was to foster each student to the utmost intellectually and spiritually.” Consuelo Giulianelli3

“I will always carry Mirella in my heart. Her wish to “live my way”, as written in the form of a dedication on the front page of one of her most cherished books, accompanies me in the memory of who was the most important teacher of my life, for the values that she has trans-mitted to me and for having posi-tively marked my path by tracing the direction of a musical and human route lived with awareness.

Reflecting on the auspicious mean-ing of the name Mirella, I remember my harp teacher as one ‘who will be worthy of admiration’!” Marina Bonetti4

“Thanks to the meticulous work of Mirella, who has truly dedicated her life to researching and restoring totally unknown works, that we can all be proud of our repertoire.” Anna Loro5

“Unforgettable, generous, always interesting, with an uncom-mon pioneering spirit: read her books.” Emanuela Degli Esposti6

“L’ avenir des gens d’exception sera confié à la vigilance de leur disciple” A. Tubeuf1

“The recipe to be a harpist is: a pinch of madness, the courage of going upstream and the ability to face life with joy.” Mirella Vita

In 2003 I had the fortune of meeting Mirella Vita in Milano, Italy. She was 84 years old at that time and despite our age dif-ference, a deep relationship was born between us. I remained in Italy for several months, and during that time I went to her house every day to share with her our passion: the harp and research. I am really honored to say that I was her last student: together with her I made a reflec-tion about my harp technique, my aims as a researcher, and my life. Mirella Vita was like a magician who awakened in others the most insightful emotions.

Mirella Vita had a distinctive personality, she was unique, a woman in a hundred. She made an enormous contribution to the harp repertoire. She was a passionate teacher, an exquisite harpist, a curious researcher, and a passionate writer.

On 22 February of this year we celebrated the 100th anni-versary of Mirella Vita’s birthday. Nazarena Recchia, a for-mer student of Mirella and the current harp teacher at the Verona Conservatory, where Mirella Vita taught more than two decades, organized a beautiful homage.

A book about her life and work was written by me and will be launched in the next months by the music publishing firm Ut Orpheus Edizioni located at Bologna (Italy).

All those who had the privilege of approaching Mirella Vita discovered her amazing personality behind the great musician .

For Mirella’s 100th birthday, her students and colleagues payed tribute to her, sharing insights of her life and precious memories of her teaching and work:

“During her lessons she always told anecdotes, curiosities, and biographical information on the composers we were playing at that time, and she always tried to transmit to us the passion of historical research in libraries.

I remember the first time I went to her house in Milan. She shared her treasure with me with great pride: she opened the doors of a pier glass in which several green, blue, yellow, and red colored metal con-tainers were lined up. Inside were thousands of cards in alphabetical order; each card was dedicated to a harpist or harp music composer. Thousands of names, thousands of cards, the result of her tireless research in libraries around the world. An incredible life’s work!

We played as a duo for ten years: a beautiful human and musi-

Mirella Vita (1919-2012)by Marcela Mendez

Mirella Vita and Marcela Mendez in Milan in 2008.

Nazarena Recchia and Mirella Vita.Mirella Vita in 1984.

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Marcela Méndez was born in Argentina. She studied with Elena Carfi and Oscar Rodriguez Do Campo. In 1998-1999 she studied with Marielle Nordmann in Paris, and in 2003 with Mirella Vita in Italy. She has devoted herself to study and rescue the history and music of Argentinian and Latin American composers. At present, she is principal harp with the Symphony Orchestras of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe. She serves on the faculty of the Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, where she also resides.

Marcela Méndez has published four books: Historia del arpa en Argentina (2004); Celia Torrá, ensayo sobre su vida y su obra en su tiempo (2013); Orquestra Sinfónica de Entre Ríos (2013), and recently with Ut Orpheus Mirella Vita – The indefatigable seeker (2019).

Endnotes1. “The future of exceptional people will be entrusted to the vigilance

of their disciple.” A. Tubeuf.2. Disciple of Mirella Vita. Nazarena Recchia is the harp teacher at

Verona’s Conservatory.3. Consuelo was a disciple of Mirella Vita; her last student at the

Verona Conservatory.4. Marina Bonetti studied classical harp at the Verona Conservatory

with Mirella Vita. Afterwards she studied baroque harp.5. Anna Loro was also a disciple of Mirella Vita. At present she is the

harp teacher of the Brescia Conservatory and pursues a career as soloist.

6. Harp teacher at the Parma Conservatory, President of the “Associazione Italiana dell’ Arpa” since 2014.

A selection of books by Mirella Vita

List of books by Mirella VitaMirella Vita-La musica italiana per arpa, Edizioni Bongiovanni,

Bologna, Italy (1989)___L’arpa, profilo storico e repertorio Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine,

Italy (1991)___La musica svizzera per arpa Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy

(1993)___Piccolo dizionario dell’arpa Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy

(1995)___Un secolo di arpe d’oro Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy

(1995)___Piccole cronache del secolo XX Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine,

Italy (1999)___Dutch harp music Ut Orpheus Edizioni, Bologna, Italy (2001) (Also

available in Italian)Mirella Vita and Yvette Colignon, La musique Belge de Harpe Pizzicato

Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy (2004)___Il guardaroba del concertista (The performers wardrobe), Pizzicato

Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy (2006) (Bilingual edition italian-english)

___Arpeggi Storie della Storia dell’Arpa Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy (2007)

___La música d’arpa nelle Biblioteche dei Conservatori d’ Italia, Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy (2011)

___Glissandi: Altre storie della Storia dell’Arpa, Pizzicato Edizioni Musicali, Udine, Italy (2012)

Revisions and editions of original music for harpBach, Carl Phillip Emanuel-La battaglia di Bergen per arpa. Edizioni

Suvini Zerboni, Milano, 1970.Boieldieu, F.A.-Sonate pour harpe avec violon obligé. Salvi Publications,

1984.Clementi, Muzio-Andante con variazioni. Edizioni Suvini Zerboni,

1968.De Cabezón, Antonio-Canción glosada per arpa. Pizzicato Verlag

Helvetia, PVH 1495.Desderi, Ettore-Ninna nanna, per arpa. Edizioni Musicali, La

Palmierana K07.Amedea Redditi-Tapella. 1988.Donizetti, Gaetano-Larghetto e Allegro per violino e arpa. Edizioni

Musicali Sangallo, Milano, 1960.Dizi, Francois-Tema e variazioni per arpa. Moscow Music, 1966.Krumpholtz, G.B.-Romanza per arpa. Edizioni Musicali Sangallo,

Milano, 1960.Lo Vetere, Italo-Miraggio per flauto e arpa. Salvi Publications, 1984.Lo Vetere, Italo-12 piccoli canoni senza pedali per arpa. Edizioni Curci,

Milano,1979.Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix-The Evening Bell per arpa e pianoforte.

Pizzicato Edizioni Musicale, 2001.O’Carolan, Turlough-Sette pezzi per arpa. Edizioni Suvini Zerboni,

1970.Pratesi, Mira-I canti della speranza; I canti di nozze per arpa. Edizioni

Musicali La Palmierana K06.Pollini, Francesco-Tema e variazioni per arpa. Edizioni Suvini Zerboni,

Milano,1968.Pollini, Francesco-Capriccio per arpa e flauto. Edizioni Musicali La

Palmierana K05, 1983.Rolla, Alessandro-Preludio, Tema e variazioni per arpa e violino.

Pizzicato Edizioni Musicale N. 267, 1994.Rossini, Gioacchino-Allegretto. Edizioni Suvini Zerboni. 1968Sandelewski, Wiaroslaw-Duo concertante per flauto e arpa. (Dedicated

to Mirella Vita). Edizioni Musicali La Palmierana K01, 1982.

H A R P H I S TO RY

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In the process of learning the Ginastera Harp Concerto op. 25, I would like to share with you my story and journey.Background information:

I am currently the solo harpist in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, a position I have held for more than sixteen years. Peruvian Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya has been our wonderful chief conductor for the past six years. In October 2016, to cel-ebrate the Norwegian Radio Orchestra’s 70th anniversary, a cel-ebration concert was planned and as part of this concert, Maestro Harth-Bedoya asked me if I would like to learn and play the Ginastera Harp concerto with the Orchestra. I of course said yes. The concert was prestigious and it also coincided perfectly with the celebration of the 100 year anniversary of Ginastera’s birth.

While practicing and learning the music, I discovered a num-ber of challenges. As most of you know, several bars are tricky

and inconvenient as several patterns are not so idiom-atically written for the harp. Also, I reacted to one specif-ic place in the score where I thought there was a bar missing. It would make the phrase much more natural and more logical to add an extra bar: in movement 1: bars 283-285, the same pattern is played 3 times.

Playing it 4 times would make “the whole period” correct, i.e. to add one more pattern an octave higher, and at the same time, reach the top bisbigliando in a more natural way.

For advice, I contacted several harp professor friends and col-leges around the world who know and play the Ginastera Concerto. This didn’t help much, so I kept on digging and did more research.

I found an old LP recording in the Norwegian Radio Archive with harpist Nicanor Zabaleta (1907-1993) and the Orchestre ORTF Paris, conducted by Jean Martinon. On the cover it states: “Revised version from 1968”.

The radio archive helped me to convert the LP into a digital recording, and after listening to this recording, I was relieved. Zabaleta plays a revised version, which is a better and more idiomatic harp part, compared to the the printed Boosey & Hawkes harp score we are using today. Even the missing bar was included. Zabaleta’s recording of the concerto is not easy to get hold of, since it is not published digitally. I highly recom-mend you to look out for it and listen to it.

In my daily work with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, I cooperate closely with composers and arrangers who write for the orchestra. As part of my job, I frequently help them to understand more clearly the complexities of writing for the harp. For the future of harp music, I find this extremely impor-tant and interesting to do. This is also the reason why I wanted

The Ginastera Harp Concerto op. 25My journey and research

by Sidsel Walstadto find out more about the cooperation between Alberto Ginastera and Nicanor Zabaleta.

– How was the process of composing the harp concerto?– Did Zabaleta and Ginastera work close together?I heard about the “Nicanor Zabaleta” collection. All of Zabaleta’s

personal harp parts and music have been presented to the Royal College of Music Library in London by his widow. The rules are strict there, so I had to visit and look at it in person. No photos were allowed. I went there during the summer of 2016, and I found interesting scores and with several markings.

By reading through the scores and early sketches of the Concerto, with handwritten markings in pencil and red mark-ings, I found it clear: Ginastera and Zabaleta must have worked closely in the whole process. Ginastera’s “main”/first ideas of motifs and themes are there as well, and the revised changes are written in the scores.

If I have been told correctly: Zabaleta didn’t have many stu-dents himself, so unfortunately no-one is able to tell us what happened and how things were at that time. Some harpists told me that Zabaleta “did his own thing” all the time, and for sure “just” played what ever he liked, which meant whatever was best for the harp and himself, without listening to others, including composers. I am not sure if that is the case here; After looking into the Zabaleta´s score and notes, I am convinced Ginastera was involved in the changes, in the whole process and that the composer approved and listened to Zabaleta’s sug-gestions. It was a cooperation, all the way, between the two of them, Zabaleta and Ginastera.

I believe, the very last changes were never corrected in the printed version. Unfortunately, this also happens a lot today. In August 2017 I went to look at Ginasteras’ material in the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland. The revised version score in Basel is not complete, compared to what the scores in London show and to the Zabaleta recording.

To make the revised changes more clear: I have written down all the changed/revised Ginastera-Zabaleta version from the recording. There are ten pages all together that show only the bars that have been revised or changed, compared to the Boosey & Hawkes harp part. I would like to share this with you, for those who are interested. Please contact me on sidsel@sidsel.no.

I hope this can be of great help for harpists who play this Concerto or for those who want to learn it in the future.

I would like to emphasize: This might not be “news” for everyone. I know Ursula Holliger was in touch with the Sacher Foundation several years ago and spoke to them about it, too. I am open to other news, stories and discussions pertaining to the Concerto. Please get in touch with me if you have some information regarding Zabaleta/Ginastera that could be useful and interesting to know.

I have been in touch with Boosey & Hawkes, so that they are aware of the Zabaleta scores. At the moment they say they are

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

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focusing on printing and publishing Ginastera Sonatina for solo harp. (YES, it is soon to be published!). Hopefully, after that, they can have a closer look into the Zabaleta /Ginastera scores and notes.

A new recording of the concerto based on the revised version will be released this autumn, featuring the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Maestro Harth-Bedoya and myself as soloist. I hope you will enjoy!

Libuše Váchalová (1932-2019)by Ivana Dohnalová

Not only Czech harpists and musicians will miss an amazing and extraordinary person, Professor Libuše Váchalová, mother of famous Czech harpist Jana Boušková. She was an inspiration for several generations of harp players, not only but mainly in the Czech Republic, an unforgettable soloist and distinguished teacher.

Libuše Váchalová studied the harp with Bedřich Dobrodinský from the

age of fourteen and later at the Prague Conservatory with Prof. Marie Zunová. After her studies she was employed as a harpist and also as a piano accompanist in the City Theater in Prague.

Five years later started her career in the Film Symphony Orchestra (FiSyO). She performed with flutists Václav Žilka and Jiří Boušek and formed a duo with oboist František Hanták. She was soloist of the Chamber Orchestra “Sebastian”, established by conductor Libor Pešek. Libuše Váchalová founded the quintet “Lyra Nova” for harp, flute and string trio.

Her recording of Emile Deltour’s Concertino in Jazz gained great recognition.

Libuše Váchalová fought for the harp as a solo instrument. She inspired many Czech composers to write for the harp and pre-miered around sixty pieces written for her by renowned compos-ers such as Jan F. Fisher, P. Eben, I. Loudová, K. Reiner, and I. Hurník.

Thanks to her solo career with the Chamber Orchestra “Sebastian” she was offered the positions of harpist in the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Professor of Harp at the Conservatory in Tokyo. However, as family came always first in her life, she decided to reject these offers and stay in the Czech Republic.

Besides her own family she had another one: her students at the Prague Conservatory. Two generations of Czech harpists studied in the class of Professor Váchalová and many of them

After graduating from her studies in Oslo, Indiana, and Copenhagen Sidsel Walstad is a highly sought-after musician, both as a soloist with her own exiting projects and as a chamber musician. She is the solo harpist in The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, a position she previously held in the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra.

One of the most thrilling characteristics of Sidsel’s artistic life is her ability to cross genres and to transcend and expand the traditional definition of harp music. In her use of electrical harps she has been a pioneer, exploring new musical terrain where fuzz and funky rhythms are musical elements in extraordinary interaction with the traditional harp sound. This musical versatility is evident in her extensive collaboration with leading artists like: Karpe, Ne-Yo, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Solveig Kringleborn, Secret Garden and many others. In 2018 she released her debut album “sidsel”, an album with the electric harp in focus. The album was very well received among national broadcasters, newspapers and live audiences. Sidsel is also well known for her ice-harp that she makes in cooperation with renowned “ice-musician” Terje Isungset.

ReferencesThe RCM holdings: manuscript number RCM MS 15680 [Zabaleta

Collection, Orchestra sequence], and Scores from Sacher Foundations, Basel, Switzerland

Libuše Váchalová (1932-2019) with her daughter Jana Boušková.

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are successful harpists in orchestras, chamber music or as teachers. Jana Boušková, acclaimed soloist; soloist of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Professor at the Academy of Music in Prague; Professor of the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels and Professor at the Royal College of Music in London studied with her beloved mother Libuše Váchalová.

Professor Váchalová was a very important person in the development of the Czech harp school. She strived to play the harp with energy and colour and she worked in great detail. She loved her family, her work, her harp. She had a wonderful life, and as she said “I did not live unnecessarily”.

Libuše Váchalová was a kind-hearted person whom we will miss very much.

Nathalie Brooke-Benckendorff (1923-2019)by Karen Vaughan

Nathalie Brooke-Benckendorff was born in Moscow in 1923. The following year her parents, Count Constantine Benckendorff and Maria Korchinska, settled in England, where his father had been the last Ambassador to Tsar Nicholas ll. Nathalie worked as a translator during the second World War and married Lt. Col. Humphrey Brooke, who became Secretary of the Royal Academy of Art and an expert on roses. It was a great sadness to her that she outlived her three children. Although she didn’t play an instrument herself she was keenly interested in music and theatre, being a frequent visitor to the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh International Festivals. Readers may remember her wit and sense of humour when she attended the World Harp Congresses in Geneva, Dublin and Amsterdam. She died in London the week after her 96th birthday.

Samuel Milligan (1932-2019) Samuel Milligan (1932-2019) has died on 27 August 2019. A

tribute will appear in the Spring 2020 issue of the WHC Review.

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Edinburgh International Harp Festival 2019by Elinor Evans

I am lucky to live in Edinburgh and have been going to various courses and concerts at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival for the past 14 years initially as a student but more recently as a teacher and performer. This year the 5th-10th April 2019 marked the 38th Edinburgh International Harp Festival. Over the 5 days there was an amazing array of activities with music from Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Senegal, Paraguay and Ireland.

There were ten inspiring concerts featuring artists from all over the world such as The Corbalan Brothers from Paraguay, Eira Lynn Jones from Wales, and Grainne Hambly and William Jackson from Ireland to name a few, and also a good old Scottish ceilidh. There were twenty creative and inspiring workshops and over 40 varied courses for all levels from complete begin-ners to more advanced players. Something for everyone with at least one course, and sometimes 2 or 3 that people wanted to try. Private lessons with some of the world’s leading harpists were also possible for those wishing to hone techniques or to try something new. I myself taught the children’s beginners courses (ages 5-14). I love seeing them trying out and getting to know such a great instrument! I was invited to play in a concert this year which was a great experience though it can be daunting playing in front of so many harpists! Clearly, they enjoyed it judging by the applause and kind words from people afterwards. I also listened to many amazing harpists in other concerts; the festival offers such a unique opportunity to hear loads of different music in one setting.

People from all over the world gather to attend our wonder-ful harp festival, from Australia to Paraguay and America to Israel and everywhere in between, with harps of all shapes and sizes - Paraguayan, lever, pedal and many others. Despite people speaking different languages everyone gathers to play together at the nightly sessions in the Festival bar. Music for this is provided beforehand so that all levels can join in. Imagine as a young player how it must feel to play alongside some of the famous performers and teachers at the festival. Differences go out the window in this setting and everyone is united in a common aim of sharing their music. It’s wonderful and truly shows the power of music to unite people.

It’s always a sad night when, after the last concert and the final hugs and “see you next year,” all that is left to do is the clearing - and there is a lot of that to be done!

The dates for the 2020 EIHF are already announced,3 to 8 April 2020. It really is not to be missed so put the dates in your diary and I look forward to seeing you there!

Pratté International Harp Festival and Competition

by Delphine Constantin-ReznikThe 1st Pratté International Harp Festival and Competition,

which took place in May 2019 in DeGeer concert hall in Norrköping, Sweden, was the result of a longtime dream.

Ever since I moved to Scandinavia to take on my position as

principal harpist of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra more than a decade ago, I have been eager to contribute in some way to the harp world with inspiration from Scandinavian culture. Happily a few years ago I totally by chance came across the name of “Pratté” and suddenly I realized I had found an exciting way to make my contribution.

Anton Edvard Pratté (1797-1875) was a prolific harpist and composer from the 19th century who was born in Bohemia but actually spent much of his life in the very town (Norrköping) and region (Östergotland) where I was currently active.

Pratté had during his life enjoyed a very successful inter-national career as a harp virtuoso, alongside other illustrious harpists such as Bochsa and Parish Alvars. His artistry was highly appreciated in both Scandinavia and central Europe where he received praise from a number of his contemporaries including composer Jacob Meyerbeer and the most famous viennese critic of that period, Eduard Hanslick! Of special inter-est to me was also that Pratté had held the position of chief conductor of what was the predecessor of my very orchestra in Norrköping.

After a period of intensive and fascinating research I had uncovered many manuscripts of Pratté ´s wonderful music, that had seemingly not been played since his death in 1875! The high quality of the music was immediately obvious to me and I became impatient to share this amazing discovery with the harp world. The idea of organizing a festival dedicated to Pratté took form and I began actively to seek the necessary funding to finance such a project.

My goal with the festival was to give the possibility for harp-ists from around the world to discover the great music of Anton Pratté. Apart from that I also hoped to create an opportunity for cultural and generational exchange for harpists by organiz-ing an international competition for young talents, program-ming a series of concerts around Norrköping and planning masterclasses.

The international competition jury that I had the honor to preside over was composed of Catherine Michel, Sandrine Chatron (Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest), Sophia Steckeler (Monte-Carlo Philharmonic) as well as of the principal harpists of Oslo and Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, Birgitte Volan Håvik and Laura Stephenson.

Performing Parish Alvars’ Concertino with the Camerata Ostrogothia. Shown in the picture are Catherine Michel, Delphine Constantin-Reznik, and Roman Reznik.

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16 candidates from 15 different countries were performing at the competition.

In the first round that took place on May 10th, each contestant had to play a balanced solo recital of 20 to 25 minutes composed of three pieces: one from the 18th century, one

written after 1950, and, to correspond to the festival concept, one written by a harpist-composer between 1800 and 1950. The general level of the contestants was excellent, and the jury chose six finalists to perform concertante pieces (Händel, Debussy, Ravel) the next day with the chamber orchestra Camerata Ostrogothia, under the baton of Roman Reznik.All the finalists received prizes. These are the results:

First Prize: Iván Bragado Poveda, SpainSecond Prize: Claudia Lucia Lamanna, ItalyThird Prize: Janice Hur, South Korea Juri Saito, JapanAudience Prize: Claudia Lucia Lamanna, ItalyYoung Promising Talent Prize: Janice Hur, South KoreaSpecial Prize for the best interpretation of the harpist-composer piece: Juliusz Wesolowski, PolandSpecial Encouraging Prize to the youngest contestant for outstanding playing: Haley Wong, Hong

At the festival’s opening night, I performed Pratté’s wonder-ful Harp Concerto in g-minor together with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rumon Gamba. I also played a number of concerts which focused on some of Pratté’s solo and chamber music works. Pratté’s music got a warm response from the international audience and it was a very strong and touching experience to participate in its revival, after almost 150 years of silence! The various performances of Pratté’s works were recorded during the Festival and can now be found on YouTube.

Apart from opening a window to Pratté´s music, the daily concerts portrayed harp music written by several of his con-temporaries: Sandrine Chatron and Sophia Steckeler played solo and duo pieces by Charles Oberthür, Louis Spohr and Ann-Marie Steckler-Krumpholtz, while the festival´s closing concert on May 12 included Elias Parish Alvars’ Concertino

for two Harps and Orchestra, featuring myself and Catherine Michel, who also delighted the audience with her performance of Bochsa´s Harp Concerto.

Naturally a space was given to the performance of nordic and nordic-inspired music thanks to Laura Stephenson, who performed exciting Swedish contemporary compositions for harp written by J. Westman, Anders Hillborg and Ivo Nilsson, and to Birgitte Volan-Håvik, who chose to play an Elisabeta Walter-Kühne Fantasy inspired by a Edward Grieg melody as well as the great ”footsteps in an empty room”, written by composer-in-residence of the 2019 USAIHC, the Norwegian Uno Alexander Vesje.

It was an amazing week in many regards and none of this would ever have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, including Norrköping municipality, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, local companies, and private donors.

I would like to warmly thank Salvi and Lyon and Healy Harps for coming all the way from Germany with a truck-load of great instruments which were used through-out the festival! I wish to applaud the generosity of dozens of Norrköping families who hosted and took care of our contestants during the festival, and I would like to say a special thanks to my organization team from the friends of the Orchestra Association who worked untiringly during the weeks leading up to the festival to ensure it all happened. So, my sincere and deep gratitude to everyone who contributed to make the First Pratté International Festival and Competition a great success!

We are planning a second festival to take place in 2022 and in the meantime, I will continue my recording and publishing of the works of this unique and fascinating harpist composer!

www.pratteharpfestival.seText edition: Laura Stephenson

Iván Bragado Poveda started to play the harp at the age of 8 and during his first years of studies he won four editions of Spanish Harp Competition for students “ArpaPlus”. Later, he continued studying at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León with Marianne Ten Voorde before moving to Helsinki to study in Sibelius Academy with Päivi Severeide.

Iván has been principal harp in many youth orchestras, such as the Youth Spanish Philharmonic Orchestra (JONDE) or the Galician Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he met one of his most inspiring teachers, french harpist Céline Landelle. In May 2019 he won the position of the Estonian National Symphony.

Iván has travelled around the world playing in the most renown venues, such the Berliner and Kölner Philarmonie, Berliner Konzerthaus, The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, The Royal Albert Hall or the Alice Tully Hall in New York. In the Spring 2018 he joined the Finnish Radio Symphony Symphony Orchestra in a Tour to Germany.

Prior of winning the First Pratté competition in 2019, he won the First International Harp Competition in Porto in 2017.

L to R: Laura Stephenson, Sandrine Chatron, Sophia Steckeler, Birgitte Volan-Håvik

L to R: Iván Bragado Poveda, Juri Saito, Juliusz Wesolowski, Haley Wong, Claudia Lucia Lamanna, Janice Hur.

Competition winner Iván Bragado Poveda receiving his award from the Norrköping municipality leading figure, Lars Stjernkvist.

http://www.aoyama-harp.co.jp/

http://www.aoyama-harp.co.jp/

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11th USA International Harp Competitionby Isabel Moreton

The 11th USA International Harp Competition took place in Bloomington, Indiana, 3 to 13 July 2019.

Forty contestants from seventeen countries were admit-ted to the competition, which has been founded by Susann McDonald in 1989.

The program included laureate recitals by Katherine Siochi, 2016 Gold Medalist, Remy van Kesteren, 2013 Gold Medalist, and Lenka Petrovic, 2018 Gold Medalist of the Israel International Harp Contest. It also included a composition forum, featuring its winner, Uno Alexander Vesje from Norway, as well as excerpts from the 2018 6th Composition Contest’s

finalists and semifinalists, performed by the Peabody Harp Department. It was announced that the Composition Contest is renamed “Ruth Inglefield” Composition Contest in honor of the founder of the USAICS Composition Contest, Ruth Inglefield.

Other highlights were the “Stars of Tomorrow Concert” fea-turing young prize winners of national and international harp competitions, and a panel discussion on competition prepara-tion with an international panel.

The excellent organization was in the hands of Erin Brooker-Miller, who did a marvelous job with her team.

The jury consisted of Skaila Kanga (Jury president, United Kingdom), Milda Agazarian (Russia), Sylvain Blassel (France), Jana Bouskova (Czech Republic), Mario Falcao (US/Portugal), Anneleen Lenaerts (Belgium/Austria), and Dan Yu (China).The following prizes were awarded:

First Prize: Melanie Laurent, FranceSecond Prize: Valerio Lisci, Italy,Third Prize: Mathilde Wauters, BelgiumFourth Prize: Se Hee Hwang, South KoreaFifth Prize: Woojin Lee, South KoreaSixth Prize: Miriam Ruf, GermanySeventh Prize: Myriam Blardone, CanadaEighth Prize: Marika Cecilia Riedl, GermanyBest Concerto Performance Prize: Mathilde WautersBest 6th Composition Contest Performance Prize: Valerio Lisci

Melanie Laurent was born in 1996 in Toulouse, France. She grew up in a family of professional musicians who passed on her the pleasure of being on stage. She fell in love with the harp and started learning it at the age of six at the Conservatoire de

Toulouse with Dominique Piussan, her godmother. And in the meantime, she was playing chamber music at home every day. She left her hometown at the age of 17 to study in Paris, first with Ghislaine Petit and then with Isabelle Moretti at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. She got her Bachelor degree in 2018, with honors. Now, she continues in master in the same institution.

Mélanie Laurent thrives in a multidisciplinary life: she teach-es a lot and studies to get a teaching degree, she performs solo recitals and substitutes frequently within many orchestras such as Orchestre de l’Opera National de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Lamoureux, Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc. As an orchestral musician, she performed in venues such as Berlin Konzerthaus, Philharmonie de Paris, Opera Bastille, Opera Garnier, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Melanie Laurent is Goldmedalist of USA International Harp Competition 2019 and she won First Prize of the Bellan International Competition in 2017. She is supported by two organizations which gave her grants: Tarrazi and Meyer Fondations.

Sonja Inglefield presenting the Composition Contest finalists.

L to R: Founder of the USA IHC, Susann McDonald, Mathilde Wauters, Melanie Laurant, and Valerio Lisci.

Prizewinners of the 11th USA IHC: L to R: Valerio Lisci, Mathilde Wauters, Melandie Laurant, Woojin Lee, Marika Riedl, Se Hee Hwang, Miriam Ruf, and Myriam Blardone.

Stars of Tomorrow: Renée Murphy, Hanjiao Zou, Annette Lee, Yuet Kan, Xinyue Zhang, and Valerie Sim.

Panel discussion on preparing for competitions: L to R: Elzbieta Szmyt, Susann McDonald, Linda Wood Rollo, Isabel Moreton, Jung Kwak, and Kaori Otake.

Erin Brooker-Miller, Executive Director of the USA IHC, and Linda Wood Rollo.

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9th International Harp Contest “Suoni d’Arpa” in Saluzzo, Italy

by Nicoletta Sanzin

The 9th International Harp Competition and Festival “Suoni D’’Arpa” took place in Saluzzo from 30 August to 4 September 2019 under the artistic direction of Emanuela Degli Esposti and Lorenzo Montenz.

The jury included Gabriella Bosio, Ieuan Jones, Lorenzo Montenz, Edith Pun, Irina Zingg, Ivano Scavino, Johannes Willemze, and the President of the Jury Emanuela Degli Esposti. The festival was opened by a concert by three young talents from Hong Kong Harps Talent Centre: Eve Lung, 12 years, Haley Wong, 12 years and Jay Yu, 11 years.

Other concerts featured Johannes Willemze, Maximilian Ehrhardt, BeatHarp Trio, Ismael Ledesma, and Ieuan Jones.

Special thanks to Salvi Harps Italia who provided all instru-ments and a strong technical support, and to the Fondazione Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale of Saluzzo for logistic and organizational support.

The winners are:Catergory A: Lever and pedal harp (up to 15 years)

First Prize: Eve Lung, ChinaSecond Prize: Viktoria Marcova, BulgariaThird Prize: Yu Fung, Cina“Mirella Vita Prize”: Martin Sadilek, Czech RepublicHonorable Mentions: Zulaykha Kadieva, Russia, Margerita

Spicci, ItalyCategory B: pedal harp (up to 20 years)

First Prize: Claire Thai, USASecond Prize: Martina Ninfatani, ItalyThird Prize: Yelyzaveta Rakovska, UcrainaSpecial Prize: Daria Cristina Vacaroiu, Romania

Category C: pedal harp (up to 30 years)First Prize: not awardedSecond Prize: Aleksandra Rzhavtseva, Russia Andela Stankovic, SerbiaThird Prize: Manuela Margherita Colella, ItalyPrize Association Centro Rodari per la Musica: Aleksandra Rzhavtseva, Russia

Category D: Duo with harp (no age limits)First Prize: Agnese Contadini, harp Jessica Gabriele, flauto, ItalySecond Prize: Hitomi Ishimaru, harp Kanaki Sada, Japanese flute, JapanThird Prize: Darta Tisenkopfa, harp Mikus Abaronins, tenor, LatviaThe 10th edition of International Festival and Competition

“Suoni d’arpa” will take place in Saluzzo, from 31 August 2020 to 5 September 2020.

Prize winners and Jury.

Members of the Jury.

2 4 — 3 0 J U L Y 2 0 2 0

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International Harp Competitions and Master classesAT-A-GLANCE

5th International Harp Competition in Szeged, Hungary27 November to 1 December 2019Application deadline: 20 September 2019Website: szegedharpcompetition.com

Helsinki Harp Competition in the Helsinki Music Centre, Finland14 February 2019Application deadline: 11 November 2019Information: Iván Bragado Poveda, ivangliss14@hotmail.comWebsite: uniarts.fi/HelsinkiHarpFestival

11th French Harp Competition in Limoges, France28 February to 1 March 2020Website: sites.google.com/site/concoursfrancaisdelaharpe/

Edinburgh Harp Festival, Scotland3 to 8 April 2020Website: harpfestival.co.uk

5th Korea Harp Festival in Seoul, South Korea12 to 18 April 2020Application: between 1 January and 15 February 2020Email: harpydayensemble@gmail.comWebsite: kihc.net

Dutch Harp Festival and World Harp Competition in Utrecht, The Netherlands9 to 10 May 2020Regional Rounds in January and February 2020 in New York, Hong Kong, and Utrecht.Website: harpfestival.nl

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10th International Harp Contest “Suoni d’Arpa” in Saluzzo, Italy31 August to 5 September 2020Application deadline: TBAWebsite: associazioneitalianarpa.it

4th Golden Harp International Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia12 to 20 September 2020Open to harpists of any nationality aged between 16 and 32.Application: 30 June 2019 to 30 May 2020Website: alexanderboldachev.com

21st International Harp Contest in Israel4 to 14 October 2021Application deadline: TBAWebsite: harpcontest-israel.org.il

MasterclassesMarcella Carboni will give an annual course in jazz harp in Rome, Accademia AIMART. 14 lessons from October 2019 to June 2020. Info: info@aimart.itThe Third Scandinavian Harp Course will take place 5 to 9 April 2020 at Konserthuset Gothenburg with Isabelle Perrin and Erik Groenestein-Hendriks, harp, and Stephen Parker, Alexander-Technique.Website: scandinavianharpcourse.com“Jazzharp” will take place 30 August to 1 September 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden.Workshops and concerts by Stina Hellberg and Tara Minton harp.

Many professional harpists and gifted students cannot attend international events nor pay professional membership dues because of the extreme inequity of their country’s economy. Global understanding and interchange has great value to all of us — musically, culturally and philosophically. Thus we have decided to appeal to the generosity of those who are more fortunate to join the Board of Directors in a campaign to help harpists become members of the World Harp Congress.

help harpists communicate with each other worldwide

r One membership fee for a harpist with the inability to pay – $65

r A “Focus on Youth” candidate who cannot afford to attend – $500

r I am enclosing a check or money order made payable to the World Harp Congress. If you live outside of the United States, please enclose an international money order or bank draft drawn on a US bank.

r I have made a credit card payment through the secure website. We are happy to accept your payment by credit card through our secure website, www.worldharpcongress.com/membership. For the security of our members, we no longer accept credit card numbers by mail or email. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Membership Chair at membership@worldharpcongress.com or the Treasurer at treasurer@worldharpcongress.com. Thank you!

Name: _________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________

Send your donation to:World Harp Congress

c/o Jaymee Haefner, Treasurer2216 Acorn Bend

Denton, TX 76210 USAEmail: treasurer@worldharpcongress.com

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N E W M U S I C

Agnès Clément played the première of the Harp Concertino (...after a soft Silence, an enor-mous Thunder...) in C Major for harp and orches-tra (ca. 15’) by Wim Henderickx in Brussels, Belgium, on 17 February 2019 with La Monaie Orchestra and Alain Altinoglu as conductor. Henderickx was tasked with the challenge of composing a new Concertino for harp and

orchestra which incorporated elements from both Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth symphonies. After all, Beethoven’s music has been both a blessing and a curse for composers over the years: a blessing in providing inspiration, of course, but also a curse for those unable to extricate themselves from his overbear-ing influence. Not so in Henderickx’s case. His concertino is a compact, focussed, highly-charged but subtly-nuanced two-movement work (I Lento Misterioso, II Allegro) that plays on the more pastoral qualities of Beethoven’s sixth in the first, before bursting into life during the second. The writing for solo harp drawes on a wide range of techniques – pedal glissandos, près de la table, fingernail clusters, resonating harmonics and buzzing bass notes – to great effect, evoking along the way a

Wim Henderickx: Harp Concertinoby Astrid Desantoine and Pwyl ap Sion

diverse mix of Eastern and Western timbres with which the harp is sometimes associated, from Japanese koto and Chinese guzheng to the Arabic quanun. Subtitled “…after a soft Silence, an enormous Thunder…”, the second movement in particular sets up a dynamic rhythmic dialogue between harp and a large battery of percussion instruments that included everything from thunder sheet to crotales.

The concerto has been published at Norsk Musikforlag A/S, Oslo.: musikforlagene.no

S O L O

FAURÉ, Gabriel/ed. SWANSON, Carl-Two Masterpieces for solo harp.Preface, Impromptu, Op. 86 and Une châtelaine en sa tour... , Op. 110. Carl Fischer, 2019. 27 pages. (US)HAKIM, Naji-Sonate pour harpeDur: 10’, dedicated to and premiered by Raphaelle Denis, harp. Schott. (FR/DE)INGLEFIELD, Sonja-Solos by Sonja Lyon & Healy Publications. (US)VESJE, Uno Alexander-BØNN.Dur: 4’. Solo work for acoustic harp. World premiere: Uno Vesje, 24 March 2019, Kulturkirken Jakob, Norway. (NO)

C H A M B E RDuoHAKIM, Naji-Gavotte pour basson et harpededicated to Roman Reznik, basson, and Delphine Constantine, harp. Future first performance 26 November 2019. Jönköping Concert Hall. (SE)REHMANN, Chad-La Maison ensorcelée for basson and harpWorld premiere: Harpoon Duet (Isabella Coty, harp). (US)WENNÄKOSKI, Lotta-Tocca for Harp and Violin (2019)Dur: 6’. Commissioned by Korsholm Music Festival. World premiere: Stephen Fitzpatrick and Cecilia Zilliacus, violin, 31 July 2019 in Vaasa City Church, Sweden. (FI/SE)

Large EnsembleSCHUMAN, Ellis-Psalm 121for Mixed Chorus and Harp. LHS 709160-500. (US)

Harp EnsembleFREUND, Don-Song in the Waves for harp sextetDur: 6’. Dedicated to Jung Kwak and the Harpyday Ensemble; World premiere: Harpyday Ensemble; 25 April 2019, Lincoln Center New York. Freundworks Publishing 2017, 13 p. Bloomington. (US)JAMIESON, Julia Kay-bug portraits for four lever or pedal harps or more.Dur: 7’30”.I - bombus (bumblebees). II - arabesque orb spinner (spider). III. - globe spinner (dragonfly).World premiere: Illinois Summer Harp Class Harp Jam, Ann Yeung, director; 8 June 2019, Urbana, Illinois. (US)

C O N C E R T O

KUKAL, Ondřej-Harfenianna – Concertino for Harp and Strings op. 55World premiere: Kateřina Englichová, harp, Ensemble 18+, Blanka Karnetová, artistic director; 20 May 2019, Prague. (CZ)WIELEMANS, René-Concerto in C Major for Harp and String OrchestraBelgian composer René Wielemans was born in Maurage (Belgium) in 1943. He studied at the Royal Conservatoire in Mons in René Defossez ‘s class. Astrid Desantoine performed the premier in October 2019 with the Hainaut-Picardie Orchestra conducted by Michel Van den Bossche. (BE)

Recent Premieres and PublicationsEd. – In general, the composer’s country of origin is indicated by the two-letter

Internet country code. Please refer to the list of World Harp Congress Correspondents.

Agnès Clement premiering the Harp Concertino by Wim Henderickx.

Wim Henderickx

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YABUTA, Shoichi-Harp Concerto Inori no Ki (Tree of Prayer)(2019)Instrumentation: Harp, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet Bi, Bassoon, 2 Horns in F, Trumpet in Bi Trombone, Strings.Dur: 15’, commissioned by Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka. World premiere: SHINOZAKI Kazuko, Harp, and MITSUHASHI Keiko, Conductor and Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka; 6 July 2019, Izumi Hall, OsakaParts on rental, ZEN-ON Music Company LTD. Full score 69 pages, Harp part 24 pages. (JP)

A R R A N G E M E N T S

BACH, Johann Sebastian, Thomas, Katherine (arr.)-48 Preludes and Fugues BWV 846-869Book 1 (1-24), Alaw Music. Book 2 to be released later in 2019. (UK)CARAMIELLO, G./BOVIO, M.E.-Scelta di pezzi classici per lo studio dell’arpaPieces by B. Galuppi, G. F. Rameau, G. F. Kirnberger, G. C. F. Bach, C. E. Graun, L. Cherubini. (IT)MAHLER, G./PLANK, E.-Adagietto (from Symphony no. 5) for solo harp Universal Edition. (AT)TEDESCHI, L. M/Bovio M. E-Etude Impromptu op. 37 e Anacreontica op. 44(IT)VARIOUS, HEULYN, Meinir (arr.)-Famous Music for the HarpVol. 8, Alaw Music. (UK)

W I T H E L E C T R O N I C S

VESJE, Uno Alexander-POLAR FERDDur: 6’. Solo work for acoustic harp and electronic elements made by recordings of the arctic wind.World premiere: Uno Vesje, 19 March 2019, Caféteateret in Oslo, Norway. (NO)

N E W B O O K S

AUBAT-ANDRIEU, Mathilde/BANCAUD, Laurence/BARBÉ, Aurélie/BRESCHAND, Hélène-Guide to the Contemporary Harp.Translated by Lilian Rossi and Jean Rossi. English translation of the 2013 Éditions Minerve book La harpe aux XXe et XXIe siècles. Indiana University Press, 2019. Paperback. 201+ pages. (US)HURRELL, Nancy-The John Egan HarpsISBN: 978-1-84682-759-4 Four Courts Press, 2019, 302 pages. (IE)MÉNDEZ, Marcela-Mirella Vita. Ut Orpheus, 2019. (IT/AG)PARKER, Mike-A Very Imperfect InstrumentA practical approach to playing the historical single-action harp, in its many forms.Sylvilagus, Paperback. (Lulu 195983) (UK)

N E W R E C O R D I N G S

AGRESTA COPELY, Kirsten-The Covers AlbumTwelve hit singles, spanning the decades from Classic Rock to Top 40, including artists from Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac to Rihanna, Radiohead and Lady Gaga. (US)BURANI, D./DOMENÉ, J. A.-Aires de EspañaMusic for two harps by L. Boccherini, A. Soler, P. J. Blanco, I. Albeniz, E. Granados, J. Turina, J. Thomas, and M. de Falla. SMC records. (IT)HAEFNER, Jaymee-Renderings. A Musical Landscape for Violin and HarpThe Crimson Duo (Matt Milewski, violin; Jaymee Haefner, harp) perform pieces by H. Renié, G. Schocker, N. Rota, K. Soriano Broberg, and P. da Silva. MSR Classics. MS 1607. (US)HELLBERG, Stina-Quiet nowWith Swedish jazz harp player Stina Hellberg Agback and jazz guitarist Jonas Isaksson. Do Music Records. DMRCD 072. (SE)HUANG, CHEN-YU-First ImpressionFormosa Trio (Chen-Yu Huang, harp; Pei-San Chiu, flute; Tze-Ying Wu, viola) perform pieces by L. Rohozinski, G. Fauré, Cl. Debussy, A. Bax, J. Ibert, and M. Ravel. AM recording. Available on iTune, Spotify and Amazon. (TW)MEIJER, Lavinia-The Glass EffectThe music of Philip Glass and others. Sony Classical. (NL)MORETTI, Raoul-IsolaMenti-for Electroharp and Electronics. Music by Raoul Moretti feat. Julia Kent-cello, Michele Gazich-viola, Beppe Dettori-voice, Marco Bianchi-vibes & marimba, Giuseppe Murgia-sax. FonoBisanzio. IRD international Distribution. RM01CD (IT) PLANK, Elisabeth-1825-Echoes of Vienna on Historical HarpIncludes works by E. Parish Alvars, N. C. Bochsa, L. Spohr, G. Rossini and world premiere recordings of pieces by F. Lachner, I. Pleyel, E. Parish Alvars & L. van Beethoven played on an historical harp. Gramola 99168. (AT)VAN KESTEREN, Remy-ShadowsiTune, Spotify and Amazon. (NL)VESJE, Uno Alexander-Håpet er ei stjerneHenning Sommerro (church organ), Ådne Stålsett (bassoon), Sigurd Greve (oboe) and Uno Vesje (harp). Norwegian folk tunes arranged by Henning Sommerro and original composition by Uno Vesje and Henning Sommerro. Label: Kirkelig Kulturverksted. (NO)ZIVERI, Alessandra-La Promenade des DamesFrench women composers and Harp music. Harp music by G. Tailleferre, L. Charpentier and Renée Hansen-Jamet. Da Vinci Classics C00168. (IT)

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A U S T R I ATribute

On Saturday 25 May 2019 Austrian harpist Professor Josef Molnar (1929-2018) was laid to rest in the presence of his relatives and friends at the Grazer central cemetery. This is a continuation of his farewell in Tokyo last November.

He was one of the most prominent Austrian harp figures. After being a member of the Vienna Philharmonic, he devoted his life to building Japanese harp culture.

We would like to extend our condolences to his family and friends in Austria and Japan.

EventsThe second edition of the “Vienna Harp Days” took place from

22 to 26 July 2019 in Vienna at the Musikgymnasium Wien. This program offers daily masterclasses as well as additional special-ized courses on specific topics that are open to all interested lis-teners. Thirteen students from Austria and Europe were taught by visiting professor Oscar Rodriguez Do Campo from Buenos Aires and the founder and artistic director of the “Vienna Harp Days”, Elisabeth Plank. Exhibitions of harps (single & double-action), scores and strings of harp and violin builder Franziska Kolb and Musikhaus Kerschbaum coupleted the experience.

B E L G I U MAchievements

Mathilde Wauters from Belgium received third prize at the USA International Harp Competition as well as the Willy Postma Concerto Prize for the best performance of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. See also “International Festivals & Competitions” section in this volume.

B R A Z I LNews

Gianetta Baril, harp teacher at the Mount Royal University Conservatory, Canada, gave lessons and masterclasses in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, on April, 2019.

Sasha Boldachev performed and gave a masterclass at the Festival de Maio on May 2019, in Belo Horizonte. He also played the Zabel Concerto in Belem, northern Brazil.

Aricia Ferigato, doctoral harp student at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, was appointed Substitute Professor of Harp at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, on July 2019.

C A N A D AEvents

The annual festival dedicated entirely to the music of Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) was held in Worchester, VT.

Website: carolanfestvt.com

C H I N AEvents

On 8 August 2019 the Closing Concert of the Harp Summer Camp was held at the Forbidden City Concert Hall (FCCH), Beijing. Sixty young musicians aged from 4 to 17, showcased what they had learned for the past four days, performing pieces of harp solos, duos, harp with voices and with other instruments. There were, among them, beginners of the harp, as well as ones who have learned harp for years. They made considerable progress during the four days and enjoyed themselves, sharing music and experience on the FCCH stage.

The Harp Summer Camp is now in its eighth year, created by the artistic director Guan Wang, harp professor of the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) Beijing, in collaboration with the Gateway to Music Summer Festival, a well-established edu-cational art festival presented by the FCCH founded in 1995. The first Harp Summer Camp attracted around 20 participants,

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Masterclass participants with Elisabeth Plank and Oscar Rodriguez Do Campo.

Harp Summer Camp in the Forbidden City, Beijing.

Mathilde Wauters of Belgium performs with the Indiana University Summer Philharmonic Orchestra during the 11th USA International Harp Competition.

Single-action harps by Harp and Violin builder Franziska Kolb.

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L to R: G. Bosio, T. Loi, E. Sessa, and E. Gattoni.

all beginners. This year in 2019, there are quite several young ones who have attended the summer camp in previous years. Guan has led a successful team of her students from the CCOM in promotion and education of the art of harp in China.

E G Y P TIn Memoriam

Nahid Zikry, first Egyptian harpist and founder of the harp department at the Cairo Conservatory, died in Cairo at the age of 87. Most of the Egyptian harpists studied with her, and she was an idol not only for harpists, but for all whom worked in teaching music in general. She dedicated her life to the harp and her students, and was like a mother to every student of her. Despite her painful health problems she did not stop teaching, and will be missed by the harp community in Egypt.

E S T O N I AAppointments

Iván Bragado Poveda won the audition for principal harp with the Estonian National Symphony.

F I N L A N DEvents

The Helsinki Harp Festival will be held 13-16 February 2020 in the Helsinki Music Centre. The program includes concerts, masterclasses and workshops. The Helsinki Harp Festival also includes a contest for harpists born after 1994. The fes-tival is organized by the Finnish Harp Society and the Sibelius Academy University of Arts.

Featured harpists: (list will be updated) Reija Bister, Gabriella Bosio, Iván Bragado Poveda, Delphine Constantin Reznik, Johanna Engedal, Erik Groenestein-Hendriks, Laura Hynninen, Pauliina Kallio, Anni Kuusimäki, Sivan Magen, Saara Olarte, Isabelle Perrin, Lily-Marlene Puusepp, Päivi Severeide (artistic director), Laura Stephenson, Liis Viira, and Birgitte Volan.

Website: uniarts.fi/en/HelsinkiHarpFestival

F R A N C EAchievements

Anaïs Gaudemard was nominated by the Philharmonie de Paris (France) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal) to become “ECHO RISING STAR” for the Season 2018/2019. This distinction gives the opportunity to these young “rising stars” to occur in prestigious European concert halls. The tour is orga-nized by the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO).

G E R M A N YAppointments

Emily Hoile got the position of solo harp at the WCR orches-tra in Cologne.

The position of second harp at the Opera in Hannover was won by Silvia Podrecca from Italy.

AwardsIsabel Moreton was awarded the prestigious “Hamburger

Lehrpreis” for excellence in teaching.

H U N G A R YEvents

The 21st International Harp Festival at the Royal Castle of Gödöllő took place under the artistic direction of Andrea Vigh. Performers were Andrea Vigh, Fira Farkas, Elizabeth Jenei, Sara Goda, Joel van Lerber, and Maria Graf.

I T A L YCompetitions

At the XIX Concorso Giovani interpreti Città di Torino thefirst absolute prize was awarded to Mata Brezzo, as was the special Rotary Prize

At the X International Competition Città di Treviso first prizes were awarded to Iris Fioretti (Category C), Emma Castellano (Category D), and Virginia Pestugia and Tosca Tavaniello (Category E; ex aequo)

At the 2nd National Music Competition Città di Belluno Miriam Pipitone was awarded a first prize and honor mention (Category D), and Cecilia Amelie Toffoli a First Prize and hon-our mention (Category B).

A First Prize and Diapason were given to Olivia Bigai (Category A), Adrian Ignjatovic (Category B), Jernej Misic (Category C9, and Ester Ban (Category D) at the 5th International Competition Diapason d’oro Pordenone.

Francesca Marini, student of the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan, won the XIV Premio Nazionale delle Arti.

Miriam Pipitone, won the first prize at the 23 International Competition for Young Musicians Povoletto.

Diletta Capua, student at the Conservatorio Tartini di Trieste, won a second prize at the Concorso Internazionale Città di Airola.

EventsThe 3rd Festival “Magie d’estate” took place from 1 to 5

July 2019 in Selargius, Sardinia. Its goal is to bring together little harpists, having masterclasses with different teachers and finally playing a joint concert at the end.

Under the artistic direction of Tiziana Loi, more than 30 small harpists from different parts of Italy (Torino, Como, Firenze and Cagliari) worked under the directon of Gabriella Bosio (Suzuki teacher trainer), Ester Gattoni, Emiliana Sessa and of course Tiziana Loi.

All harpists were trained in the Suzuki method, which allowed millions of children around the world to approach music and play a musical instrument. Salvi Harps generously offered several harps for this event.

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The Harp gathering Arpissima will continue during Fall 2019 with other two events: Salerno (25 to 27 October 2019), with guest S. Tavormina, and Firenze (29 November to 1 December) with guest Cristina Bianchi.

Salvi Harps hosted the sixth Meeting for Members of the Lyon & Healy/Salvi Technicians Guild in Piasco, Italy, in late March, 2019, where members met for ongoing education, the exchange of ideas and to meet with management from both brands.

J A P A NAppointments

New teachers at the Harp Department of the Tokyo University of the Arts are Mai Fukui and Reine Takano.

EventsTokyo University of the Arts invited Isabelle Moretti as a

Guest Professor. In July 2019, she gave lessons to eight students as well as a public masterclass.

CompetitionsThe 31th Nippon Harp Competition in Professional divisions

will be held 13-17, November 2019 in Soka City. Details were in the Spring 2019 issue. Website: harp-japan.com

20th OSAKA International Music Competition including the Matsuc prize in the harp section will be held in October.

FestivalThe 31th Soka International Harp Festival 2019 will take

place 16 and 17 November 2019 at Soka City Culture Hall. Artists and Jury will include Naoko Yoshino, Chantal Mathieu, Ieuan Jones, and the 31th Nippon Harp Competition winner.

L I E C H T E N S T E I NEvents

The annual WalHaTa (Walch Harp Day) took place in the home of Ernst Walch in Liechtenstein for the 25th time on 1 September 2019. 22 harpists and 80 other musicians and par-ents from the region gathered for a fun evening.

M A L T AEvents

On the 27 April 2019, harpist Britt Arend and soprano Gillian Zammit gave a voice and harp recital at the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta as part of the 13th edition of the International Spring Orchestra Festival. They performed works by Barber, Berlioz, Capulet, Debussy, Saint Saens and Vella Gregory.

On 7 March 2019, harpist Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta and flutist Fiorella Camilleri gave a recital at the Anglican Cathedral, Valletta where they performed works by Vivaldi, Mouquet, Gluck, Ibert, Piazzolla, and Chopin.

Jacob Portelli released a music video https://youtu.be/FSbvEKmlBH4.

M E X I C OEvents

Every year the Orchestra of the Americas auditions young musicians from the Americas to participate in their summer residency and tour. This year the “Crescendo Tour 2019”

took place in Mexico and young musicians from over 25 countries were selected. The harpists who won the audition were Alexis Colner from the USA and Sarah Veber from Canada. During the resi-dency in Puebla, Janet Paulus was the harp coach along with teachers from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Stavanger

Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Marinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Rome Opera House Orchestra as well as other noted professors.

L to R: Reine Takano, Kazuki Sawa (University Director), Isabelle Moretti, and Mai Fukui.

Back row, L to R: Seri Amano, Nonoko Seki, Reine Takano, Isabelle Moretti, Mai Fukui, Hana Asano, Sonoka Shida, Hana Hrachovinova.

WalHaTa in Liechtenstein.22 harpists assembling during the WalHaTa at the home of Ernst Walch.

L to R: Alondra Máynez, Alexis Colner, Mercedes Gómez, Emanuel Lara Soto, Saraí Córdova & Keila Lara Soto.

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The programs the Orchestra of the Americas played on their month long tour includ-ed many works with harp: Manuel de Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Sombrero de Tres Picos (complete bal-let), Intermezzo from La Vida Breve, Enrique Granados Intermezzo, John Rutter Gloria, Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, José Pablo Moncayo Huapango as well as two contemporary pieces by Mexican composers Maria Granillo and Gabriela Ortiz. During their stay in Mexico

City, Alexis Colner gave a masterclass at the National Music Conservatory.

T H E N E T H E R L A N D SAppointments

Lauriane Chenais has been appointed principal harpist of the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, based in Groningen, the Netherlands. During the 2018-2019 season Lauriane was taking part in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy in Amsterdam.

Dutch harpist Gwyneth Wentink is appointed as new mem-ber of the prestigious Society of Arts. Members of the Society of Arts include leading artists from the full spectrum of the arts. They are chosen on the basis of nominations. Other new members are Krisztina de Châtel and Anthony Heidweiller amongst others.

CompetitionsOn January 25th and 26th 2020 the fifth Rosa Spier Harp

Competition will take place in Tilburg, the Netherlands. This competition is open for all Dutch harpists or harpists study-ing and/or living in the Netherlands. There are different cat-egories, depending on age and education. The competitions is open for folk harp and concertharp players.

Website: harpvereniging.nlThe Dutch Harp Festival and World Harp Competition is back

in 2020 for its sixth edition. Regional rounds will take place in Hong Kong, New York and Utrecht in January and February 2020. Six finalists will be invited to perform at the Dutch Harp Festival on 9 and 10 May 2020 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, all expenses are paid. Have a look at harpfestival.nl for more information!

EventsOn 8 September 2019 we will celebrate the 85th birthday

of Edward Witsenburg in the Rosa Spier Huis in Laren, The Netherlands. During a special concert Edward Witsenburg will present his new book about famous harpist Rosa Spier. (See interview with Edward Witsenburg in this volume).

AchievementsDutch harpist Joost Willemze won the first prize at the 8th

Suoni d’Arpa International Harp Contest in Italy.Miriam Ruf, student of Erika Waardenburg and Sandrine

Chatron at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam won the 6th prize at the 11th USA International Harp Competition.

New musicAmsterdam based harpist Miriam Overlach will perform a

new arrangement of the harp concerto Spelingen by Wilbert Bulsink on November 9th with Asko|Schönberg during the fes-tival November Music in Den Bosch, the Netherlands.

N O R W A YNews

Norway means mountains and fjords to most people, not harps. Here, the harp is listed as an endangered instrument. In 2016, Instruments in Focus was formed, to promote these endangered instruments: harp, oboe, bassoon, church organ and double bass. Their goal is to increase the number to stu-dents learning, studying, professionally playing or becoming life-long hobby musicians.

Instruments in Focus cooperates closely with experts, depend-ing on them to arrange classes and courses. This past winter, Isabelle Perrin, Harp Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and Artistic Director to the World Harp Congress, arranged a Harp Symposium in Oslo, Norway. On a very snowy weekend, 54 harpists gathered to meet and celebrate their instrument – teach-ers, harpists of all ages, both folk and classical and players alike.

During the symposium, the international group brain-stormed ways to help the harp base grow in Norway. Using their combined knowledge, the participants outlined the needs of harpists in Norway and the best way to support them. Now Norsk Harpeforening (Norwegian Harp Association), has just officially been formed and will soon start to support teachers and students throughout Norway. Hopefully in another genera-tion, harps will no longer be endangered here.

Special thanks to: Sparebankstiftelsen Dextra Musica for founding and funding Instruments in Focus and to both Voksenaasen and Isabelle Perrin for arranging the Harp Symposium. Already there is a dedicated group of the harpists in Norway – too many to list here – who work to promote both classical and folk harp, you are all harp heroes!

Contact: Rebecca HarrissonEmail: 4rebeccaharrisson@gmail.com

L to R: Sarah Veber, Janet Paulus, Alexis Colner.

First meeting of the Norwegian Harp Association.

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The founding members of the association are:Chairman: Elisabeth SoenstevoldVice-Chairman: Rebecca Harrisson Secretary/Treasurer: Ann Margret HauknesCommunication chair: Birgitte Volan HavikArtistic advisor: Isabelle Perrin

AppointmentsDutch harpist Giselle Boeters has been appointed principal

harpist with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Norway.

EventsSunniva Rødland has toured

Norway with her version of John Cage’s Postcards from Heaven. She has travelled from north to south, with performances in the Northern Lights Cathedral (Alta), the Arctic Cathedral (Tromsø) and in the ruins of the medieval Hamar Cathedral. Next performances will be in Oslo and Stavanger.

Xavier de Maistre and Diana Damrau performed harp and soprano duets at the main stage at the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, 12 May 2019.

Sidsel Walstad performed Introduction and Allegro by Maurice Ravel at the opening concert at the Vinterfestspill, 14 March 2019 in Røros Church, Norway.

Uno Vesje performed his own harp concerto, Bragi’s Harp, arranged for concert band at the Red cross charity concert with Tønsberg musikkorps av 1919, 6 January 2019 at Oseberg kulturhus, Tønsberg.

P O L A N DEvents

8-10 November 2019 Poznań – Academy of Music III Harp’s Autumn in Poznan

Concerts, lectures and workshops lead by Paulina Maciaszczyk and Carlos Pena Montoya

CompetitionsThe International Duo Competition for students of primary,

secondary and university schools with harp took place 5-7 April 2019 in Cieszyn.The winners are:Category I (students until 13 years)

First Prize: Anastazja Kacprzak, Magda NiedźwieckaSecond Prize: Klara Tarnowska, Helena KornilukThird Prize: Dominika Głowacka, Lidia Dombrowicz

Prize for the best presentation of polish work:Hanna Węgrzynowska, Tymon Janusiewicz (Marta

Ptaszyńska: Jeu-Parti)Prize for the best presentation of contemporary work:

Wojciech Trefon, Maria Gmyrek (Ida Gotkovsky: Eolienne)Category II (students until 16 years)

First Prize: Zofia Janiak, Kacper MalinowskiSecond Prize: Natalia Skonieczna, Małgorzata BobińskaThird Prize: Maja Miśta, Emilia Jastrząb

Category III (students until 19 years)First Prize: Wojciech Trefon, Maria GmyrekSecond Prize: Hanna Węgrzynowska, Tymon Janusiewicz

Category IV (students until 26 years)First Prize: Angela Rief, Fabian KohringSecond Prize: Ewa Bemowska, Wojciech SojkaThird Prize: Fanni Nizalowski, Maria Korzeniowska Amelia Tokarska, Jesse Reis

Category V (competition with works composed after 2017)First Prize: Ewa Bemowska, Wojciech SojkaSecond Prize: Noemi Hańczyk, Weronika OgonowskaThird Prize: Wojciech Trefon, Maria Gmyrek

GRAND PRIX– Wojciech Trefon, Maria Gmyrek– Ewa Bemowska, Wojciech Sojka

Prizes for composers of new works composed after 2017:First Prize: Wojciech Sojka: Introduction et Dance Mateusz Winsław: Metamorphoses, Ovid’s

requestSecond Prize: Jan Paweł Przegendza: Flashback for flute and

harp Agnieszka Grela-Fedkowicz: ReminiscencjeThird Prize: Eduardo Frigatti: ArmorialPrize of honor for composer-student: Wojciech Trefon: RollercoasterAt the II National Competition for piano and harp Youngs

Talents for students of primary school 26 to 27 April 2019 in Szczecin the following prizes were awarded:Category O (students of 1st class of primary music school)

First Prize: Maria JaworskaSecond Prize: Emma GrygierThird Prize: Weronika Depta

Category I (students of 2nd-3rd class of primary music school)First Prize: Zuzanna GóreckaSecond Prize: Sonia Ługawska, Zarina ZaradnaThird Prize: Lilina Cieślar

Category II (students of 4th class of primary music school)First Prize: Antonina WieczorekSecond Prize: Magda NiedźwieckaThird Prize: Hanna Sprawka

Category III (students of 5th class of primary music school)First Prize: Anastazja Kacprzak, Klara TarnowskaSecond Prize: Kaja KieferlingThird Prize: Magdalena Gogolin, Oliwia Miazga

Uno Vesje.

Ruins of Hamar Cathedral.

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Category IV (students of 6th class of primary music school)First Prize: Kalina NowaczekThe winners of the II Groll National Competition for Harp in

Warszawa (24 to 26 June 2019) are:Category I (students of 1-3 class of primary music school)

First Prize: Zofia Młodawska, Anna Spóz-ParolSecond Prize: Amelia GrzywińskaThird Prize: Zofia SzkudlarczykAwards: Sonia Ługowska Oliwia Wójtowicz Hanna Gorgol

Category II (students of 4-6 class of primary music school)First Prize: Ligia NowakSecond Prize: Magda NiedźwieckaThird Prize: Antonina WieczorekAwards: Oliwia Miazga Witold Pojawa

Category III (students of 1-3 class of secondary music school)First Prize: Kalina NowaczekAwards: Natalia SkoniecznaCategory IV (students of 4-6 class of secondary music school)Second Prize: Rozalia DmochowskaThird Prize: Aniela RybakAwards: Zuzanna Pierzak Laura JurčovaThe V National Competition „Miniature for lever harp” for

children up to the age of 12 will take place 25 to 26 October 2019 in Łódź. Obligatory pieces: new works special composed for this competition by Kamil Cieślik and Zuzanna Niedzielak.

EventsThe IX International Harp Festival in Katowice took place 30

May to 2 June 2019 at the Academy of Music.The program included a workshop on Jazz improvisation by A.

Bzhezhinska, a masterclass of Early Music for the harp by J. Seitz and an inauguration concert at the Concert Hall of the Academy of Music, dedicated to Helga Storck, artistic director of the festi-val. Other concerts included special guest Isabelle Moretti, the Alina Bzezhinska Jazz Quartet, the Duo Milonga (Aneta Salvinska and Konrad Salvinski), Dorota Szyszkowska and the Wiktroska Harp Open, directed by Anna Sikorzak Olek, and Mareelina Dabek, Ligia Nowak, Paulina and Agata Pospieszny.

P O R T U G A LEvents

Maria Sá e Silva gave a solo recital at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Porto on 26 June 2019. Maria studies with Irina Zingg in Milan, Italy.

Frederica Campos gave a solo recital at the Theater “Campo Alegre” in Porto on 16 July 2019. Frederica studies with Daphne Boden at the Royal College of Music in London.

P U E R T O R I C OEvents

The II String Festival took place in Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music Anthony Junior Soto Hall. A Masterclass was given by Lillian Lau.

Glissando 2019 took place 29 May to 1 June 2019 at the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory.

Glissando was the first harp camp organized in Puerto Rico. Eleven harpists from all ages and levels participated in this 4-day intensive harp workshop, ending with a Harp Ensemble Concert and featuring guess harpist, María Luisa Rayan. This event was made possible by a grant from the American Harp Society.

R O M A N I A A N D M O L D A V I AEvents

14 March 2019 - Harpist Viktor Hartobanu performed Zabel’s Concerto op. 35 (first audition). The concert took place in Oradea, with the State Philarmonic of Oradea, conductor Sabin Pautza.

12 April 2019 - Harpist Maria Bîldea, principal harpist at the National Radio Orchestra and member of the Romanian Harpists Association, performed Ginastera’s Harp Concerto with the National Radio Orchestra, conductor Anastasios Symeonidis.

23 April 2019 - Harpist Ionela Brădean and flutist Ioana Bălașa performed Mozart’s Harp and Flute Concerto with the Engineering Orchestra „Petru Ghenghea“, conductor Andrei Iliescu.

II String Festival: Isabel Laboy, Isabel Laboy, Andrea Rivera, Jonathán Schneider, Ana Pilar Escudero, Lillian Lau, Elisa Torres, and Velmary Trinidad.

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Workshop at the Puerto Rico Music Concervatory with María Luisa Rayan.

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26 to 28 April 2019 - The festival „Arpissima“ promoted by Salvi Harps, took place in Bucharest at „Sutu Palace“. Special guests harpists were: Catherine Michel, Delphine Constantin-Reznik and Viktor Hartobanu. Harp students had the opportu-nity to take masterclasses free of charge.

26 July 2019 - Maria Bîldea performed a recital of classi-cal masterpieces during the 6th International Summer Harp Academy in Sofia. The recital took place in „St. Joseph“ Catholic Church in Sofia and included pieces by Bach, Rameau, Chopin.

R U S S I AAnnouncement - Misprint

There was a misprint in the article of the events in Russia in the Spring 2019 volume: The 110 anniversary of Vera Dulova’s birthday was on 27 January 2019, (not in December 2018).

S O U T H A F R I C ANews

Christy-Lyn from South Africa is currently on a 2-month Harp Expedition to the USA to film harp makers and their workshops. That way, even those who can’t travel can ‘meet’ the person who made their harp and learn about the harp making process!

She is also filming fascinat-ing videos about harp thera-py, double strung harps and interviewing famous harpists to feature on her YouTube chan-nel, ‘Learning the Harp’.

CompetitionsThe SASMT National Ensemble Competition took place in

Eduplex School Pretoria, 30 August to 1 September 2019. The Jury consisted of Thinus Botha, Clorinda Panebianco, and Zanta Hofmeyer.OPEN Category

First Prize: Les Trois (Piano/Violin/Cello )Second Prize: Joie de Vivre (Vivienne Janse van Rensburg, harp, Jonathan Mayer, violin)

EventsIngrid Janse van Rensburg organized the 5th National Harp

Festival in Johannesburg hosted by Harp Society of South Africa beginning of September. We were privileged to have had Eira Lynn Jones head of harp at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK as our adjudicator.

Eira was in Johannesburg for 12 days and during that time she gave private lessons, a solo concert, a lever harp workshop, a pedal harp workshop, and a performance class.

No prizes are awarded at the Harp Festival as we believe it to be a day of celebrating the harp and music and the prog-ress of our students. Most promising harpist diplomas were awarded to Lilly Weissenberg (Junior Category), Alayna Kuzel (Intermediate I), Marlise Janse van Rensburg (Intermediate II) and Nicole Weir.

S P A I NCourses

“27th Curs d’estiu d’arpa: West Harp Story” at the Escola Municipal de Música de l’Eixample, in Barcelona, 25 to 29 June 2019. This summer course focused on the music of West Side Story by L. Bernstein. The Cor jove de l’Orfeó Atlàntida (youth choir) collaborated with harpists from all over Catalonia and also from Valencia and was organized by the Catalan Harp association. Salvi Harps and Euromusica displayed a harp and accessories stand.

Cristina Montes gave a masterclass 1 to 5 July 2019 during the festival “Classical music la Vilavella”.

Gabriella Dall’Olio gave a masterclass 19 to 25 August 2019 at the Curso international de música de Vitoria-Gasteiz.

At Stoney End Harps: Christy-Lyn interviewed Eve and Gary Stone and toured their huge barn-turned-workshop.

Summer course in Barcelona.

L to R: Vivienne Janse van Rensburg, Jonathan Mayer, Aimee Blom, Simon du Toit, and Ronald Davey.

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National Harp Festival in Johannesburg with Eira Lynn Jones.

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Festivals and seminarsThe Festival Internacional d’arpa de Sentmenat took place

5 to 7 July 2019 and featured artists such as Edmar Castañeda playing jazz on the llanera harp with Gregoire Maret (har-monica); Catrin Finch, harp and electronics with Lee House; Tara Minton (harp and voice) and Ed Babar (double –bass); Sasha Boldachev; Ana Crisman, flamenco harp, with Rossi Navarro (singer); Beatriz Rivero (dance); Daniel Jordan, play-ing on the concert harp, latino american music with llanera and Paraguayan technics.

The VI Jornadas de arpa at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid

was organized by AEDA (Spanish Harpists Association). Concerts were given by Anneleen Lenaerts, Whiteveil, Julitette Comeaux, Noelia Cotuna, Alicia Griffiths, and other harpists. An improvisation workshop was given by Camille Levecque.

CompetitionsThe Concurso ibèrico de música de cámara con arpa

(Chamber music with harp contest) will take place in Madrid, Conservatorio professional Arturo Soria, 29 November to 1 December 2019. The contest is open to harpists up to 35 years. All kind of repertoire for harp and other instruments is allowed. For more information: concursoibericov.wixsite.com

EventsThe Loss is a conceptual composition by Claus Vega origi-

nally written for Loom Festival Barcelona 2019’s yearly topic: Synesthesia and was premiered on 4 May 2019.

Claus Vega is a German-Chilean video and music producer, composer and live performer based in Barcelona and Berlin. His music is inspired by various genres and combines both German perfectionism and Latin flow. He modifies recordings of classical instruments and nature to create unusual electronic soundscapes.

The players were Laura Boschetti (harp), Jaume Sancho (clarinet) and Andrew Codd (double bass

The Loss is written for Harp, Doublebass and Clarinett and is carried by Electronic

Live Music, combining diverse genres and technics, such as techno, house, trip hop,trap, salsa, cumbia, classi-cal romance, jazz, modern experimental and more. The Piece is designed to be performed live in festivals, dance clubs, or classical music events, indoors and outdoors.

The whole Piece lasts around 60min and is divided into 5 musical Movements: Overture – The Loss Of Agency – The Loss Of Familiarity – The Loss Of Time – Finale.

S W E D E NCompetitions

For a report on the First Pratté competition for harp which took place in May 2019 in Norrköping, see “Pratté International Harp Competition” by Delphine Constantin-Reznik on page 16.

CoursesThe Third Scandinavian Harp Course will take place 5 to 9

April 2020 at Konserthuset Gothenburg with Isabelle Perrin and Erik Groenestein-Hendriks, harp, and Stephen Parker, Alexander-Technique. Website: scandinavianharpcourse.com

A jazz and folk music Harp festival will take place 8 June 2019 in Stockholm. Justyna Krzyzanowska, Ismahni Björkman, and Stina Hellberg Agback, harp, will be performing.

“Jazzharp” will take place 30 August to 1 September 2019 in Stockholm. Workshops and concerts with Stina Hellberg Agback and Tara Minton.

In MemoriamBasel William Sara (1975-2019), a Syrian harpist living in

Sweden sadly passed away in June in Örebro. Our thoughts and empathy goes to his family.

Ana Crisman, flamenco harp. Sasha Boldachev

Laura Boschetti performing The Loss.

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T A I W A NEvents

The second Taiwan International Harp Festival “Harp Rise II” took place in the last week of June with six successful concerts in succession. In the last concert given by Isabelle Moretti, the encore piece played by the surprising guest Emmanuel Ceysson and Isabelle marked the perfect ending to the festival. Also in the same week, the second Camac Prize Taiwan was held. Winners included harpists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and USA.

T H A I L A N DEvents

Students of Lisa Gracia Supadi at Tamnak Prathom Harp Center, Panitsa Tunchumrus and Luke Sirawit Sumpatchalit, were invited to perform in the ABRSM High Scorer’s Concert at Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre on 30 March 2019.

Ten harp students of Ema Mitarai and Dharavadee Kanothai from the Royal Bangkok Symphony Music School performed as an ensemble along with violin, cello and guitar ensembles at the RBSS Showcase concert at Thailand Cultural Centre on 23 June 2019.

U N I T E D K I N G D O M

AchievementsClaudia Lucia Lamanna is the top winner at Camac Harps in

London competition held 5-6 May 2019.

EventsIn May 2019, Sioned Williams, Principal Harpist of the BBC

Symphony Orchestra, performed on the novel “Soveida harp”, an amazing, quite mind-boggling instrument, with 20 (!) ‘tubular tenta-cles extending into tombak-like conches’, creating ‘shadow sounds’.

The “Harp on Wight Festival” will take place 25 to 29 October 2019 at Ryde, Isle of Wight.

A wonderful collection of concerts and workshops, including a performance by the RNCM Harp ensemble, a workshop on Scottish Tunes by Ailie Robertson and a chance to build your own harp!

“Gwyl Cerdd Dant” will take place 9 November 2019 at Furnace Theatre, Llanelli, Wales.

A competitive festival celebrating a mix of Welsh tradi-tional performances, from folk dancing to poetry. The harp is a big feature, not only in the solo and ensemble competitions, but also in the traditional pennillion singing with prizes for both the singer and the accompanist. Adjudicators are Elinor Bennett and Gwenllian Llŷr. Closing date: 1 October 2019.

CompetitionsMared Pugh-Evans won the Nansi Richards Scholarship

Competition on 17 April 2019.The North London Festival, Harp competition took place 5-6

May 2019 in London. Winners were:First Prize: Claudia LamannaSecond Prize: Mared Pugh-EvansThird Prize: Lise Vandersmissen

The Princes Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach was awarded to Elinor Evans on 8 June 2019.

Emmanuel Ceysson and Isabelle Moretti

Elinor Evans.

Harp Rise II

Participants and winners of the second Camac Prize Taiwan.

L to R: Students of Dharavadee Kanothai and Ema Mitarai at RBSS.

L to R: Panitsa Tumchumrus, Lisa Gracia Supadi, Luke Sirawit Sumpatchalit.

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Sioned Williams performing on the Soveida harp.

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At the “Eisteddfod Genedlaethol 2019”, which took place 3 to 10 August 2019 prizes were awarded to:

Solo harp under 16: Aisha Palmer Heledd Wynn Newton Alaw Grug EvansSolo harp 16-19: Anwen Mai Thomas Rhys Whatty Cerys Eleri ReesSolo harp over 19: Glain Dafydd Elin Kelly, Mari Kelly Rhiain Awel Dyer

NewsYoung Welsh harpist, Alis Huws, has recently been appointed

the Official Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales. A graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Ms Huws is a freelance soloist based in the UK. She won numerous awards during her studies at RWCMD with Caryl Thomas, including the Midori Matsui Prize for music, the Royal Welch Fusiliers Harp Prize and the McGrennery Chamber Music Prize.

Ms Huws is the sixth harpist to be appointed to the role since it was reinstated by Prince Charles in 2000. As part of her role as Royal Harpist, Ms

Huws will work with the charity Live Music Now delivering high quality performances in the community, including at schools, hospitals and care homes. She will also perform for the royal family in official events, including a recent performance for Prince Charles and Camilla at their Welsh residence at Llwynywermod in Llanymddyfri during the celebrations of the prince’s 50th anniversary of his investiture.

Speaking about her appointment, Ms Huws said: “I am pas-sionate about my Welsh heritage and I would hope to use this platform to be an ambassador for our language, music and cul-ture, whilst raising the profile of the harp in Wales and further afield. I’ve seen first-hand how uplifting music can be and I am committed to furthering my work in this field.”

Ms Huws is the Youth Co-Ordinator for the next World Harp Congress taking place in Cardiff in 2020.

ReviewThe Claire Jones Concert Ensemble Tour performed from 27

to 29 July 2019. The Claire Jones Concert Ensemble consists of former Royal

Harpist Claire Jones, percussionist/composer Chris Marshall and 20 of the UK’s finest up-and-coming harpists. Throughout this past summer, we have had our debut concert tour across Wales; performing at the Welsh Proms at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Brangwyn Hall in Swansea and the Aberystwyth Arts Centre as part of the 2019 Aberystwyth International MusicFest.

We performed an array of pieces arranged by Chris Marshall, including classical such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, pop, film num-bers by John Williams, and jazz pieces by Gershwin. We even premiered a new harp concerto called Brasluniau o’r Ddinas Brysur (Sketches of the Busy City) composed by Eilir Owen

Griffiths. The composer himself even came to watch us perform his piece for the first time! The ensemble did not just consist of harps; some multi-talented members accompanied the pieces with the flute, violin, cello, piano, drums and a few even sang some of the pieces. But of course, none of our concerts would have been complete without Claire Jones herself performing alongside us during The Four Seasons, and her husband Chris Marshall playing his drums whilst conducting simultaneously!

We all felt extremely honoured and privileged to have had this amazing opportunity to display our versatility and talent touring across Wales for the very first time. Our concert tour has transformed us harpists into something new and exciting for our friends, families and future audiences to see. This expe-rience has really helped to improve our career prospects by giving us some valuable exposure and promotion. Our ensemble is truly special, and we are all so full of gratitude for Claire and Chris for bringing us all together to become what we are now. They have tirelessly supported us every step of the way and we couldn’t have achieved so much without them.

We are beginning preparations for our upcoming London debut tour in 2020, as well as a performance at the 14th World Harp Congress in Cardiff, so plenty of opportunities for you to come to enjoy a performance soon!

— Charlotte Rhodes

U S AAppointments

Katherine Siochi has been appointed principal harpist with the Kansas City Symphony.

Ellie Kirk has been appointed principal harpist with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

Haley Rhodeside has been appointed principal harpist with the Orlando Philharmonic.

Molly Langr has won a one-year appointment as principal harpist with the Boise Philharmonic.

Matthew Tutsky has been appointed principal harpist with the New Mexico Philharmonic.

Laura Sherman has been appointed to the faculty of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Florida.

Heaven Fan has been appointed to the faculties of the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College.

Mary Bircher has been appointed to the faculty of the Glenn Korff School of Music, University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Rachel Brandwein has been appointed to the faculty of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

Events20-22 March 2020 Virginia Harp Center Festival; Arlington, VA21-24 June 2020 44th American Harp Society, Inc. National

Conference; Orlando, Florida4-18 July 2020 Young Artist’s Harp Seminar; Gambier, OH;

www.harpseminar.com5-12 July 2020 Young Artist’s Harp Seminar Preparatory

Division; Gambier, OH

Alis Huws, Official Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales.

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NewsKim Robertson has been selected as recipient of the 2019

Somerset Folk Harp Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.Abigail Kent won Silver Medal in the 2019 Medallion

International Concerto Competition in Atlanta, GA. She will perform a concerto with the Orchestra Noir in their 2019-2020 season.

Rachel Lee Hall won the 2019 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Concerto Competition. Chloe Tula won third prize.

The Georgia Chapter of the American Harp Society has been named 2019 Chapter of the Year.

Aaron David Miller was selected as winner of the 2019 Weiger Lepke-Sims Sacred Music Award.

National CompetitionsYoung Artist’s Harp Competition 2020

30 June to 3 July 2020, Kenyon College, Gambier, OHPreliminary video deadline: 1 May 2020

Program:Preparatory Division (Maximum age 11)

Play each of the following: Tournier, M.-Berceuse Couperin, F.-Soeur Monique (any edition) Salzedo, C. -Quietude (Note: the Preparatory Division repertoire is set, and does not include a free choice selection.)

New Artist Division (maximum age 14 )(A) Choose one of the following: Bull/Grandjany-King’s Hunt Francisque/Grandjany-Pavane et Bransle(B) Choose any one of the following Images by Marcel

Tournier: Les Ânesses Grises sur la Route d’El-Azib Lolita la Danseuse La Volière Magique Soir de Fête à Sedjenane(C) Free choice selection of the contestant’s choosing (time

limit, 10 minutes) Free choice composer cannot be the same as A or B choice. (see below)

Emerging Artist Division (maximum age 19)(A) Choose one of the following: Handel/Salzedo-Harmonious Blacksmith Bach/Renié-Pièce en Sol One or two sonatas by Scarlatti totaling between 3–5

minutes (any edition)(B) Choose one of the following: Godefroid/Grandjany-Etude de Concert Piazzolla/Rayan-Libertango Any number of movements totaling between 3–5 min-

utes from Birds in Winter, by Michael Mauldin(C) Free choice selection of the contestant’s choosing (time

limit, 12 minutes) Free choice composer cannot be the same as A or B choice.

*Free choice selections should be taken from the standard solo classical harp repertoire (i.e., no pop or jazz) and should

be of equal or greater difficulty than the pieces listed in the A and B categories for each division. Only one work may be chosen in the free choice category; one or more movements of a multi-movement work may be performed, provided the total timing does not exceed

the limit for the division. Free choice selections must be for solo harp: do no choose a piece that requires accompaniment.AHS National Competition Winners:Young Professional Division (max. age 30)

First Prize: Caroline Wilkins Second Prize: Hannah Cope Third Prize (tie): Adam Phan Juan Riveros Fourth Prize: Noël Wan Fifth Prize: Chelsea Lane Sixth Prize (tie): Anna Ellsworth Hope Wilk Honorable mention: Haley Rhodeside

Advanced Division (max. age 21)First Prize (tie): Claire Thai Morgan Short Second Prize: Kaila Geisinger Third Prize: Caroline Mellott Fourth Prize: Clara Warfod

Intermediate II Division (max. age 18)First Prize: Annette Lee Second Prize (tie): Priyanka Gohal Shaylen Joos Third Prize: Danielle Nam Fourth Prize: Amanda Kengor Fifth Prize: Lily Primus Sixth Prize (tie): Julia Johnson Erika Rosen Honorable mention: Beth Henson

Intermediate I Division (max. age 15)First Prize: Kathleen Hopkins Second Prize: Eunice Park Third Prize: Isabel Cardenes Fourth Prize: Sophia Jho Fifth Prize: Ava CrookSixth Prize: Jadelyn Ding Honorable mentions: Judy Liu Elizabeth Johnson Skyler Moon Belle Divine

Junior Division (max. age 12)First Prize: Olivia Lee Second Prize: Erin Choi Third Prize: Kaila Blodgett Fourth Prize (tie): Grace Hong Tessa Jackson Fifth Prize (tie): Sophia Love Aaron Stewart

Caroline Wilkins is the new American Harp Society Concert Artist.

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Sixth Prize (tie): Calene Lee Sarah Smith Megan Williams

2018 Young Artist’s Harp Competition ResultsEmerging Artist Division

First Prize: Claire Thai, USASecond Prize: Renee Murphy, USAThird Prize: Janice Hur, KoreaFourth Prize: Danielle Nam, USA

New Artist DivisionFirst Prize: Yuet Kan, ChinaSecond Prize: Aimee Hang Yu Lam, ChinaThird Prize: Isabella McCormick, USA

Preparatory DivisionFirst Prize (tie): Lydia Kessler, USA Goldie Woods, USASecond Prize: Olivia Lee, USAThird Prize: Zulaykha Kadieva, Russia

V E N E Z U E L AIn Memoriam

Juan Vicente Torrealba, harpist and composer whose distinc-tive sound gave traditional Venezuelan llanera music a stylized symphonic touch that influenced generations of folklorists, died on 2 May 2019, his relatives announced. He was 102 years old.

“On behalf of the Torrealba family, we fulfill the painful duty of informing you of the death of Maestro Don Juan Vicente Torrealba, surrounded by his children and grandchildren in the peace of his beautiful home,” said his family members through the musician’s Twitter account, without giving other details.

Shortly afterwards in an act of government broadcast on the radio and television, President Nicolás Maduro expressed his

condolences and announced that his government “will pay trib-ute, remembrance and recognition to Juan Vicente Torrealba.”

Born on 20 February 1917 in a populated neighborhood of downtown Caracas and raised since eight months in the plains of the central state of Guárico, Torrealba recorded 130 albums and composed more than 300 songs such as La fillo zaina and Solito con the stars.

He learned to play the guitar, the Venezuelan cuatro and the harp, an instrument that was his partner since he was 16 and whose natural virtuosity perfected with degrees in Mexico and Paraguay.

“I slept with the sound of the harp, in the herd there was a pawn that played and they always made partying llaneras,” he recalled in an interview with The Associated Press made in November 2014.

The experimentation was his personal brand. Pieces like Concierto en la Llanura demonstrated the possibilities of tra-ditional Venezuelan rhythms to mix with other sounds and instruments, such as keyboards, without losing their character.

The inclusion of the double bass as part of the format of the group was another of his contributions. Nowadays all llanera music ensembles have bass.

“That if it was very difficult for people to accept it, they said it was ending with folklore,” Torrealba told AP. “At the beginning I did not know much, but over time I realized that it was neces-sary to make a llanera music that could reach more people. I did it my way, but in the end that was what succeeded. “

In 1947 he founded the group “Los Torrealberos” with his brother Arturo and his son Santana, playing with passion and rich nuances the traditional music of the plains, which is distinguished by feeding on the experiences of the peasants, the cattle-raising tasks, the singing of the birds, the melody of the rivers and the trot of the horses. The following year he launched his solo career and performed before crowds in Latin America, Europe and the United States.

In 1971, the recording of the album Rhapsody Llanera was key in his career, in which his group was accompanied by a symphony orchestra. Since then the incorporation of the most varied instruments and technical elements was a constant and turned his group into a kind of chamber orchestra.

Among his other compositions are Sinfonía en el palmar, Mujer Guayanesa and Barquisimeto.

La fillo zaina - created in honor of his wife Mirta Pantoja - inspired and gave musical framework to one of the most success-ful telenovelas in Colombia, in 1993, written by Bernardo Romero Pereiro and starring Aura Cristina Geithner and Miguel Varoni.

Pantoja, who died in April 2017 at age 76, was 18 when she met Torrealba, then 42. They were married for 58 years.

Emerging Artist Division

Juan Vicente Torrealba (1917-2019) Juan Vicente Torrealba (1917-2019)

Review • Fall 2019 37 Back to the Table of Contents

ANNOUNCEMENT

The WHC Endowment FundTo provide a long-term and resilient financial

framework to support the vision, goals and activities of the World Harp Congress, Inc.

a World Harp Congress Endowment Fund has been established.

You can donate though an Endowment Fund gift, online at

https://www.paypal.me/WorldHarpCongress, or by contacting the treasurer:

treasurer@worldharpcongress.com

Regular member: $5 Patron member: $50 3-year member: $15 Lifetime silver: $500 Lifetime gold: $2000 Lifetime platinium: $4000

These portions of the regular membership fees are bestowed automatically to the endowment fund:

W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

Meet the Correspondents

eviewWorld Harp congress

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLD HARP CONGRESS, INC.

FALL 2019 • VOLUME XIII, NO. 5 Clockwise: Cardiff City Hall; Edward Witsenburg; Cardiff Castle; Mirella Vita; Merchant Seaman’s Memorial.

ON THE COVER

Judith Utley, ThailandJudith Utley, an American harpist who has lived for over 35

years in Thailand, received her Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Northern Colorado where she studied with Suzann

Young Davids. She earned her Master of Music degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Alice Chalifoux. She also did post gradu-ate study with Susann McDonald.

While touring with a music ensemble in the early 1980’s, she met her husband, a career missionary, in the Philippines. They relocated to Bangkok as newly-

weds in 1983. Another expatriate harpist from Belgium, Lieve Robbroeckx, was also living in Bangkok at that time. Together, they did their best to promote the harp and each played with local orchestras and ensembles as well as collaborating in recitals with primarily expat students. There were a few Thai harpists who had studied abroad, but the harp was not well known at that time.

The climate began to change with the establishment of Tamnak Prathom Harp Centre in 2002. Sunida Kitiyakara, who founded TPHC, was inspired by her grandfather, the late Prince Chudadhuj, an avid musician who brought the first Western pedal harp back to Thailand in 1916 after his studies at Cambridge. Sunida had this historic instrument restored, and also imported many other harps from major manufacturers. She has presented many world class performers in public concerts in Thailand, and was the driving force behind the 3 International Harp Festivals and youth competitions that have been held in Bangkok since 2009.

Now several Universities own harps and offer Thai music stu-dents the opportunity to study harp. A growing number of fine young Thai harpists are frequently performing in various settings.

Judith currently teaches at Payap University in the Northern Thai city of Chiangmai. She is also a frequent jury member for exams and music competitions. She has been thrilled to see the harp become more widely known and enjoyed in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Julia Christine Lukan, AustriaMy name is Julia Christine Lukan and after having the plea-

sure of joining the correspondents two years ago I would like to take this opportunity and write a few words about me.

After being born into a Viennese music family I had the chance to learn a few instruments but early on I knew the harp was for me. At the age of nine I started playing the harp with a private harp teacher and soon got the chance of studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. During my six years studying with Xavier de Maistre I lived in Hamburg, Germany, and didn’t get to experience everything that happened in Austria. But many of my former colleges are now active harpists in and around Vienna and I am happy to now reconnect with many of them.

Since coming back to Vienna I have had the chance to play with several Austrian Orchestras and to get to know so many great harpists who shape the musical landscape in Austria.

I am happy to be part of this great community and to be able to share what Austria has to offer the harp world.

Correspondent for Austria: Julia Christine Lukan

Correspondent for Thailand: Judith Utley

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W O R L D H A R P C O N G R E S S C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

ARGENTINA (AR)

Oscar Rodríguez Do Campooscardocampo98@hotmail.com

AUSTRALIA (AU)

Verna Leeveenlsy@ozemail.com.au

AUSTRIA (AT)

Julia Lukanjulia.lukan@gmx.at

BELGIUM (BE)

Astrid Desantoinehastriddesantoine@hotmail.com

BRAZIL (BR)

Marcelo Penido F. Da Silvamarcelopenido@gmail.com

CANADA (CA)

Stana Buneastanabunea@hotmail.com

CHINA, PRC (CN)

Jason Changprofjchang@gmail.comGuan Wangharpguan@hotmail.com

CZECH REPUBLIC

Ivana Dohnalováivana.dohnalova@email.cz

COLOMBIA (CO)

Bibiana Ordóñez Velandiabibisov@gmail.com

COSTA RICA (CR)

Priscila Stellerinfo@priscilasteller.com

CROATIA (HR)

Biserka Krcelic biserka.krcelic@gmail.com

CZECH REPUBLIC (CZ)

Ivana Dohnalováivana.dohnalova@email.cz

DENMARK (DK)

Tine Rehlingtine@rehling.dk

EGYPT

Manal Mohei El Dinmanalharp@yahoo.com

F INLAND (F I )

Katri Tikka harpistkatri@gmail.com

FRANCE (FR)

Isabelle Marieharpisa@gmail.com

GERMANY (DE)

Isabel Moretón Achselwhcr.moreton@gmail.com

GREECE (GR)

Katerina Gimakaterinagima@hotmail.com

HONG KONG (HK)

Amy Tamiamamytam@gmail.com

HUNGARY (HU)

Anastasia Razvalyaevaanastasia.razvalyaeva@gmail.com Deborah Sipkaydsipkay@gmail.com

ICELAND ( IS )

Elísabet Waageewaage@simnet.is

INDONESIA ( ID)

Heidi Awuyheidiharpa@yahoo.com

IRELAND ( IE )

Clare McCagueclaremccague@gmail.com

ITALY ( IT )

Nicoletta Sanzinnicoletta@nicolettasanzin.it

JAPAN (JP)

Yo Saitoyo-yokolamer@song.ocn.ne.jp

LEBANON

Alice Eddealice@dm.net.lb

L IECHTENSTEIN (L I )

Ernst Walchderwalch@gmail.com

L ITHUANIA (LT)

Joana Daunytejdaunyte@gmail.com

MACEDONIA (MK)

Mersiha Shukrimersiharfa@gmail.com

MALTA (MT)

Anne Marie Camilleri Podestàannemarie.camilleri@gmail.com

MEXICO (MX)

Janet Pauluspaulusjanet@gmail.com

THE NETHERLANDS (NL)

Jaike Bakkerjaikebakker@hotmail.com

NEW ZEALAND (NZ)

Anna Dunwoodieharpmad@gmail.com

NORWAY (NO)

Uno Alexander Vesjeunovesje@gmail.com

PARAGUAY (PY)

Alfredo Rolando Ortizharp4ortiz@aol.com

POLAND (PL)

Ilina Sawickailinasawicka@gmail.com

PORTUGAL (PT)

Áurea Guerneraureaguerner@gmail.com

PUERTO RICO (PR)

Elisa Torreselisa@elisatorresmusic.com

ROMANIA/MOLDAVIA (RO/MD)

Roxana Moisanu contact@roxanamoisanu.ro

RUSSIA (RU)

Natalia Shameyevanatshameyeva@mail.ru Irina Zinggharpmasters@gmail.com

SERBIA (RS)

Milena Stanišićharpaserbia@yahoo.com

SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA (SG/MY)

Katryna Tankatryna@katrynatan.com

SLOVENIA (S I )

Tea Plesničarplesnicarjeva.tea@gmail.com

SOUTH AFRICA (ZA)

Christy-Lyn Maraishello@learningtheharp.com

SOUTH KOREA (KR)

Jeong-eun Kiljeongeune@gmail.comAh-Rim Kimahrkim@gmail.com

SPAIN (ES)

Margarita Arnalmargaritarnal@gmail.com

SWEDEN (SE)

Lena PeterssonL.P.Harpmusic@live.se

SWITZERLAND (CH)

Sarah O’Brien sarah.obrien@zhdk.ch

TAIWAN, ROC (TW)

Shu-Hsin Chensaritachen@gmail.com

THAILAND (TH)

Judith Utleypantaethno@yahoo.com

TURKEY (TR)

Meriç Dönükm.donuk85@gmail.com

UNITED K INGDOM (UK)

Gwenllian Llyrwelsh_harpist@hotmail.co.ukAnn Griffithsadlais@btinternet.com

USA (US)

Sonja Inglefieldsonjaling@yahoo.com

VENEZUELA (VE)

Anna De Rogatishermana.pocket@gmail.com

Please send news about new music premieres and publications, festivals, competitions, and other events to your WHC Correspondents no later than August 15 (Fall)/February 15 (Spring).

Advertising in the WHC Review is open to all harp-related businesses and events as well as schools and conservatories. Dead-lines for ad copy are September 1 and March 1. Adver tising copy, payment and inquiries should be directed to:

Sydney Campen Advertising Manager 4612 S. Tewkesbury Ct. Mapleton, IL 61547-9532 USA Email: whcr.ad@gmail.com

Index of Advertisers

Harp ManufacturersAoyama Harp Co. . . . . (center)

Camac Productions . . . . . . . . .iii

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover

Harps/Harp–related ProductsAoyama Harp Co. . . . . (center)

Camac Productions . . . . . . . . .iii

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover

Harp Music/PublicationsFatrock Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Lyon & Healy, Salvi Harps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover

Music Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Music Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Clavel Music Enterprise. . . .10

Review • Fall 2019 39 Back to the Table of Contents

N AT I O N A L H A R P A S S O C I AT I O N S

ARGENTINAAsociación Civil Amigos del ArpaPresident: Marcela MéndezEmail: amigosdelarpa@gmail.com

AUSTRALIAHarp Society of New South Walesc/o Rhonda Taylor, 17 Old Beecroft RoadCheltenham, NSW 2119Email: rhon_taylor@hotmail.comwww.harpsocietyofnsw.org.auHarp Society of Queenslandc/o Jill Atkinson, 9 Duranta St.Bellbowrie Qld 4070www.harpsocietyqld.org.auHarp Society of South AustraliaGillian Weiss, 53 Old Mount Barker Rd.Stirling, South Australia, 5152Email: gillian.weiss@internode.on.net www.harpsocietysa.blogspot.com.auHarp Society of TasmaniaPresident: Emily SanzaroPO Box 936, Launceston, Tasmania 7250Email: harpsoctas@gmail.comwww.harpsocietytasmania.orgHarp Society of Vicoria, Inc.c/o Elsa Clifford, 121 Chadstone Rd. East Malvern, Victoria 3148

BELGIUMHarpe Diem (Flemish community)President: Lieve RobbroeckxSint-Lambertusstraat 3B-3001 Heverleewww.harpediem.beLes Amis de la Harpe Mosane (French community)President: Sophie HallynckAllée des Renards, 33B-5170 Profondevillewww.harpemosane.beHarppunt Flemish Harp Associationemail: harppunt@gmail.com

CHINA (PRC)Chinese Harpists Association under the leadership of the Chinese Musicians AssociationPresident: Wei LinlinContact: Gan Peixue, Anhua Li, Section 39-2-901, District Chaoyang, Beijing 100101Email: peixuegan@hotmail.com.

ENGLANDThe Clarsach Society London and South-East BranchAnne Chorley5 Church WalkSudburySuffolk, CO10 1HJEmail: mail@clarsachsoclondon.co.ukwww.clarsachsoclondon.co.uk

F INLANDSuomen Harpistit ry (Finnish Harp Society)President: Hanna RantalaihoVapaalantie 33 D01650 Vantaawww.harpistit.wordpress.com

FRANCEAssociation Internationale des Harpistes et Amis de la Harpe (AIH)Founder: Pierre JametPresident: Anne Ricquebourg15 rue d’Indépendance, 93270 SevranEmail: secretariat@aiharpe.orgTel/Fax: +31-(0)1-43-84-68-16.www.aiharpe.org

GERMANYVerband der Harfenisten in Deutschland e.V.President: Isabel MoretonLange-Hop-Str. 76, 30559 HannoverTel: +49-511-527031whcr.moreton@gmail.comwww.harfe-vdh.de

HUNGARYHungarian Harp SocietyContact: Nora Mercz, Artistic DirectorLatabar v. 7, H-1041, BudapestTel: +36-1-1938586

IRELANDCairde na Cruitewww.cairdenacruite.cominfo@cairdenacruite.comThe Historical Society of Irelandwww.irishharp.orginfo@irishharp.orgHarp Irelandwww.harpireland.ie

ISRAELThe Harp & Zimriya SocietyChairperson: Colette Avital16 Hanaziv Street, Tel Aviv 67018Tel: +972-3-6041808Fax: +972-3-6041688

ITALYNational Harp Associations Italy:Associazione Italiana dell’ArpaPresident: Emanuela Degli EspostiVice-President: Lorenzo MontenzCorrespondent: Nicoletta SanzinEmail: info@associazioneitalianarpa.itwww.associazioneitalianarpa.itAssociation of Harpists (EUA)President: Federico Faitvia F. Patetta 79, 00167 RomeGruppo Amici dell’ArpaPresident and Founder: Irene Rossivia Vochieri 122, 15100 AlessandriaEmail: brn.picollo@gmail.com

JAPANNippon (Japan) Harp AssociationFounder and Eternal honorary President: Josef MolnarContact: Nippon Harp AssociationStudio D, 3-6-8 Nishi-shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0033Tel +81-3-6426-8876Fax +81-3-6426-8071E-mail: info@harp-japan.comwww.harp-japan.com

L ITHUANIALithuanian Harp SocietyPresident: Daiva SlyzieneAguonu Gatve 20-65LT-2006 VilniusEmail: daisly@centras.lt

THE NETHERLANDSHarp Vereniging Nederlandwww.harpverenigingnederland.nl

NEW ZEALANDThe Harp Society of New ZealandPresident: Carolyn MillsContact: Anna Dunwoodie122 Lynbrooke Ave.Blockhouse Bay, Auckland 0600www.nzharpsociety.org

NORWAYNorsk HarpeforeningChairman: Elisabeth SoenstevoldVice-Chairman: Rebecca HarrissonSecretary & Treasurer: Ann Margret HauknesEmail: 4rebeccaharrisson@gmail.com

POLANDPolskie Towarzystwo Harfowe (The Harp Society of Poland)President: Ewa JaślarRynek 12, 43-400 CieszynEmail: biuro@harfa.plwww.harfa.pl

PORTUGALAssociação Portuguesa de Harpa (APH)Founder and President : Áurea GuernerContact: apharpa@gmail.comConservatório de Música do PortoPraça Pedro Nunes 4050 - 466 Portowww.apharpa.pt

ROMANIARomanian Harpists Associationhttps://asociatiaharpistilordinromania.roEmail: asociatiaharpistilor@gmail.com

RUSSIAAssociation of Russian Harp Teachers International (ARHTI)Founder and President: Milda AgazarianContact: ARHTILeningradskoe shosse, 33-36, Moscow 125 212Tel: +7(499)-156-62-26Fax: +7(903)129-45-98Email: mildagazarian@rambler.ruRussian Harp SocietyPresident: Valery KiktaDirector: Natalia ShameyevaLiapidevskogo 14-68, Moscow 125581Email: arpa@piano.ru

SCOTLANDThe Clarsach SocietyMichelle Kelly, AdministratorStudio G43Out of the Blue Drill Hall36 Dalmeny StreetEdinburgh, EH6 8RGEmail: clarsach.society@hotmail.co.ukwww.clarsachsociety.co.uk

SERBIAUdruzenje harfista i prijatelja harfe Srbije (Harp Association of Serbia)Terazije 26/I 11000 BelgradeEmail: harpaserbia@yahoo.comwww.harfa.rs

SINGAPOREThe Harp Association (Singapore)UEN: T19SS0141H73 Ubi Road 1, #10-63Singapore 408733Email: info@theharpassociation.orgwww.theharpassociation.org

SLOVENIADrustvo Harfistov Slovenije (Slovene Harp Society)President: Dalibor BernatovićGlavni trg 24, 2000 MariborTel: +386-4-164-2297dalibor.bernatovic@guest.arnes.si

SOUTH AFRICAThe Harp Society of South AfricaFounder: Kathleen AlisterChairman: Ingrid Janse van RensburgContact: Ingrid van RensburgPO Box 15, Pinegowrie 2123Fax: +27-11-787-5757Tel: +27-82-494-1538Email: harpist@harps.co.za

SPAINAssociació Catalana d’Arpistes (Catalan Harpists Association)Founder: Rosa BalcellsContact: Conservatori Superior de Musica de Barcelona, Bruch 110-112, 08010 Barcelonawww.acarpistes.blogspot.comacarpistes@gmail.comAsociación Española de Arpistas (AEDA)Email: info@asociaciondearpistas.orgwww.asociaciondearpistas.orgAsociación Arpista LudovicoFounder and President: María Calvo-ManzanoContact: Asociación Arpista LudovicoPaseo Pintor Rosales 42, 28008 Madridwww.arlu.org

Please send updated contact information for associations to: Jennifer Betzer, National Harp Associations Liaison, Email: harpgigs@gmail.com.

SWITZERLANDSwiss Harp AssociationFounders: Emmy Hürlimann and Rudolf FrickCo-Presidents: Esther Sévérac and Alexandra HoratContact: Swiss Harp Associationc/o Consuelo GiulianelliSierenzerstrasse 14, CH-4055 BaselEmail: alexandrahorat@swissharp.orgEmail: estherseverac@swissharp.orgwww.swissharp.org

TAIWANTaipei Harpists AssociationContact: Grace Shu-Men Chang5F, #7, A-20, Lane 142, Roosevelt Rd., Sect. 6, TaipeiFax: +886-2-2930-8834Email: taiwanharp@gmail.com

THAILANDTamnak Prathom Harp SocietyContact: M.R. Sunida Kitiyakara16 Sukumvit soi 43, Bangkok 10110Tel: +66-2-261-4778-9Fax: +66-2-258 7308Email: info@tamnakprathom.netSiam Harp SocietyContact: Pasatorn StientiTel: +668-6393-7900Email: Siam.Harp.Society@gmail.com

TURKEYArp Sanati Derneği (Association for the Art of Harp)President: Meriç DönükMecidiye Mahallesi Ambarlidere Yolu Sokak No:5 Beşiktaş / İstanbulTel: +90-545-258-1310Email: info@arpsanatidernegi.comwww.arpsanatidernegi.com

UNITED K INGDOMUnited Kingdom Harp Association (UKHA)President: Sioned WilliamsChair: Helen Sharp chair@ukharp.net60 Friern Mount Drive, Whetstone, London N209DLTel. +44(0)7810648658Email: sionedwilliamsharp@mac.comAdmin: admin@ukharp.net

UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAmerican Harp Society, Inc. (AHS)Founder: Marcel GrandjanyPresident: Lynn AspnesKathryn McManus, Executive Director624 Crystal AvenueFindlay, OH 45840Tel: +805-410-4277Email: execdirector@harpsociety.orgwww.harpsociety.orgHistorical Harp Society (HHS)President: Jennifer SayreEmail: info@historicalharpsociety.orgwww.historicalharpsociety.orgInternational Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen (ISFHC)President: David KolacnyContact: Alice Williams 1614 Pittman DriveMissoula, Montana 59803, USAEmail: alice.williams1614@gmail.comwww.folkharpsociety.org

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