Preliminary Programme
17 July (Thursday)
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
09:00 – 12:00 WHC Board of Directors Meeting
Foyer, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
11:00 – 19:30 Registration (daily 08:30 – 20:30)
Terrace and Main Hall, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
14:30 – 16:30 Opening Ceremony
Terrace, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
Harp Ensemble: Emilie Beers, Heleen Boeken, Jitske Brouwer, Yu Ming Chung, Francisca Coladarci, Elsje van Gelderen, Corry Gosker, Anneke de Graaf, Luc Guinchard, Iris Jansen, Marit Jonker, Iris Kailola, Shadad Ali Khadem, Menthe de Kloe, Marlies Lagendijk, Maria Meijer, Yukiko Nakagawa, Zandria Pattiiha, Loicq Rabarison, Coky Roosjen, Kiyomi Smallegang-Kimoto, Romy Smit, Melanie Weber, Maartje van der Weerd, Marieke Wetsteijn, Isabel van Wingerden, Anaïs de Wit and Froukje van der Zwan
Scottish traditional Mrs McLeod’s Reel (arr. M. Nagasawa)
Louiguy (1916-1991) Cherry pink and apple blossom white (arr. M. Nagasawa)
Ruud Brienen street organ
Ralf Arnie (1924-2003) Tulips from Amsterdam (arr. M. Nagasawa)
The Bandit
The harp teachers of the Koorenhuis are: Nancy Stam, Linda van Baar, and Masumi Nagasawa
Nancy Stam (NL)
Nancy Stam is a qualified teacher. She studied the harp with Margot Flipse and Edward Witsenburg. With her students from the Koorenhuis, she stages large musical projects. She also is a music therapist. During the past two years, she has been busy producing a documentary on the career of Edward Witsenburg, which will be presented at the WHC 2008.
Linda van Baar (NL)
Linda van Baar started harp lessons at the age of ten. At the Conservatoire of Alkmaar, she followed lessons with Titia Tieman. Currently she is teaching at the Koorenhuis in The Hague and at the music schools in Hoorn and Uithoorn.
Masumi Nagasawa (NL/ Japan)
Masumi Nagasawa is a harp ensemble teacher at the Koorenhuis. She makes all the compositions and arrangements for the Koorenhuis Harp Ensemble.
Willem van Baarsen (NL)
Willem van Baarsen is performer and a musician. He already did a few performances with the Koorenhuis Harp Ensemble.
Serge Bosman (NL)
Serge Bosman is also a performer and works together with Willem van Baarsen.
Ruud Brienen (NL)
Ruud Brienen is our street organ musician. This will be the first time that a street organ will perform together with a harp ensemble.
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
Libia Hernandez (Cuba/NL) conductor
Students of the Dutch conservatoires:
Jaike Bakker, Emilie Bastens, Karen Capiau, Carlijn Claas, Annemaria Gergely, Reyes Gomez Benito, Katarzyna Miernik, Sarah Nichols, Milou de Rooy, Annegreet Rouw, Anna Steinkogler, Madline Thijssen, Angélica Vazquez Salvi, Andrea Voets, Liesbeth Vreeburg and Sophia Warczak
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612) Canzona XI from Canzone e Sonate per suonar con ogni sorte di strumenti (arr. L. Sienema)
Harpcore (Denmark)
Sofie Guillois Larsen (Denmark/France) electronics, harp, vocals
Lovisa Wennesz (Sweden) harp
Linda Edsjö (Sweden/France) percussion and vocals
Magnus Hohler (UK/Norway) live electronics, effects engineer, vocals, bass
All music and lyrics written by Sofie Guillois Larsen
‘And it is a rather extraordinary line-up, as the band consists of two harps supplemented by electronics and percussion. Dream-like, surreal, very feminine, and zanily original. Nevertheless, surprisingly easy to listen to, because of the fact that the band does not insist on being weird, and because the songs are so good.’ - Hansen, Gaffa's demo reviewer
Films shown:
I by David Day (USA)
II by Rhodri Davies (UK) and David Reid (UK)
III by Jaap de Vries (NL)
Opening speeches by Patricia Wooster, Chairman of the Board of Directors World Harp Congress, Inc., Susann McDonald, Artistic Director Board of Directors World Harp Congress, Inc. and Ernestine Stoop, Chairman of the Dutch Host Committee 10th World Harp Congress and others
Marieke Steenhoek soprano
Students of the Dutch conservatoires conducted by Libia Hernandez
Ricciotti string players
Chiel Meijering (b. 1954) Harping world premiere
Mövenpick hotel
17:00 Official Opening Exhibition Space with reception
Sponsored by Otja Harpcenter
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
20:00 – 22:00 Evening concert
International Prize Winners
Anneleen Lenaerts (Belgium) - First prize, Lily Laskine International Harp Competition 2006
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Chaconne (arr. D. Owens)
Rafaël D’Haene (b. 1943) Toccata Fantasia
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Une châtelaine en sa tour... opus 110
Henriette Renié (1875-1956) Légende
Commissioned by the National Harp Foundation (Brussels, 2000), Toccata Fantasia is a composition that needs virtuosity and artistry. The opening section of the piece is based on several ‘toccata’ motifs appearing in contrasting colours, ostinato rhythms and returning glissandi. A tender and loving melodic theme weaves its way through and evokes Debussy’s prelude Soirée dans Grenade for a while. In the second movement, Allegretto grazioso, the soloist can display his technical skill and ability. It’s written in a continuous motion, developing a classical form. Typical harp-like passages, structured on musical figures as syncopation, glissandi, repeated notes, subtle shades, and delicate melodic treatment, create an exciting atmosphere of freedom and movement.
Sivan Magen (Israel) - First prize, International Harp Contest in Israel 2006
Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984) Poem
Pierre Sancan (b. 1916) Thème et Variations
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) Spanish Dance no. 2 ‘Oriental’
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) Spanish Dance no. 1 from La Vida Breve
(arr. M. Grandjany)
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) Rhapsodie
INTERVAL
Presentation of the Award of Recognition for Service to the International Harp Community to Susann McDonald
Maria Krushevskaya (Russia) - First prize, USA International Harp Competition 2007
Elias Parish Alvars (1808-1849) Introduction and Variations on Bellini’s ‘Norma’, opus 36
Mikhael Glinka (1804-1857)
and Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) The Lark(arr. M. Agazarian)
Jacques Charpentier (b. 1933) La Danse devant l’Arche
Ekaterina Walter-Kühne (1870-1930) Fantasy on Themes from Tchaikovsky’s
‘Eugene Onegin’ (arr. M. Agazarian)
Foyer, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
22:15 Foyer concert
Latin American music
Violeta Ramos (Paraguay/Switzerland) Paraguayan harp
Richard Schneider Classical eight-string guitar
Tango demonstration
18 July (Friday)
Exhibition space nr 7, Mövenpick hotel
08:00 – 08:45 Alexander Technique session
Fiona Tree (UK)
The Alexander Technique is a practical method for learning how to let go of habitual stress patterns that interfere with our natural poise, coordination and freedom of movement. In the workshop we will explore the primary relationship between the head, neck and back, and how that affects general coordination, not least in the arms. We will work through a classic excercise that helps to unlock the stress reflex and undo habitual stress patterns.
Please bring a towel to lay down on and a book to support the head.
Fiona Tree will be available for private consultations if you wish to make an appointment.
Atrium, Mövenpick hotel
09:00 – 09:20 Aurora concert
Emilie Jaulmes (France)
John Stobart alphorn
Kent Carlson (b. 1971) Snow Angel
Jean Daetwyler (1907-1994) Chant de Soir
Recital hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
09:30 – 10:40 Masterclass
Pierick Houdy (b. 1929) (France) first recipient of the Ann Stockton Memorial Fund for New Music Award
His sonata for harp solo (1954)
Engin Kansu (Turkey, 15)
Pierick Houdy Sonata
I Allegro moderato
II Lento
Morane Gruenpeter (Israel, 20)
Pierick Houdy Sonata
III Vivo
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
10:45 – 12.15 Lecture recital
David Portrayed
Ferry Jongbloed (NL) art historian
Musically illustrated by Edward Witsenburg (NL) and Rachel Ann Morgan (UK)
I David, biblical king and historical figure
II Biblical stories illustrated: David and Goliath, David lies with Bathseba, The death of David's beloved son Absalom, the Reign of David
III David in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the Psalms of David
IV David and Saul, David and us
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
11:00 – 12:30 Focus on Youth
Selected young harpists playing for a panel and audience
Hanna Borka (Hungary, 14)
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Evening with the Szeklers
Alphonse Hasselmans (1845-1912) Valse
Attila Remenyi (b. 1959) Variations on ‘Felszallott a pava’
Marta Marinelli (Italy, 14)
Félix Godefroid (1818-1897) La danse des sylphes
Muhiddin Dürrüoğlu (b. 1969) Footnotes
Melody Lindsay (USA, 16)
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) Fantaisie sur un thème de Haydn, opus 31
George Gershwin (1898-1937) American Rhapsody
Mackenzie Hammel (USA, 17)
Michael Mauldin (b. 1947) From Birds in winter, six preludes for harp:
I Presto
II Allegretto
VI Con moto (allegro moderato)
Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961) From Suite of eight dances:
Sequedilla
Tango
Rumba
Andrea Voets (NL, 18)
Marius Flothuis (1914-2001) Pour le tombeau d’Orphée, opus 37
Francis Miroglio (1924-2005) Rumeurs
Andrea Kričković (Serbia, 18)
Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) Impromptu-Caprice, opus 9 ter
Félix Godefroid (1818-1897) Étude de concert, opus 193
Atrium, Mövenpick Hotel
12:45 – 13:15 Exhibit concert hosted by?
[Tekst]
Bimhuis
13:30 – 14:15 Concert
Helen Radice (UK)
Harrison Birtwistle (b. 1934) Crowd
British Composer Award 2007, category instrumental
The solo instrumental British Composer award 2007 was unusually won by a work for harp: Crowd by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Accepting the award in inimitable style, Birtwistle launched a broadside at the current state of music education:
‘Music is in crisis. There are thousands of children who don’t even know what music is, unless it’s got a beat attached to it. And yet in two hours you can get children singing in two parts. And if this isn’t the place to say something like this, then nowhere is.’
‘This piece is an exploration of resonance. My choice of title reflects my interest in the essential nature of the earliest harps, which is their quality of resonance. Crowd (etymologically related to the Celtic crwth, cruit and crot) was the English term used for instruments of the lyre class, and ultimately for a frame harp, from pre-Christian to medieval times. Birtwistle is fascinated by the Orpheus myth: about the power of music and the frailty of the musician. The harp's resonance in Crowd is similarly ambivalent. The harpist does not control it the resonance, but it is the instrument's Heart.’
Miriam Overlach (Germany/NL)
Martin Schüttler (b. 1974) Schöner Leben III for harp and electronics (2007)
The piece Schöner Leben III was written in 2007 for and in collaboration with Miriam Overlach and was also part of Miriam’s master research on a group of young composers that are heirs of the German school of critical composing by Nicolaus A. Huber and Helmut Lachenmann. Martin Schüttler will be present at the performance and will give a short introduction on the piece, the ideas behind his compositions, and the working process with Miriam.
Ann Yeung (USA)
Jonathan Keeble flute
Stephen A. Taylor composer/electronics Agoraphobia for flute, harp, electronics and live video
world premiere
Agoraphobia (‘the fear of open spaces’) attempts to evoke feelings of extreme wonder and terror, inspired by a passage from Ursula K. Le Guin's 2002 novella, Paradises Lost:
Wind, air moving fast, hard, endlessly blowing, making you cold, so you shivered, shuddered, like having a fever, the wind stopping and starting, restless, stupid, unpredictable, unreasonable, maddening, hateful, a torment...
Wind, air moving softly, moving slender grasses in waves over the hills, carrying odors from a long way off, so you lifted your head and sniffed, breathed it in, the strange, sweet, bitter smell of the world.
The sound of wind in a forest.
Wind that moved colors in the air.
Stephen Andrew Taylor’s works for harp are being published by Fatrock Ink
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Theater hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
13:30 – 14:15 Children’s concert
Inge Frimout-Hei (NL)
Harp ensemble
Inge Frimout-Hei Blue Planet
Already at an early age, Inge dreamed of combining harp music with images. After studying composition with Eric Swiggers and Stan Bakermans this dream came true with the musical space voyage Blue Planet, written for multi-level harp ensemble. This composition is inspired by pictures of Planet Earth taken by the astronaut Dirk Frimout.
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
14:30 – 15:30 Concert
Bell' Alma Duo:
Kathy Kienzle (USA)
Michele Frisch flute
Daniel Sturm (b. 1951) Musetta Dreams
David Evan Thomas (b. 1958) O bell’ alma
‘These two outstanding musicians clearly have digested their operatic experiences in the pit. In addition to an excellent choice of brilliant variations on opera themes, entr’actes, dances, best loved melodies, and extracts of famous operatic gems, this recording contains Daniel Sturm’s new work, Musetta Dreams, which…is a poignant, moving, and totally original composition that deserves to enter the main body of the flute repertoire.’ - The Flute Network
Manja Smits (NL)
Vicent Morelló Broseta flute
Julia Dinerstein viola
Sabine Wüthrich speaker
Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931) Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeiten
Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeiten, scored for flute, viola, harp ,and narrator, was dedicated to twentieth-century German poet Francisco Tanzer and inspired by two literary works, pertaining to two contrasting worlds. These include the prose poem ‘Sayat-Nova’ by Iv Oganov (Moscow) and the Western verses of Tanzer himself. As the title of the piece implies, the trio is strongly influenced by the colourful exoticism of Oganov's text, which includes such phrases as ‘The revelation of the rose’, ‘The ordeal of a flower's pain’, ‘The peal of the singing garden grew’, ‘The lotus was set aflame by music’, and ‘The white garden began to ring again with diamond borders’. From the verses of Tanzer (which are recited ad libitum at the end of the piece) emanates the concept of the world's eternity: ‘When is it really over? What is the real end? ... tomorrow we shall play another game.’
Cécile Maudire (France)
Catherine Rouard soprano
Henri Duparc (1848-1933 ) l’Invitation au Voyage
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899 ) Le Colibri
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) Clair de lune sur l’étang du parc from Images, opus 29
Marcel Tournier La lettre du Jardinier
Bimhuis
15:45 – 16:45 Concert
Meriç Dönük (Turkey)
Mehmet Ali Uzunselvi (b. 1980) Chengir (2007)
At first this composition was put together using some technical traditions of the cheng, kanun, and ud, instruments of Turkish traditional music. In the first section, the work begins with effective unequal rhythmic string plucks and movements to a higher register. The second section moves to the lower register in a long decrescendo with slow and fast structures and connects to the final section. As an outline of the whole, the third and the last section of the piece reache to an environment called ‘segah’ in Turkish music. In this piece the string instruments of traditional Turkish music are imitated by using western performance techniques.
Carolyn Mills (New Zealand)
Carmen Petra-Basacopol (b. 1926) From Six Preludes: nrs 2, 4 and 6
Ron Ford (b. 1959) Broken Melody
Kenneth Young (b. 1955) Autumn Arabesque
Broken Melody is not so much an atmospheric work. Ford lets the instrument resonate, but more about the precise way in which the melody in octaves is woven like a patchwork into the rhythm.
Autumn Arabesque was written for Carolyn Mills with the assistance of Creative New Zealand, Arts Council of New Zealand.
Chia-Yuan Liang (Taiwan)
Chia-Yu Hsu Huan (2006)
I Come here! Come here!
II A soft, little, whispered love song
III climbed to the edge and fell
Huan was chosen as the winning composition for the USA International Harp Competition Composition Contest 2007. It is inspired by the writings of renowned Indiana, USA author and naturalist, Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924). ‘Huan is the Chinese character for illusion or imagination: sounds, images, thoughts, and memories. It can also mean change or variation. … All human experience is colored by memory. More than any particular narrative by Porter, Huan evokes the remote swampy landscapes of the composer's native Taiwan, and the murky swamps remembered in imagination in Porter's best writing.’
Astrid Haring (NL)
Brandt Attema contrabass trombone/bass trombone
Wouter Iseger bass trombone
Mark Boonstra bass trombone
Harry Godtschalk bass trombone
Niels Meliefste percussion
Martijn Padding (b. 1956) Schumann's last procession (2008)
world premiere
Wolfgang Rihm (b. 1952) Figur (1989)
The composer Robert Schumann suffered a severe form of manic depression. During the last years of his life he was being treated for this in Edenich, an experimental psychiatric clinic close to Bonn. In this clinic he had to endure the most barbaric experiments because the doctors had no idea how to treat his illness. One of the few things that could still bring Schumann some satisfaction was an almost daily walk to Bonn where he would visit Beethoven's statue and remain there for hours lost in thought. He would undertake the walks to that statue at an exceedingly slow pace while demanding that his accompanying nurse would walk tens of meters behind him.
Schumann's last procession is a funeral march and commemorates the daily slow-motion walks of Schumann to his hero. The piece is written for Astrid Haring and Brandt Attema.
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
15:45 – 16:30 Panel discussion
Memorizing Music
Chairman Lieve Robbroeckx (Belgium)
Panel members:
Gabriella Dall’Olio (Italy/UK)
Susann McDonald (USA)
Carrol McLaughlin (USA)
Agata Pospieszny (Poland)
Through presentations and interaction with the audience this panel discussion aims at understanding the process of memorizing, giving insight in the various aspects and levels of memorizing music, and providing useful methods and tips to help the memorizing process.
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
17:00 – 18:00 Concert
Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa:
Jose Machado conductor
João Pereira Coutinho flute
Tanja van der Kooij oboe
Luís Gomes clarinet
Gretha Tuls bassoon
Sérgio Pacheco trumpet
Hans van der Zanden horn
José Machado violin
Anna McMichael violin
Ricardo Mateus viola
Jorge Sá Machado violoncello
Quirijn van Regteren Altena double bass
Abel Cardoso percussion
Luís Cascão percussion
Francisco Monteiro piano
Lucy Wakeford (UK)
Elliott Carter (b. 1908) Mosaic for harp and ensemble (2004)
The Times [London] called Mosaic ‘a scintillating memory of [Carter’s] youthful friendship with harp wizard Carlos Salzedo. First, a harp statement; then an instrumental response. But this bare structural design gives no indication of the playful humor, the jostling arpeggios and ingenious devices squeezed into its pages. Not every harpist in a modern score is allowed to explore the instrument’s full resources; Lucy Wakeford was lucky.’ Noted The Independent, ‘There are wonderful things in the piece…from almost every kind of harp sound and playing style you could imagine to the showcasing of viola and oboe in fine melodic profile amid the accompanying ensemble activity.’
Mario Falcao (Portugal/USA)
Jorge Peixinho (1940-1995) Concerto for harp
‘Harp Concerto and Ensemble marks the culminant point of the active presence of this instrument in my composition. More than a solo instrument, the harp assumes here a catalyser function of all the musical speech, as a driving element, mediator, unifier, dominant. This is evident when we observe the course of the piece, as the harp surge as a flux (almost) constantly in all along, articulating and modelating all of its formal structure. Structuring fundamental elements (metric levels, rhitmic, agogic) are in systematic interdependence with the basic structural factors (intervals, harmonic fields and process). The piece is dedicated to Mário Falcão and Clotilde Rosa, that knew how to place harp in the center of our contemporaneity.’ - Jorge Peixinho
Şirin Pancaroğlu (Turkey)
Hasan Uçarsu (b. 1965) Uninvited Guests (2007)
Concerto for harp & çeng
(old Turkish harp, rebuilt)
The çeng is a twenty-four-string open lap harp which was a prestigious instrument in Ottoman court music from the middle ages until the seventeenth century. It was also favoured in Persia and in the music of a number of other Near Eastern dynasties. The çeng was closely associated with poetic, intellectual meetings and had a cultural meaning as a representative of deep sophisticated values of the rich past. Due to its frail frame and limited capacity of modulation it gradually fell into disuse. The çeng simply couldn’t keep in step with the developing needs of music.
To compose a work for a forgotten eastern instrument of this nature and its modern western counterpart, the musical traditions they belong to had to be approached by an inter-cultural attempt to bring out certain cross musico-cultural relationships between them.
The structure of the work basically follows an enlarged version of the typical instrumental form of traditional Ottoman music which can be represented sectionally as ABCBDB. In this form, the B section which is traditionally called teslim (to deliver, submit, admit, give up, surrender), is the most important of all; not only because it is repeated after each section but also because of its end-oriented structure. Indeed it has a beautifully embroidered and peaceful character of closure which arrives to the main mode and tonic after resisting for a while and then gives itself up to the natural gravity of the tonic.
Concertgebouw Amsterdam
20:15 Robeco Concert
Flemish Radio Orchestra
Uri Segal conductor
Isabelle Moretti (France)
Isabelle Perrin (France)
Elias Parish Alvars (1808-1849) Concertino for two harps, opus 91
Gwyneth Wentink (NL)
Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) Harp Concerto, opus 25
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Le Chant du Rossignol
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) Le Poème de l’Extase
The Flemish Radio Orchestra will be conducted by Uri Segal
Bimhuis
23:00 Late night concert
Rossitza Milevska Trio (Bulgaria)
Rossitza Milevska harp and voice (Bulgaria)
Patrice Taboni bass and voice
Cedric Le Donne drums
Rossitza Milevska studied jazz harp and jazz piano with Robert Persi at the CNR, Nice. With her fresh and creative approach to playing the harp, Rossitza composed and debuted her album Pop Harp in 2006.
19 July (Saturday)
Exhibition space nr 7, Mövenpick hotel
08:00 – 08:45 Alexander Technique session
Fiona Tree (UK)
The Alexander Technique is a practical method for learning how to let go of habitual stress patterns that interfere with our natural poise, coordination and freedom of movement. In the workshop we will explore the primary relationship between the head, neck and back, and how that affects general coordination, not least in the arms. We will work through a classic excercise that helps to unlock the stress reflex and undo habitual stress patterns.
Please bring a towel to lay down on and a book to support the head.
Fiona Tree will be available for private consultations if you wish to make an appointment.
Atrium, Mövenpick hotel
09:00 – 09:20 Aurora concert
Duo Bilitis
Eva Tebbe (NL)
Ekaterina Levental (NL)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Six épigraphes antiques for recitante and 2 harps
(arr. E. Tebbe)
I Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été
II Pour un tombeau sans nom
III Pour que la nuit soit propice
IV Pour la danseuse aux crotales
V Pour l'égyptienne
VI Pour remercier la pluie au matin
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
09:30 – 10:15 Lecture recital
Life and Work of Ksenia Erdely (1878-1971)
Iraida Poberezhnaya (Russia)
This presentation is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the life and work of Ksenia Alexandrovna Erdely, a famous Russian harpist, perhaps unknown to most American readers. There are few English sources available on the Russian harp school, and sources in Russian do not fully describe all the achievements of this incredibly talented person, partially because of the political situation in her lifetime. Although Professor Erdely made a major contribution to the Russian and Soviet harp schools, she was never engaged in the infamous political activities of the time. She was not a member of the Communist Party, which was an unspoken requirement for a successful professional career during
the Soviet era. That was the reason why Erdely, despite her incredible talent and professional activities, never appeared in front of an international audience. Even by looking at the article about Erdely in the Soviet Musical Encyclopedia (Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1982 vol. 6, p. 542), one can notice that it does not mention any affiliation of Erdely with the Communist Party. As a rule, the party membership and contributions to its activities are mentioned in this encyclopedia after the dates of life.
The pieces to be performed:
Ksenia Erdely Ukraine Fantasia for Harp (Moscow: Muzgiz, 1952)
Ksenia Erdely Volga Boatmen (Collection of Folk Songs for Harp.
Moscow: Muzgiz, 1963)
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) Nocturne ‘Razluka’ (Farewell) (Album of works for
Harp by Russian composers. Transcribed for harp
and edited by K. Erdely. Moscow: Muzuka, 1990)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Nata-Waltz (Album of works for Harp by Russian
composers. Transcribed for harp and edited by
K. Erdely. Moscow: Muzuka, 1990)
Recital hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
09:30 – 10:40 Masterclass
Fabrice Pierre (France) Professor at the ‘Conservatoire de Lyon’
Debussy’s dances
Maria Goudimov (Germany, 24)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
10:45 – 11:30 Lecture
The Royal Harp-Lyre from the city of Ur
His Excellency Siamand Banaa (Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq in the Netherlands)
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
11:00 – 12:30 Focus on Youth
Selected young harpists playing for a panel and audience
Jeremy Keppelmann (USA, 15)
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Malagueña
Wilhelm Posse (1852-1925) Carnaval de Venise
Hinako Hara (Japan, 15)
Jean-Michel Damase (b. 1928) Thème et Variations
Ryohei Hirose (b. 1930) Elegia
Feier Gu (China, 17)
Albert Roussel (1869-1937) Impromptu, opus 21
Chinese ancient melody ‘Moon-Lit flowers’ (arr. Xie Zhe Zhi)
Emily Levin (USA, 17)
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonate K 531 in E major, Allegro
Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961) Variations sur un thème dans le style ancien
Joana Daunytė (Lithuania, 20)
Reinhold Glière (1875-1956) Impromptu
Ekaterina Walter-Kühne (1870-1930) Fantasy on themes from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’
Antonio Ostuni (Italy, 21)
Henriette Renié (1875-1956) Marche Funèbre
Chia-yu Hsu Huan – First movement: Come here! Come here!
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
12:15 – 13:15 World Harp Congress Review Correspondents and Liaisons Meeting
Atrium, Mövenpick Hotel
12:45 – 13:15 Exhibit concert
Bimhuis
13:30 – 14:15 Concert
Chamber music concert ‘Phia Berghout (1909-1993) and Maria Korchinska (1895-1979)’
Anna Verkholantseva (Russia)
Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953) Fantasy Sonata for viola and harp
I Allegro Molto
II Allegro Moderato
III Lento Espressivo
IV Allegro
Kumiko Inoue (Japan)
Sergiu Natra (b. 1924) Prayer
Manja Smits (NL)
Vicent Morelló Broseta flute
Julia Dinerstein viola
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe
I Pastorale
II Interlude
III Final
Phia Berghout and Maria Korchinska met each other for the first time in Israel, being both members of the jury of the First International Harp Competition in 1959. This was the beginning of their lifelong friendship and collaboration.
Phia was then still dreaming to realize international meetings for harpists and harp students in the Netherlands. In these meetings, she hoped participants would be able to exchange freely their views about the path of becoming international fine musicians. The same ideals came from Maria Korchinska, a great representative of the Russian harp school and at that time one of the leading pedagogues in Great Britain. Maria Korchinska became Phia’s right hand on the artistic leadership in the International Harpweeks in which they achieved together until her death in 1979. These Harpweeks initiated and inspired friendships and made interesting collaboration come true among many soloists, pedagogues and students from all over the world. After years of successful International Harpweeks, the organization became much bigger and Phia decided to ask leading harp-personalities from all over the world to continue her dream as a ‘World Harp Congress’. In 1983, the World Harp Congress was founded. This programme is to give tribute to both wonderful ladies who gave an enormous devotion and inspiration to the harp world today.
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax was an English composer and a poet. His works often have a strong Celtic influence. As a contemporary of Maria Korchinska, he wrote several beautiful chamber music pieces for the harp. This Fantasy Sonata is dedicated to Maria Korchinska. Thanks to Maria for inspiring the composer!
Prayer was written in 1971 and performed in Jerusalem the same year by Martine Géliot, a first prize winner at the International Harp Contest in Israel in 1965. This piece was a special favourite of Phia’s and was performed by her many times as well. Natra was a good friend of many harpists including Phia and she loved performing his compositions.
Claude Debussy’s trio Sonate for flute, harp and viola is one of the best chamber music works written for harp in the twentieth century. No wonder Phia and Maria adored this beautiful composition!
Theater hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
13:30 – 14:30 Workshop
Sabien Canton (NL)
Teaching and learning how to play ‘minus one’ and easy jazz-standards for children to participate (7 -12 years)
A workshop, given by the author of the succesful harp method Harpologie: Sabien Canton.
This workshop is open to (amateur) harpists of every level. Sabien Canton has composed a new Harpologie song with play along CD, exclusively for the WHC! She will work with rhythmical patterns, easy improvisations, and challenging arrangements.
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
14:30 – 15:30 Concert
Nathalie Chatelain (Switzerland)
Athena Quartet
Saskia Viersen violin
Margherita Biederbick violin
Hannah Klein viola
Kathrin Bogensberger violoncello
Pierick Houdy (b. 1929) De cordes et d’archets
‘ “De cordes et d’archets” is a quintet for Celtic harp or pedal harp and string quartet. This piece, which has no connection to folk music, is of a contemporary style of writing for harp, in a classical form. I would be tempted to say that it is in fact two pieces in one work as the interpretation will be fundamentally different when played on one harp or the other. As always, I wish for the musicians to have complete freedom in the interpretation of my music. “De cordes et d’archets” is dedicated to Jakez François.’
- Pierick Houdy
Quatuor Harpège (Switzerland)
Nathalie Chatelain
Jasmine Vollmer
Marie-Luce Challet
Isabelle Martin-Achard
Michel Capelier (b. 1945) Dobri Viechter (2007)
world premiere
Arne Werkman (b. 1960) Trois mouvements, opus 48 (2005)
Netherlands premiere
Pierick Houdy Arpège, douce folie (2006)
world premiere
Composed at the request of Nathalie Chatelain for the Quatuor Harpège, ‘Dobri viechter’ is an excessively parodistic fantasy on a nocturnal theme inspired by a traditional Russian lullaby. ‘Dobri viechter’, meaning good night, is transcribed phonetically into our occidental alphabet. It takes us humorously into a fantastical world in which this simple good night wish expresses, in its different exposures, a multitude of contradicting feelings.
All pieces were written and dedicated to the Quatuor Harpège
Lavinia Meijer (NL)
Athena Quartet
Jacob ter Veldhuis (b. 1951) Cities Change The Songs Of Birds (three urban
songs for harp and boom box)
I Lying Piece Of Shit
A drug addicted woman, homeless, in the streets of New York
II From The Time She Was A Baby
A drug addicted mother, 31, and her 17-year old daughter, both just released from jail
III That’s it, your Honour
world premiere
Cities Change The Songs Of Birds was written for and dedicated to the Dutch harpist Lavinia Meijer in 2007 with financial support from the Dutch Fund for the Creation of Music.
‘Like in many of my works I use the so called spoken word melody from every day lifeas the musical theme for the composition: I analyse sound bytes from the media from people in emotional situations regarding their melodic and rhythmical quality and build my composition around it. In this case the subject is the fringe of society: young American women, struggling to survive in a world of drugs and crime, without home or in prison. Urban songs about a harsh reality of today. The harp comments, plays a dialogue or just accompanies the voices of these desperate women. The title refers to what city life can do to not just birds (like black birds in New York imitating car horns) but also to people ... Cities Change The Songs Of Birds has three movements.’
Konstantia Gourzi new piece for harp and string quartet
world premiere
Bimhuis
15:45 – 16:45 Concert
Improvisations
Hélène Breschand (France)
In the course of the inspiration, to the liking of improvisations, as so many possible ways, in one hand to hand with the instrument, Hélène Breschand invites the listeners in the discovery of its own red thread, across the meanders of a private maze: internal trip, invitation to be met in itself.
‘Hélène Breschand demonstrating her readiness to deconstruct her instrument's identity...if you still regard the harp as an anachronism, just experience the scope and power of Breschand's Le goût du sel.’ - Julian Cowley, THE WIRE
Rhodri Davies (UK) electronics and harp
Peter Jacquemyn double bass
Rhodri is one of the few harpists working in the field of new, experimental and improvised music and is widely acclaimed for developing a new voice for the harp. His regular groups include: Broken Consort, Cranc, Common Objects, Portable, The Sealed Knot and a trio with David Toop and Lee Patterson.
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
15:45 – 16:30 Lecture recital
In Memoriam Harald Genzmer (1909-2007)
Helga Storck (Germany) and students
Harald Genzmer was one of today's most versatile and productive composers. Wary of the strictures of avant-garde music (a quality he shared with his teacher Paul Hindemith), he always championed music that appeals directly to players and listeners alike. ‘Music should be vital, accessible, and artfully made.’ ‘It should appeal to performers by being playable and to listeners by being intelligible.’ Helga Storck's long friendship with Harald Genzmer - exactly fifty years - has resulted in a significant, broad repertoire for the harp. He composed for her a great many number both of solo harp pieces, and works for harp and different chamber music combinations. In the last two years, she also worked intensively with him to prepare over one hundred pieces for Celtic harp.
Helga Storck (Germany)
Klaus Storck violoncello
Sonate for Cello and Harp (1963)
First and second movements: Fantasie – Burleske
Joanna Liberadzka (Poland) and Marta Mogielnicka (Poland)
Duo for Two Harps (1983)
Third movement, Finale-Tranquillo
Barbara Gasteiger (Germany)
Tobias Vogel dulcimer
Notturno for Dulcimer and Harp (1975)
Anna Koim (Germany)
Im Goldenen Wappen Irlands for Celtic Harp (2006)
Giocoso e molto vivace
Julia Lopuszynska (Poland) and Urszula Janowska (Poland)
Works from the new collection Lieder der Welt für Celtische Harfe (2006)
world premiere
Anna Koim
Maximiliane Müller-Windorf flute
Sophia Siegemund flute
Works from the new collection Poetic Miniatures for Flute and Celtic Harp (2006)
world premiere
Helga Storck
Jie Zhou (China)
Joanna Liberadzka
Marta Mogielmicka
Barbara Gasteiger
Helen Radice (UK)
Klaus Storck violoncello
Klagelied für Cello und 6 Harfen (2003)
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
15:45 – 16:45 Panel discussion
Orchestral Auditions
Chairman Lieve Robbroeckx (Belgium)
Panel members:
Petra van der Heide (NL)
Isabelle Perrin (France)
Karen Vaughan (UK)
A rare opportunity for firing questions at experienced harpists on what to expect, how to prepare, how to cope with the stress, and for getting useful tips to maximizing your chances at your next audition.
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
17:00 – 18:00 Concert
International Prize Winners
Maria Goudimov (Russia) – First prize, 3rd International Vera Dulova Harp Competition 2005
Heinz Holliger (b. 1939) Präludium from Präludium, Arioso und Passacaglia
Wilhelm Posse (1852-1925) Variations on Carnaval of Venise
Yeon-Hwa Chung (South Korea) – First prize, 19th Nippon Harp Competition 2007
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) Etude no. 6
Marcel Grandjany Rhapsodie
Henriette Renié (1875-1956) Légende
Jie Zhou (China) – First prize, Arpista Ludovico Competition 2005
Louis Spohr (1784-1859) Fantasie in C minor, opus 35
Wang Fei (b. 1963) Der Hauch aus der Ferne und Tiefe (1999)
Michael Glinka (1804-1857) Nocturne
‘The Asian plucked instruments “zheng” and “qin” inspired me. These traditional instruments are tuned in pentatonic scales. Harmony and intervals are the main objects in my compositions, thus the five-tone scale as well. The main motive is a minor second. I tried to transfer articulation, e.g. tremoli, harmonics and glisses, which are very characteristic for the Asian “sound”, to the harp, so that the sound colour of harp music is very refreshing. The sound colours are changed by the variation of register and articulation; this imitates the intonation and characterization of the “zheng” and “qin”. Herewith I try to unite the Chinese and European music.’
- Wang Fei
Foyer, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
18:15 – 19:30 Stand-up podium
The place to show your hidden talents!
Atrium, Mövenpick Hotel
18:30 – 19:00 Exhibit concert
Atrium, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
20:00 – 20:30 Opening Polish exhibition harp paintings
Imagination and fairyland inspired by harp music
Ewa Jaśłar (Poland)
‘The art works were done by children from different schools from the Silesian region of Poland. In the spring of 2007 I had over 50 school concerts during which I played some improvisation and asked children to close their eyes and see what images this music evokes in them. Then I asked them to use any kind of art technique and create a picture, a sculpture, a collage, etc. and send to the Polish Harp Society. We received 103 art works and 15 were given prizes. The best ones came from a group of handicapped young people for whom both music and art was a special kind of therapy. The experience was most gratifying to all of us.’
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
21:00 Evening concert
Rizpah (USA) vocalist and harpist
Maeve Gilchrist (UK) harpist, singer, composer
Mondriaan String Quartet
Anna McMichael violin
Edwin Blankenstijn violin
Annette Bergman viola
Eduard van Regteren Altena violoncello
Edmar Castañeda (Colombia)
Itai Kriss flute
Dave Silliman drums, percussion
Hipnótica (Portugal)
João Branco Kyron voice, lyrics and programming
Bernard Sushi fender rhodes and synths
Sergue double bass and electric bass
António Watts drums and percussion
Eduardo Raon harp and guitars
20 July (Sunday)
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
10:00 – 11:00 Lecture recital
Harps along the Silk Route
Bo Lawergren
Tomoko Sugawara (Japan) kugo
The present concert harp is a relatively recent descendant of the frame harp which had been introduced ca. 800 AD in northern France. Prior to frame harps, angular harps held sway for 3,600 years. The type was introduced 1900 BC in Mesopotamia, eventually spread across much of the Asian continent, and ceased 1700 AD It was the pride of many cultures and was often depicted, e.g., in Assyrian ritual (750 - 650 BC). Later, between 200 and 600 A.D., it frequently traveled along the Silk Road into China, Korea, and Japan. Chinese court musicians became angular harp virtuosi, and many poems attst to their extraordinary performances. In Japan large pieces of angular harps ("kugo" in Japanese) have survived in the Shosoin museum. But by 1100 A.D. the angular harp died out in the Far East. It lasted longer in the Islamic culture of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Hundreds of illustrated Islamic books contain beautiful pictures of angular harps. In Iran the harps lasted until 1600, but they continued one more century in Istanbul, Turkey. Islamic poets, too, wrote about the power of the angular harp.
Tomoko Sugawara plays a reconstructed angular harp based on the fragments in the Shosoin museum. On it she will play music composed at the time when the harp enjoyed its greatest popularity. In China that was the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) and in Iran the Ilkhanid dynasty ca. 1300 A.D. Beside this early repertoire, which is little known even among musicologists, she will play modern solo pieces written for her by a range of contemporary composers, as well as assorted kugo solos by Japanese composers.
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
11:00 – 12:30 Focus on Youth
Selected young harpists playing for a panel and audience
Vivian Hsu (USA, 15)
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) Féerie, prélude et danse
Lynn Palmer (1918) Classic Suite: Courante
Noel Wan (USA, 14)
Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) Sonata opus 150
I Allegro assai
II Adagio
III Vivace
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) Colorado Trail opus 28
Aistė Baliunytė (Lithuania, 15)
Henriette Renié (1875-1956) Contemplation
Vytautas Klova (1926) Piece no. 1
Elif Güngör (Turkey, 17)
David Watkins (1939) Petite Suite
I Prelude
II Nocturne
III Fire dance
Bernard Andrès (1941) Duke
Nick Scholten (NL, 19)
Lex van Delden (1919-1988) Impromptu opus 48
Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) Impromptu-Caprice opus 9
Yesl Kim (South Korea, 20)
Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) Sonata
I Allegretto
II Lento
III Perpetuum mobile (Allegro gaiement)
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
11:30 – 12:40 Coffeeconcert
Johanna Seitz (Germany) triple harp, arpa de dos ordenes
Elisabeth Seitz salterio
Italian & Spanish baroque music for harp & salterio
Andrea Falconiero (1586-1656) Suave melodia (Naples 1650)
Bartholomeo de Selma y Salaverde Canzona (Venedig 1638)
(c1585- after 1638)
Giovanni Maria Trabaci (c1575-1647) Toccata seconda, & Ligature per l´Arpa (Napoli 1615)
Diego Fernandez de Huete (?-c1713) Tarantela (Compendio numeroso...para harpa y organo,
(Madrid 1702)
Santiago de Murcia (c1682-1740) Folia italiana (Mexico 1732)
Santiago de Murcia Fandango
Marieke Schoenmakers (NL)
Sabine Wüthrich soprano
Tanja van der Kooij oboe and English horn
Gabriel Arias Luna violoncello
André Jolivet (1905-1974) Suite Liturgique (1942)
I Prélude – II Salve Regina – III Alleluia – IV Magnificat –
V Musette – VI Benedictus – VII Interlude – VIII Final
Masumi Nagasawa (NL/Japan)
Stanley Hoogland fortepiano
Violin t.b.d.
Viola t.b.d.
Violoncello t.b.d.
Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838)
Quintor opus 142
I Allegro ma non troppo
II Adagio con moto
III Allegretto
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
13:15 – 14:15 General Membership Meeting
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
15:15 – 16:00 Concert
17th century Italian music
Constance Allanic (NL/France) baroque harp
Ambrož Bajec-Lapajne tenor
Lynda Sayce theorbo & baroque guitar
Paulina van Laarhoven lirone & viola da gamba
Claudio Monteverdi (Cremona 1567 - Venezia 1643) Tempro la cetra from : Settimo libro de madrigale, Venezia 1619
‘I tune my cetra to sing the praise of Mars. But in vain, for Amor does not allow me to sing of weapons other than those with which he himself wounds the heart.’
Paolo Quagliati (Chioggia c1555 - Roma 1628) Ecco, la notte from : La Sfera Armonios, 1623
‘The night has spread her mantle of stars to give sleep and comfort. But not to me, because you are so cruel to me who loves you…’
Claudio Monteverdi Ritornello per l’Arpa doppia from : l’Orfeo, 1607, ed. Venezia 1609
Diego Ortiz (Toledo c1510 - Napoli c1570) Recercada quinta from : Trattado de Glosas, Roma 1553
Francesco Lambardi (Napoli 1587 – Napoli 1642) Aria di Cupido from the Neapolitan festa à ballo ‘ Delizie di Posilipo Boscarecce’ 1620
‘From these waters where my mother (Venus) was born, I rise to bring you love…’
Claudio Monteverdi Quel sguardo sdegnosetto from: Scherzi Musicali, Venezia 1632
‘That haughty face, this beauty for which I burn… wound me with your eyes, but heal me with your laughter’
Bellerofonte Castaldi (Collegara 1580 – Venezia 1649) O, Sonno from : Primo mazzetto di fiori musicalmente colti del giardino bellerofonteo, Venezia 1623
‘O, Sleep, quiet son of the shady Night, come and give relief my languishing heart.’
Capriccio detto Svegliatoio from : Capricci a due stromenti, Modena 1620
Girolamo Frescobaldi (Ferrara 1583 – Roma 1643) Ti lascio from: Arie Musicali, Firenze 1630
‘I leave you, the time has come for me to leave you. I would rather die, for the pain is too great. Do not wound me more with your pain, for it makes me suffer worse than death’.
Giovanni de Macque (Valenciennes c1550 – Napoli 1614) Partite sopra Ruggiero from : Luigi Rossi’s notebook, Napoli before 1620
Bimhuis
16:30 – 17:15
Improvisations
Martien Groeneveld (NL) Volkswagen Keverharp
The VW Beetle Harp is one of Martien Groeneveld’s “classics” among many other selfbuilt instruments like: Giant Xylofone, Mouthorganflag, Waterflute, Sewerfone, Cristallofone and the Sea-Machine.
The VW Beetle Harp is built from a sawn-off chassis of an old VW Beetle car in 1993 and as the years passed by it is extended with accesoires like a dog-dreambarking-sound- machine”, a triple waterflute, and a set of crystal glasses coming from the “Luna” serie in Leerdam. Thus Groeneveld is able to produce extra soundscapes perfectly fitting into the sound of his his VW Beetle Harp.
“It seemed as if we had returned to the days of John Cage and David Tudor with their carefree and cheerfull music-making, or to the futurist-evenings held by Luigi Russolo with his intonorumori, or noise intoners” (source: La Republica,Roma,16.09.1998/ by Lana Ketoff)
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
19:00 – 19:40 Concert
Marianne Smit (NL)
Esther Kooi (NL)
Gertru Smit-Pasveer technique
Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) Freude (2005)
The first part of my new cycle KLANG (SOUND), The 24 Hours of the Day, was a commission of ArtAche Milano, an institution of the Duomo di Milano with its artistic director Don Luigi Garbini. I named it KLANG – Erste Stunde: HIMMELFAHRT (SOUND – First Hour: ASCENSION) because it had its world première on May 5th 2005 for Ascension Day. The score is written for organ, soprano and tenor.
After this première, Don Luigi asked for the premiere of KLANG – Second Hour in relation to the festival of Pentecost. I accepted it happily and immediately had the inner audition and vision of a work for two harps. During the composition I was imagining the two Dutch harpist-girls Marianne and Esther, both 21 years old, who live and perform together as real idealists. One of them is the niece of the flutist Kathinka Pasveer for whom I wrote so many works.
As a first title I chose Pentecost and decided to let the two harpists also sing – in alternation or sometimes together – the essential text of Pentecost Veni Creator Spiritus, while plucking, picking, caressing, stroking, pinching, rubbing, striping, striking, pinking, jubilating. In accordance with the 24 lines of this hymn I have composed 24 musical moments like the 24 hours of the Day, so that the Second Hour of KLANG is a full day within one hour of the Day.
During the composition I changed the title to FREUDE (JOY). My basic feeling was Freude (joy). I imagined always the première at the Duomo di Milano, the enthusiasm of the two girls, their playing, singing. The score certainly preserves this fantastic joy in my mind and soul during the many months of composing this work. There is something unique about the adventure to combine two harps which are normally tuned in diatonic scales and to synthesise them into one large chromatic harp.
Now I have understood why I have sent a design of a greek harping angel to Don Luigi to remind him of the divine role of this instrument. Pentecost unites what has been separated. My work FREUDE too.
K. Stockhausen, February 15th 2006
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
20:30 Evening concert
Phia Berghout Memorial Concert
Giselle Boeters (NL) |
Annamaria Gergely (Romania) |
Mariko Oguchi (Japan) |
Fabrice Pierre (France)
Quatuor de Harpes de Paris (France)
Marie Saint-Bonnet
Sabine Chefson
Caroline Rempp
Agnès Kammerer
Anton Sie (NL)
Godelieve Schrama (NL)
Pauline Oostenrijk oboe
Conrad van Alphen conductor
Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra
Hendrik Jan Lindhout trumpet
Marc Kaptijn trumpet
Boni Rietveld trumpet
Anton van Houten trombone
Tjeerd Oosterdorp tuba
Otto Ketting (1935) |
‘Albumblatt’ for 28 harps and brass instruments world premiere |
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Claude Debussy (1862-1918) |
Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane (Fabrice Pierre) |
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Ami Maayani (1936) |
l’Esprit Baroque Méditerranéen (2007) Trois Pièces pour Quatuor de Harpes et Orchestre à Cordes (Quatuor de Harpes de Paris) |
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INTERVAL |
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Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) |
Holbergsuite opus 40 |
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Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) |
Adagietto from fifth Symphony (Anton Sie) |
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Frank Martin (1890-1974) |
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Trois Danses for oboe & harp (Godelieve Schrama and Pauline Oostenrijk) |
This particular tenth edition of the World Harp Congress in Amsterdam would like to honour its founder, Phia Berghout. We are most grateful for her endeavor and her creativity which has established this world wide organization, enriching the harpists throughout the world.
The Dutch host committee has founded a special "Phia Berghout Committee" for this jubilee occasion in the Netherlands. Their tasks were to organize three concerts including a special issue of making the
book and DVD as a tribute to Phia Berghout.
For this "Tribute to Phia Berghout" concert, Otto Ketting wrote a composition for 28 harps and brass ensemble as a reflection on the composition for 28 harps by Robert Heppener, commissioned by Phia for the tenth International Harpweek in 1969. Today the 28 harps will be played by Phia’s former students and their pupils.
This concert today is to celebrate and to honour Phia Berghout in the jubilee Congress in The Netherlands where everything started nearly fifty years ago. The programme will consist of beloved pieces by her, “Danses”for harp and orchestra by Claude Debussy and the Adagietto from the fifth Symphony”by Gustav Mahler. She has been the soloist and a harpist of one of the most prestigious orchestras, the Concertgebouw Orchestra which she has been engaged to for more then 30 years. These were the pieces she loved and had performed numerous times.
On this same programme, two works of her friends are chosen. Ami Maayani, an Israeli composer and Frank Martin, a Swiss composer. They were both very close to her. She always had an open mind and was inspiring composers to write new pieces for the harp.
As Phia was fond of traveling to many different countries, we hope that "Peer Gynt Suite" from Edward Grieg chosen by the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra will bring out all colours from different culture in this concert.
Otto Ketting May 2008
“With L’Esprit Baroque Méditerranéen, I am encircling fifty years of composing music for the harp in various combinations - in concerto form, solo works, chamber music of different ensembles and lieder.
Over the years I have developed my own way of writing for the harp. I aimed to bring Middle Eastern music to the harp by using chromatic scales typical of this style, thus pushing the boundaries of harp technique.
The thematic material of this work is based on the music of the different Jewish tribes, who immigrated to Israel from the Diaspora. My admiration for the methods and musical forms of the Baroque and Classical eras, serves as a guideline to most of my compositions. In L'Esprit a fusion is found between Baroque musical forms and the Mediterranean style.
The first movement – ‘Prélude’, is reminiscent of my Concerto no. 1 for Harp and Orchestra (1959-1960). The concerto was premiered in Laren, Holland, in 1963, with the marvelous soloist Susanna Mildonian and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Paul Hupperts. My dear friend, the late Phia Berghout, to whom I dedicate L'Esprit, a great harpist and a keen advocate of the instrument, was the first promoter of my harp music. It was she who brought about the world premiere of the Concerto no. 1.
The Prélude, although it stands as a movement on its own, paves the way for the two following movements. The form is free, short figures pass between the harp soloists and the string orchestra, creating a Mediterranean atmosphere.
The second movement, ‘Toccate’, adapts for the harp the traditions of the old form of music which was mainly created for the keyboard: the repetitive touches and the delicacy of the sounds suit the character of the harp and of the Toccata likewise. Most of the movement is based on rhythmic pattern of 3/4 and 3/8 alternating in each measure. This pattern mingles very beautifully with the rhythm of the Jewish languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish and Ladino.
For the final movement, my choice of the most typical contrapuntal form, the Fugue, (which reached its peak in the music of Bach), presented a fascinating opportunity of laying out a four part fugue between four soloists, each playing one voice.
All the functional components of the Baroque fugue are used: exposition, episodes, middle entries, development and the music subject, embellished with Mediterranean ornaments.
It seems to me that the natural qualities of the harp do not incorporate contrapuntal playing. Therefore in writing this fugue for four harps, I have sought to give joy to the harpists in performing this magical musical form.”
Ami Maayani
Bimhuis
23:00 – 23:45 Late night concert
Hugh Webb (UK)
“…filigree or glitter, arpeggios or runs, virtuosity or sheer feeling, Webb is master of them all.”
Gramophone
21 July (Monday)
Exhibition space nr 7, Mövenpick hotel
08:00 – 08:45 Feldenkrais session
Bodywork, Feldenkrais for Harpists
Irthe Aya Engelhard
The first half of the lesson will be spent on a general ‘warming-up’, by means of movements from several techniques. From toe to top we will work through our bodies, our balance and breathing. More body-awareness will be gained in the second half of the lesson. We will do a research to the relationship between legs/hips and arms/shoulders, and the benefit of a rotating spine in between … Obvious aim, of course: to be more comfortable with your harp. Your posture and sound will improve with less effort! This will be the theme of the three lessons taken as a unit. But each lesson will have its specific accent and can be taken as such. Please wear loose fitting clothes and bring a big towel.
Atrium , Mövenpick hotel
09:00 – 09:20 Aurora concert
Sofia Kiprskaja (Russia)
Ernest Krenek (1900-1991) Sonata, opus 150
I Allegro assai
II Adagio
III Vivace
Valeri Kikta (b. 1941) Fantasy on themes from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pique Dame’ (1982)
E. Kiprskiy (b. 1986) Spring Rhapsody
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
09:30 – 11:00 Lecture
Playing the Harp, an art, a craft
Posture at the harp and the prevention of injuries
Dr Med. Boni Rietveld (NL)
Marjon Kuijers (NL) Mensendieck therapist
The presenters of this talk and workshop are both musicians and have worked together for many years. Attention will be directed both to the musculo-skeletal system and to posture during the playing of the harp.
Boni Rietveld, orthopaedic surgeon and director of the Medical Centre for Dancers and Musicians in The Hague will give a talk about the musculo-skeletal system and its related problems, including the complaints of harpists, and their causes and prevention.
Marjon Kuijers, Mensendieck physiotherapist for musicians (also from The Hague) will lead you in the practical workshop. How should you sit and move during harp playing? The influence of seating, etc. You are all invited to experience this for yourself.
Recital hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
09:30 – 10:40 Masterclass
Beyond diatonic fumbling
Jazz harp to the next level
Christiaan van Hemert
Jazz music is based on rather simple chords. What makes it interesting is the so-called ‘upper structure’. And yes, that is difficult, BUT possible on a harp. Here's how to understand and practise that 'upper structure', and integrate it in your playing; the great leap forward in your improvisation!
Participants should:
- not be afraid to improvise
- be prepared to swallow some theory in order to upgrade their jazz playing
- know all triads and 7ths
- be able to play triads and 7ths, including alterations
- be able to play a simple jazz blues (C7 F7 C7 C7 / F7 F7 C7 A7 / D-7 G7 C G7)
- be familiar with enharmonic replacements
There is a maximum of six active participants.
Bernard Haitink hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
11:00–12:30 Focus on Youth
Selected young harpists playing for a panel and audience
Wesley Hsu (USA, 12)
John Thomas (1826-1913) The Minstrel’s Adieu to his Native Land
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) Les Anesses Grises sur la Route d’El-Azib from Images, opus 35
Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961) Chanson dans la nuit
Hannah Lee Blalock (USA, 16)
Dalwyn Henshall (b. 1957) Maestoso from Tair Dawns Gymreig
Jacques de La Presle (1888-1969) Le jardin mouillé
Astrid Desantoine (Belgium, 18)
Bernard Andrès (b. 1941) Duke
Alphonse Hasselmans (1845-1912) Nocturne
Cecilia Sultana de Maria (UK/Malta, 18)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Andante from Violin Sonata no. 2 in A minor BWV 1003
(arr. M. Grandjany)
David Watkins (b. 1939) Tsunami
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) Au matin, étude de concert
Sandra Macher (Austria, 19)
John Parry (1709-1782) Sonata in D major
I Allegro
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) Rhapsodie
Doriene Marselje (NL, 19)
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata K 380 in E major, Andante Comodo
Félix Godefroid (1818-1897) Carnaval de Venise, opus 194
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
11:30 – 12:40 Coffee concert
Double Action Harp Duo (UK)
Keziah Thomas
Eleanor Turner
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Allegro from J.S. Bach's Concerto No.1 in D minor,
BWV 1052 (arr. E. Turner)
Dai Fujikura (b. 1977) Locked voices (2004)
Lex van Delden (1919-1988) Concertino per Due Arpe, opus 76
I Preludio
II Interludio
III Arietta
IV Intermezzo
V Postludio
VI Coda quasi arietta
‘When I wrote this piece, I didn’t know who I was writing for. It was a deal with Park Lane Group. They would make me a featured composer in their January concert series, in return I had to write a short piece for two harps. I had no idea who was going to premiere the work. I started thinking about the piece. First I imagined two harps, then two harpists, then two blond girls playing harps … First I wrote a fast energetic toccata-like section, then I decided that there will be no pedal changes in this entire piece. So they will have no excuses for any mistakes! This also makes the piece harmonically locked in one specific field. To add more texture I also employ many bisbigliandi.’
- Dai Fujikara
Concertino per Due Arpe was written in 1962 and is dedicated to the respected Dutch harpist Phia Berghout. This work is treasured by harpists worldwide and was, at her wish, the only piece of music to be performed at Phia Berghout’s funeral. Haunted by the tragic loss of much of his family at the hands of the Nazis, van Delden’s music is weighted with memories of repression and intense suffering.
Lex van Delden draws on the techniques of conventional harp writing yet within his own distinctive sound world. The constant interplay of gently undulating arpeggios contrasted with tight military rhythms unnerves the listener and paints a sinister picture. Concertino employs the full compass of two concert harps to express a vast range of dynamics and emotion. The mood towards the end of the piece becomes more hopeful and the harmonies suggest the existence of another world beyond this one in which we can live together in greater peace and unity.
Concertino per Due Arpe published by Donemus
Clíona Doris (Ireland)
Deirdre McKay (b. 1972) A pale yellow sky (2005)
I A pale yellow sky
II Fireflies
III Sycamore seeds
IV The Moon
V Indigo
VI Spring Rain
VII Late autumn - waiting
A pale yellow sky is a collaboration between composer, Deirdre McKay and visual artist, Jean Duncan inspired by seven Japanese haiku. Each of the seven short movements relates to a different haiku poem and to Jean Duncan’s painting(s)/mixed media piece(s). The work was commissioned by the Naughton Gallery, Queen’s University of Belfast and written for Clíona Doris, who gave the premiere performance on 8th March 2005 at the Naughton Gallery.
Trio Controverse (France)
Martine Flaissier blue harp
Philippe Charneux flutes
Henry Vaudé percussion
Jean-Claude Wolff (b. 1946) Marche Lente (1992)
Graciane Finzi (b. 1945) Hommage à Aristarque de Samos (1995)
Alain Louvier (b. 1945) Quatre Paysages (1999)
Marche Lente is characterised by colours, mystery and a slow, regular rhythm. This sombre and poignant march is similar to what we hear in Tchaikovsky, Brahms or Mahler. That colour, that pulse, like a secret mourning, are the expressive depths of Jean-Claude Wolff’s music. In his view, colour is emotional, lyrical and nocturnal. There is no avant-garde dogmatism with Jean-Claude Wolff, no attachment to the past either. His language uses atonality, serialism, various compositional processes. Sometimes a nostalgic and serene shadow (light?) of tonality comes through. Neither the heritage of the past, nor the demands of the present are renounced. There is in him the necessary concern, the full expression of a true artist, in the end of this twentieth century.
This commission by the State was first performed in May 1992 by the Trio Controverse, at the DRAC of Montpellier.
In Hommage à Aristarque de Samos, Graciane Finzi pays tribute to Aristarque of Samos, a Greek astronomer from 310 BCE, who wrote a treaty on the dimensions and distances of the sun and the moon. This treaty was a classic at the time but his correct hypothesis was soon rejected. This piece was written on the demands and for Martine Flaissier and her trio. It is a commission from the Festival ‘Aujourd’hui Musiques’ in Perpignan during which it was first performed in April 1995.
These Quatre Paysages (four landscapes) represent a direct musical translation of geographical maps. Alain Louvier uses four places: a night on the Delta, Armor/Argoat (a Breton landscape), Orleans, Beaugency, and Annecy/Mont-Blanc/Aosta. Every part of the landscape has a different meaning. For instance in the first landscape, West is in the low tones, East in the high, the waters stay silent and the cities create agitation. In the second, the islands, cities, villages, sanctuaries, airports, hills, etc. each have a specific sound translation. This piece was first performed by the Trio Controverse on 24 November 1999 at the ‘Aujourd’hui Musiques’ Festival in Perpignan, and is now published by Editions Musicales Europeenes.
Atrium, Mövenpick Hotel
13:00 – 14:30 Exhibit concert
[Tekst]
14:45 – 15:15 Exhibit concert
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15:30 – 16:00 Exhibit concert
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FREE AFTERNOON
TOURS PROGRAMME
Pieterskerk, Breukelen
19:30 Concert connected to the Queekhoven Tour
‘Encore, Phia Berghout and Hubert Barwahser!’
Homage to the legendary Dutch harp and flute duo
Performed by students of the Dutch conservatoires
Astrid Haring (NL)
Margreet Niks flute
Lex van Delden (1919-1988) Duo per flauto ed arpa, opus 27
Hannah van den Borne (Belgium)
Ilonka Kolthof flute
Theo Smit Sibinga (1899-1958) Trois Images
Reyes Gómez Benito (Spain)
Marius Flothuis (1914-2001) Pour le tombeau d'Orphée opus 37 (harp solo)
Christa Emmerink (NL)
Rianne Jongsma flute
Hendrik Andriessen (1892-1981) Intermezzo
Maria Pozdnyakova (Russia)
Anna Zeijlemaker flute
Henk Badings (1907-1987) Ballade
Once and again, the younger generation will be united with Phia Berghout in a unique concert held in the Pieterskerk or Dorpskerk in Breukelen. This has been a nostalgic location for many musicians who have been in Queekhoven, an international music centre for young musicians from all over the world. The concert programme features the pieces written for the legendary Dutch Duo, Phia Berghout (1909-1993) and flautist Hubert Barwahser (1906-1985). Their debut concert was held on the 28th of April 1951 in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. This was the beginning of their long lasting collaboration. They inspired and commissioned the Dutch composers to write works for them. The Dutch Harpist Erika Waardenburg and the flautist Eleonore Pameijer took the initiative to revive the concert in the Concertgebouw in 2006 with the same programme, with the original instruments of Hubert Barwahser and Phia Berghout. The compositions written for this concert has been released on CD by them.
Theater hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
19:00 - 20:00 Dance performance
Turkish dance
Aydın Teker direction, choreography
Ayşe Orhon choreography, performance
Evrim Demirel musical advice
Ayşegül Alev costume design
Thomas Walgrave light design
harS
Choreography for a female dancer and a harp. A pioneer of contemporary dance in Turkey who has worked in Istanbul for over twenty-five years, Aydin Teker likes putting bodies into destabilising situations, testing their capacity for dynamic adaption to the extreme. In harS, a harp is offered as an extension of the human body. Wherever the manipulations take it, the instrument's functional identity is concealed in favour of a pure and sculptural quality. Put to the test, the dancer (and harpist) Ayşe Orhon displays virtuoso physical force and control to conquer this strange ‘territory’. In a process of continuous transformation, the two entities seek to enter into symbiosis, with their respective characteristics cross-contaminating to create a beautifully haunting hybrid image.
Premiere: May 10, 2008, KunstenFESTIVALdesarts, Brussels
Thanks to: Ümit Tunak, Alper Maral, ÇATI (Contemporary Dance Artists Association -Istanbul), Ahmet İnceel
Production: Bimeras | iDANS (Istanbul)
Co-production: Alkantara (Lisbon), Biennale Bonn (Bonn), Baltoscandal Festival (Rakvere), Rotterdamse Schouwburg (Rotterdam), KunstenFESTIVALdesarts (Brussels), Festival Culturescapes (Basel)
Project co-produced by NXT STP, with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union
Foyer, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
18:15 – 19:30 Stand-up podium
The place to show your hidden talents!
Atrium, Mövenpick Hotel
18:30 – 19:00 Exhibit concert
Main hall, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
20:30 Evening concert
World music
Tun Wunna Soe (Myanmar) Saung-gauk
Traditional boatharp and music from Myanmar
Myanmar harp is said to be used starting from the Pyu period. According to records, it was played abroad by Myanmar musicians in about the ninth century CE. Though the shape of it has changed in the successive ages, the basic shape has not changed. The harp was used in the Bagan Period (tenth-thirteenth centuries CE). We can still see the figure of harp in a mural at the Ananda Temple, one of famous pagodas in Bagan.
One note-worthy fact in the Konbaung Period (1752-1885 CE) is that professional and amateur harpists used to write letters such as ‘karaweik Than’ (The voice of Karaweik bird), Mya Chu Than (the voice of an emerald jingle), and ‘Zinwazo Than’ (The voice of swift bird) at the place ‘phala’ at the back of their harps.
Saung was played well at courts. It was cherished and appreciated by kings, queens, ministers, and courtiers. Myanmar songs are performed with musical instruments played on the prescribed musical scales. Myanmar musical instruments are tuned primarily on Saung musical scales. In ancient time, three strings were used. Later, it became seven. In the Konbon Period, Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa, the then noted minister invented thirteen strings. Later a harpist by the name of Saya Nyein invented fourteen strings. During the Second World War, the then famous harpist Alanka Kyaw Zwa U Ba Than used sixteen strings, adding two more stings.
Erik Ask-Upmark (Sweden) Celtic harp and nyckelharpa
Anna Rynefors Swedish bagpipes
Traditional Dråm music from Sweden
With their fresh and unique take on Nordic music, the Swedish musicians Erik Ask-Upmark and Anna Rynefors - known as ‘Dråm’ - have taken the roots music community by storm. With much charm and a big sense of humour, they perform traditional Nordic music in a captivating way that speaks to audiences everywhere. They are both ‘riksspelmän’ (a distinction awarded to the best players of traditional music in Sweden) and have toured extensively in Europe as well as in America. The quietness of Sweden’s wide open spaces shows through in the fragile melodies of this talented duo. A wonderful flow of ear-caressing musical sounds, performed with great skill on instruments such as the Celtic harp, Nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed fiddle) and Swedish bagpipes. Dråm approaches Swedish music with respect and love, imparting a contemporary and passionate character to tradition, while maintaining the very soul of it!
INTERVAL
Alèmu Aga (Ethiopia)
Harp of David - Begana music from Ethiopia
The singer and lyre player Alèmu Aga from Addis Abeba is considered to be the most virtuosic interpreter of Ethiopian religious songs. He accompanies himself on the begana, a stringed instrument also known as the Harp of David, but this is a misconception as that concerns a ten-stringed lyre. The instrument is said to have been given to King David by God and brought to Ethiopia together with the Ark of the Covenant. In Ethiopia, the instrument has an almost mythical status and many Ethiopians have a portrayal of it in their home for protection. Its distinguishing feature is the buzzing sound created by the strings when brought into contact with the instrument´s bridge, which produces an estranged, meditative effect. Just as intoxicating is Alèmu´s warm whispering voice as he performs the biblical psalms and sings of daily life in dreamy songs.
Carlos ‘Metralleta’ Orozco (Venezuela)
Caryasenri Orozco
Oneycar Glosaybis Orozco
Cristianne Franceline Orozco
Onelbis Tibisay Tovar Garcia
Traditional music from the llanos of Venezuela
Llanera is Venezuelan popular music originated in the ‘llanos’ plains. A llanero or the llaneros is the name given to Venezuelan and Colombian cowboys and means ‘plainsmen’. The llanero take their name from the Llanos grasslands occupying western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The llanero were originally part Spanish and Indian and have a strong culture including a distinctive form of music.
22 July (Tuesday)
Exhibition space nr 7, Mövenpick hotel
08:00 – 08:45 Feldenkrais session
Bodywork, Feldenkrais for Harpists
Irthe Aya Engelhard
The first half of the lesson will be spent on a general ‘warming-up’, by means of movements from several techniques. From toe to top we will work through our bodies, our balance and breathing. More body-awareness will be gained in the second half of the lesson. We will do a research to the relationship between legs/hips and arms/shoulders, and the benefit of a rotating spine in between … Obvious aim, of course: to be more comfortable with your harp. Your posture and sound will improve with less effort! This will be the theme of the three lessons taken as a unit. But each lesson will have its specific accent and can be taken as such. Please wear loose fitting clothes and bring a big towel.
Atrium, Mövenpick hotel
09:00 – 09:20 Aurora concert
Caroline Lizotte (Canada)
Valérie Milot (Canada)
Caroline Lizotte Raga for two harps
Raga for two harps was commissioned by the CBC in 2006 (recorded by harpists Jennifer Swartz and Lori Gemmell, Atma Classique Label).
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
09:30 – 10:15 Lecture
New music, innovation and the importance of collaboration
Sioned Williams (UK)
‘The excitement and passion I have in collaborating to create new works for the harp plays a vital role in my life as a musician. Diverse, innovative and accessible pieces have emerged from my association with a wide range of composers. New music is sometimes perceived as only for the commissioning elite, but young/new composers also require encouragement. As harpists at many different levels, we must secure the creation of inspirational and worthy compositions for the future.’
Works to be performed live/ listened to on CD/ discussed, include
Michael Berkeley, Anthony Bolton, David Graham-Ellis, Cyril Lloyd, Susan Rothstein, Michael Stimpson, Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour, and Hugh Webb.
Recital hall, Conservatorium van Amsterdam
09:30 – 10:40 Masterclass
Susann McDonald (USA)
Pieces by Henriette Renié (1875-1956)
Chelsea Sky Link (USA, 17)
Henriette Renié Légende
Marta Mogielnicka (Poland, 20)
Henriette Renié Contemplation
Dominika Ťukova (Czech Republic, 19)
Henriette Renié Danse des lutins
Bamzaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
11:00 – 11:45 Lecture
Life and work of Henriette Renié (1875-1956)
Virtuoso, Composer, and Teacher. Compositions and transcriptions for harp
Dr Jaymee Haefner (USA)
‘Do you love the harp?’ This question became