Month: March 2015

  • Sunday Spotlight for March 29th, 2015

    To start this week, a link that got posted on one of the harp email lists I’m on (hat-tip to Janis) – “Musical Migrants” about musical emigrants from the Val d’Agri (Italy).  Tons of pictures of harps and a fascinating read: http://www.youblisher.com/p/813853-Italian-Historical-Society-Journal-Musical-migrants Then, I saw this come by on my facebook feed – pretty funny…

  • New video series – Slow Motion Monday!

    While doing my last Harp Tuesday episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YcSwbtjYA4 which features a look at me playing in slow motion) I got the idea to start a new video series. On the weeks when I don’t do a Harp Tuesday episode, instead I’ll do a “Slow Motion Monday” video.  These videos will be quite short – a…

  • Sunday Spotlight for March 22, 2015

    Last week I linked to Dame Janet Baker singing Elgar’s “Sea Pictures” – here’s a short video of her talking about stage fright: I stumbled across this symphony on YouTube yesterday by contemporary composer Andrei Golovin – I quite like it (notice also the very effective use of the piano in an orchestral setting): And…

  • New Harp Tuesday episode is up! Slow motion scales and more

  • Sunday Spotlight for March 15th

    One of my favourite moments at the World Harp Congress in 2011 was listening to Sylvain Blassel give a spellbind performance of the entire Bach Goldberg Variations.  Here’s a video of him playing a portion of it: (You can buy his recording of the entire Variations on iTunes) Just played the harp part in Elgar’s…

  • Sunday Spotlight for March 8, 2015

    It’s International Women’s Day today!  Here’s a fascinating look at the gender makeup of the “top 20” US orchestras.  Last week I posted a link to an interview with 100 year old former MET harpist, Reinhardt Elster.  In the interview there’s a passing reference to the fact that back when he was hired orchestras were…

  • Sunday Spotlight for March 1st, 2015

    To lead off with this week, a link that came up on both my facebook feed and one of the harp email lists I’m a part of – an article about 100 year old former MET harpist, Reinhardt Elster. And then, speaking of harpists from an earlier era, here’s a video from 1963 of Marie-Claire…