French harpist Xavier de Maistre released a new album dedicated to the music of George Frideric Handel on Nov. 14, 2025, on the Sony Music label. Joined by the Festival Strings Lucerne, de Maistre presents not only the Concerto in B flat major, HWV 294 (Handel’s only harp concerto), but also two organ concertos arranged for harp (Concerto for Organ in D minor, HWV 309, and Concerto for Organ in F major, HWV 293). The album (simply titled Händel) also features four short works arranged for solo harp, harp and piano, and harp and accordion. Händel is available in CD and digital download formats and via streaming services.
A frequent recital soloist and orchestral soloist, de Maistre has taught at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, since 2001. He won first prize (and two interpretation prizes) at the 1998 USA International Harp Competition. That same year, he became the first French musician to hold a position at the Vienna Philharmonic after being appointed solo harpist (a position he held until 2010).
Learn more about de Maistre in the November-December 2019 issue of Harp Column.
