Tjasha Gafner will release her new solo album, From Keys to Strings, on Oct. 10 on the Genuin Classics label. The album will be available as a physical CD and digital download and on streaming platforms.
“The album is dedicated entirely to my own transcriptions for harp of works by Bach, Haydn, and Mozart—a project very close to my heart,” Gafner says. In her program notes from the album booklet, she adds, “For more than seven years, I have been writing my own arrangements, out of love for the instrument, the music, and the process of writing. Whether for solo harp or chamber music, this practice allows for a deeper understanding not only of the piece being arranged but also of the instrument itself. I have never worried about the technical difficulties a piece might present in terms of arranging. The emotional impact always comes first, and I strive to find solutions to make this passion possible.”
Gafner won first prize and the audience prize in harp at the 72nd ARD International Music Competition in 2023 and also earned the opportunity to produce a CD, awarded by Genuin Classics as a special prize. Gafner has received more than 20 additional awards, winning first prizes at competitions such as the Martine Géliot Harp Competition (France, 2016), Suoni d’Arpa (Italy, 2014), and the International Harp Competition Felix Godefroid (Belgium, 2012). In 2023, she was selected by the German newspaper Die Zeit as one of the 30 significant personalities under 30 in Germany.
Since the age of 10, Tjasha Gafner has performed regularly in solo recitals in Germany, France, Italy, England, Belgium, Ukraine, Australia, and Hong Kong, in historic halls such as the Berliner Philharmonie and Wiener Konzerthaus. She has been invited to perform as a soloist with orchestras such as Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Jeunes Virtuoses de New York, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and London Mozart Players. She was invited to perform on Swiss radio and television, German radio (BR-Klassik), and French radio (France Musique). Since 2020, Tjasha Gafner has been working with the theater company 2B Company and regularly tours throughout Europe.
Born in Switzerland, Gafner completed a soloist master’s degree with Letizia Belmondo at the University of Music Lausanne (HEMU). She then continued her studies with Nancy Allen, graduating from the Juilliard School in New York. Gafner recorded her first CD at the age of 18, and she recorded two more albums in collaboration with flutist Héléna Macherel in 2021. In addition to transcribing works for the harp, she collaborates with composers such as Heinz Holliger, Ziyi Tao, Jake Safirstein, and Laurent Coulomb, who have dedicated works to her.
Watch the first single below.
