This week marks the retirement of Margarita Csonka Montanaro after 51 years as a harpist with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Montanaro was hired by Eugene Ormandy, and also worked with Leopold Stokowski. In 1994 she was named co-principal harpist, working alongside principal harpist Elizabeth Hainen who describes her as “an amazing musical force.” That year she also received The Philadelphia Orchestra’s C. Hartman Kuhn Award given to “a musician who has shown both musical ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the musical standards and reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.” Montanaro attended the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Carlos Salzedo and Marilyn Costello, with whom she also played alongside as second harpist for many years. She is a founder of the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble and is married to Donald Montanaro, retired associate principal clarinet of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
