top-notch orchestral harpists

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi everyone!

Who are some of the most exemplary harpists of the orchestral world, in your opinion?

Jerusha

[william-weber]

Ann Hobson-Pilot, to begin with. I heard her play Debussy’s “Dances Sacred and Profane”, and IIRC, that harp part was originally written for a Pleyel. That’s a lot of accidentals in not a lot of time!

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Beatrice Schroeder Rose is my hero for writing that great book The Harp in the Orchestra!

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Margarita Montanaro. I am more familiar with the players of the past: Zighera, Costello, Druzinsky, Chalifoux, Mainzer, and others. I haven’t heard many of the orchestras since the positions turned over. Margarita has a remarkable sense of tone color and ability to be in sync with the orchestra. She plays extremely musically, very artistically, and many concertgoers have remarked on that to me.

[Jerusha Amado]

Thanks to all for replying!

[william-weber]

Judy Rose banged out crystal-clear harmonics in Concord Symphony’s performance of Holst’s “Uranus, the Magician” this past weekend. I am told she teaches at Longy School.

[WJMinDC@comcast.net]

William, I’m quite certain the name of the harpist you mention is Judy Ross.

[william-weber]

My typing mistake – Judy Ross it was.

[tony-morosco]

Doug Rioth of the San Francisco Symphony. I have hard him play with the SF symphony for years. He is a great soloist and a great orchestral player. My only complaint is that the symphony doesn’t do nearly enough harp concertos to show off his talent, but of course I am biased on that account.

[Harp One]

Absolutely, The Great Sarah Bullen!!!!!
10 years with New York Philharmonic and now with Chicago Symphony.

I don`t know about 1960s or 1970s when the competition was not —-.

[barbara-brundage]

>I don`t know about 1960s or 1970s when the competition was not —-.

So you think that Druzinsky, Chalifoux, Costello, Zighera, Rosen, Loman, Ellis, Watkins, et al were a bunch of slouches? Interesting perspective.

There have always been more extraordinary harpists than orchestral jobs. I have to say I’m puzzled by this entire thread: you don’t get a major symphony job if you aren’t “extraordinary”, never did.

[Jerusha Amado]

I know a harpist (whom I won’t name) of a major symphony who isn’t extraordinary, and even she would admit that she isn’t.

[barbara-brundage]

Well, I think it’s partly a question of ‘extraordinary at what’, too, Jerusha. Anyone who can deal with the incredible demands of that kind of schedule and keep the gig *is* extraordinary in at least some ways. 🙂

[Jerusha Amado]

<>

Yes, absolutely!

[Harp One]

As a harpist myself, I do know there are lots of great harpists who play in the orchestra or not. That is my basic thinking.

It happens anywhere.. Someone works really hard and someone is just lucky.
But I could say luck is also “extraordinary at something”

[Author]

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