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Several of Salzedo’s Suite of Eight Dances can be played on a lever harp: the Menuet, Polka, Siciliana, Tango; and several solos are in the Art of Modulating, including Petite Valse, but his best solo would be the Diatonic Variations on the Carnival in Venice theme, for lever harp.
Niina, to me that is not enough contrast. I would not add the Nocturne by Glinka to the Variations, especially if you are doing the version with a nocturne variation. Do you have something from a later period that you already know? How about the Debussy Arabesque, for example?
The big benefit pianists have is their exposure to the music of great composers, and a broader repertoire, which gives them a better perspective, in some cases, on harp literature. The piano has its equivalent literature to the “harpy literature” but it has gone out of fashion (only to be replaced by stuff like Lorie Line or John Tesh!)
I have practiced this a lot, and it seems to be a part worth learning and memorizing to be able to play it well, because it is very beautiful and exposed, and very important to the piece, like Bartok’s Violin Concerto no. 2.
That reminds me of a related topic: what do pit harpists do when they have a whole opera to not play? Do they go out for dinner? Knit? Read? All of the above?
Salzedo’s rubric was: speculate on the harmony. In other words, play what you wish that simulates what is written, and is the same harmony.
Has anyone found a trace of the music Salzedo said he wrote for the Clark Irish Harp, including Bi-Tonal Jig? Perhaps he never did them, but they are not in his archives and were not published. I wonder if Melville Clark had the only copies.
There are small things you can do to improve one’s credit, like applying for a Macy’s card and paying the bill on time, or try a Discover card.
You should take the factory tour before you buy a harp. You would be overwhelmed, I think, and less able to make a wise choice. And you want to go when they have a good selection of used harps. Such as now, there are, I think, three style 15s at Lyon & Healy, which would be excellent for you. Getting some exposure to many harps, finding what it is like to try a lot of them, will give you a better sense of what to do when shopping to buy. La Luce is a little pricey, but good. You should have at least $25 on you, in case you need a taxi or something, just keep it concealed.
I never saw this one, but I heard about it, a harp on wheels for the wheelchair-bound harpist. It had straps to attach it to the chair, so it wouldn’t roll away. The wheels were attached next to the rear feet.
I think that is unnecessarily pessimistic. I lived through a period in which a generation began retiring, and for every opening in a major orchestra, the harpist who is given that position leaves one or more other positions open. We are fortunate that orchestras still consider it prestigious to have a full-time harpist, or two, and we could work to support that. We really need to advocate for our profession and not be passive about the future. Not having a harpist only makes an orchestra less flexible, not to mention two harpists.
