featured in this issue
With thousands of moving parts, lots can go wrong on a pedal harp. But here are five things you can make right! There is plenty to love about the harp. Clearly we’re all on in agreement here, otherwise we wouldn’t be playing the harp, or reading a harp magazine, for that matter! On occasion, though, […]
What music do you crave when you need something warm and nourishing? he cold, blustery days of winter are upon us. While the snow is falling and the wind is howling outside, inside you throw on a warm sweater and sit down at the harp. You know you should work on some Bochsa etudes or […]
The premiere of a new concerto for four harps is enough to make headlines. When it is composed, conducted, and performed by musicians in one family? Well, that’s enough to make history. —by Charlene Connor here are certain family names that are synonymous with their chosen professions. Politics has the Kennedy family, American football has […]
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departments
Save yourself and your colleagues headaches from rental parts. When you rent—whether it’s a car, a beach house, or even a harp—you are at the mercy of the previous renters. What you have to work with can be less than ideal—beat up, messy, poorly maintained. The same is true when it comes to rental music. […]
Getting your fill is a piece of cake. I love a good potluck dinner. Who doesn’t? Filling your plate high with an array of meatloafs, Jell-O salads, mystery crockpot casseroles, and enough deviled eggs to stuff yourself silly. You’d think, given my penchant for potlucks, that I would love the all-you-can-eat buffet, but you won’t […]
Reviews and more
Agnes Clement, harp; Lyon & Healy Records, 2012. 4.5 harps (Note: recording reviews prior to 2014 were based on a 5-star system.) When you go to a recital or put a brand new disc into your player, there’s always that little frisson of the unknown. “Will I love it or won’t I?” you ask yourself. […]
Elizabeth Hainen, harp; Michael Stern, conductor; IRIS Orchestra; Jeffrey Khaner, flute; Roberto Diaz, viola; Avie, 2013. 4.75 harps (Note: recording reviews prior to 2014 were based on a 5-star system.) It boggles the mind to think that Claude Debussy was working in an almost mercenary fashion as one harp maker was trying to outdo another. […]
Billy Joel isn’t just the piano man anymore. —by Jan Jennings Billy Joel has been a pop icon for decades. Although he hasn’t released an album of new songs in 20 years, his Grammy-winning, multi-platinum songs are among our most beloved standards. It is our good fortune that Hal Leonard recently published a collection of […]
Q: A former student asked me to play for her wedding. Should I charge? If so, should it be my normal fee? Honored and privileged: two words I’d use to describe my feelings of being asked to provide the music for the most important day in anyone’s life. And to be able to do this […]
All about Leon Fleisher. One of the preeminent pianists of his generation, Leon Fleisher performed with the New York Philharmonic at age 16 under Pierre Monteux who called Fleisher “the pianstic find of the century.” In 1952 he became the first American to win the prestigious Quezen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition. At the height of his success […]