THE ARTIST
One of the leading harpists internationally, Ina Zdorovetchi enjoys a busy career as prominent soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and recording artist. She has been hailed as "The Harp Whisperer"(Savannah Morning News), "a local pride", "excellent harpist" (Boston Globe) and "accomplished and hypnotizing" (Classical Voice of New England). Soloist credits include appearances with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Moldova National Philharmonic, Moldova State Radio Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Northwest Sinfonietta. Zdorovetchi was featured in performances at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, American Harp Society National Conference, World Harp Congress, Savannah Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center and has recorded for Sony, Naxos, BMOP/sound, WGBH-Boston and BSO, in collaboration with artists such as Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Tyler, Boston Pops, Natalie Merchant, Chris Botti and many more.
In 2009, Zdorovetchi earned the top prize and multiple special prizes at the world's most prestigious harp competition - The 17th International Harp Contest in Israel. In addition she is the 2nd Prize winner at the Cite des Arts de Paris International Competition, Ist Prize winner at the Bucharest International Harp Competition and her work has been honored by numerous additional awards for solo and chamber music achievements.
THE ALBUM
"Un Sospiro" is a beautiful collection of harp masterworks recorded by acclaimed harpist Ina Zdoroveţchi. The album is anchored by two of the greatest sonata forms in the harp repertoire. Marcel Tournier's Sonatine, Op. 30 is a perfectly structured and technically demanding staple using a vibrant range of tone colors, while Hindemith's Harp Sonata (his only work for the instrument) displays a complex and programmatic concept of which the composer wrote: "On the parvis, in front of the cathedral, the door opens, one listens to the organ. In the end the shadows grow longer and longer, the sun descending at the end of an afternoon." (for Massig Schnell) / "Children playing around the churchyard" (for Lebhaft - lively scherzo). The final movement Sehr langsam's motto is Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty's (1748–1776) Lied:
O my friends, when I am dead and gone,
Hang the little harp there behind the altar
Where on the wall the shimmering half-light catches
The funeral wreaths of many a departed maiden.
Then the good sexton will show the little harp
To visitors, stirring it to sound
As he touches the red ribbon that hangs from the harp
And floats beneath the golden strings.
"Often," he says in wonder, "at sunset,
The strings unbidden murmur like humming bees:
The children, called hither from the churchyard,
Have heard it, and seen the wreaths a-quiver."
Israeli composer Yitzhak Yedid writes about Out To Infinity (2009): “imagine yourselves arriving in a place which is very distant from your usual place - a beautiful place, like a gateway to the Garden of Eden. Time stands still in place and you feel as if in a dream. And yet, you also feel disconnected, somewhat afraid and filled with longing. Thoughts and imaginings in such an isolated and quiet place are infinite...”. Created during a month long stay in Australia, the work makes extensive use of Eastern intervals and is comprised of short images/leitmotifs such as: The Hidden Wisdom - Kind and Gentle Voice - Infinity - Fragments of Dance - The Man's Group/The Women's Group - Time Stands Frozen - Prayer Dance - The Calm after the Storm. The ending Infinity motif is a gradual descent through the harp's registers until one can descend no further, reaching the point that marks the instrument's finite, physical end - and the imagination's spiritual infinity. Numerous sound effects are present throughout, such as the opening "thunder effect" (a dissonant cluster clashing the wire strings as loud as possible), clapping on the sound board, pedal slides, Bartok pizzicato, "wind whistle" (sliding on the wire strings).
One of the greatest champions of the harp's wonderful resources was the French harpist, performer, composer and pedagogue Henriette Renié (a contemporary of Debussy and Ravel). In her unceasing effort to prove the instrument's potential, Renié wrote a great number of challenging compositions that are rarely performed on the concert stage. Inspired by the tragic loss of the composer's cousin, the programmatic Pièce Symphonique en trois episodes is a reflection on the process of grief. The dramatic introduction suggesting the power of fate becomes an ominous Marche Funebre at the end of which an unsettling cadenza brings us to the agitated Appassionata section, evoking the pain, the disbelief, the revolt against death. The finale's transcending power comes from the work's motto: “La pensée des espérances futures, ne détruit pas la douleur, elle la transfigure”/ “The thought of future hopes, does not kill the pain, it transfigures it”.
J.S.Bach's Partita I, BWV 825 is a set of dances crowned by the beautifully flowing Praeludium as well as the wavy and ornamental Sarabande. The foremost Impressionist composer, Claude Debussy, wrote about Reverie: "It is a work of no consequence. I frankly consider it absolutely no good." - a most surprising statement given that it has now become a favorite with audiences for its melodic serenity and delicate texture. Despite the fact that Franz Liszt's Un Sospiro (from Italian - A Sigh), the third of the Trois Etudes de Concert, is an advanced study for piano, the writing of continuous flowing arpeggios balanced with a dramatic crossing hands melody makes it a perfect selection to play on the harp.
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