GINASTERA - BOIELDIEU: Harp Concertos [CD de audio] Staatskapelle Dresden, Ginastera - Boildieu and Siegfried Kurz

This album explores the rarity of the classical repertoire, the harp concerto. The musical characteristics of the harp can provide something of a challenge to the composer if he is writing a concerto for the instrument, but this disc features two wonderful examples that show almost infinite possibilities. The Frenchman François Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834) was probably best known for his 40 operas, but after developing a close friendship with Sébastien Érard, the piano maker who was researching and implementing improvements to the harp mechanism, Boieldieu began writing pieces for the harp. With the lyricism of the instrument highlighted in the andante second movement, over moving slow strings, and the rapid work of the fingers dominating the finale allegro agitato, Boieldieu's concerto stands out markedly from that of Alberto Ginastera. Here, after a few almost aggressive and fiery bars, the music gradually progresses towards strange chromaticism in the second movement. An extensive virtuoso solo cadenza then marks the beginning of the finale, in which a series of tense chords announce the abrupt end of the piece. The concertos are performed by Jutta Zoff, who was at the peak of his brilliant career at the time of recording. The German harpist had been a favorite soloist of the Staatskapelle Dresden since 1967 and enjoyed touring Europa , the United States and the Middle East. The orchestra is conducted by Siegfried Kurz.