Glière, Mosolov: Harp Concertos

Romantic harp concertos, including the famous Glière Concerto and the fantastic Mosolov Concerto.

This album by French harpist Xavier de Maistre contains an interesting combination and variety of two romantic harp concertos by Reinhold Glière and Glière's pupil Alexander Mosolov, as well as two individual pieces by Alexander Glasunov and de Maistre's own arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".

The Harp Concerto op. 74 by Reinhold Glière (1874-1956) is one of his most frequently performed and most popular works. With figures of great beauty and suppleness, cascading arpeggios and glissandi, it underlines the virtuosity of the harp. In direct response to Glière's concerto, his pupil Alexander Mosolov (1900-1973) also wrote a harp concerto. It is characterised by simple, traditional melodies, often played by the harp with figures and arpeggios; especially in the first movement, the harp is introduced with numerous solos and cadenzas.

Xavier de Maistre chose the "Prelude et La Romanesca" from "Raymonda" by Alexander Glasunov (1865-1936) as a tribute to the ballet. The prelude is only a short prelude to the "Romanesca", it shows the main character of the ballet, Raymonda, playing the lute while the beautiful arpeggios of the lute are played by the harp.

The last piece on the album is Xavier de Maistre's own harp arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (1840-1861) from The Nutcracker, op. 71. Originally written for the celesta, Xavier de Maistre discovered that it sounded even better on the harp.