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The Harp's Journey, with Catrin Finch

The Harp's Journey, with Catrin Finch: Episode 2

Catrin Finch: Travels with my Harp

Episode 2

BBC Radio 3 - The Harp's Journey, with Catrin Finch, Episode 2

Catrin Finch's travels continue as she shows how the harp has reclaimed the centre stage.

Catrin Finch's travels continue, as she considers how the harp has reclaimed its place centre stage, with music by Britten, Rimsky-Korsakov, Poulenc and Michel Legrand.

One of our oldest instruments, the harp has a long and noble history attached to it. From ancient Egypt, to troubadours and princely courts, the harp has held audiences captive over centuries. Instantly recognisable, its gilded beauty proudly announces its presence, yet beyond the glamour of its appearance, and a prominent position in the modern orchestra, it remains one of the least well-known instruments in the classical world.

As a touring musician, Catrin Finch has encountered music from the classical world and a host of other traditions. All of them have helped to shape her thinking and her knowledge of her instrument. In this three-part series the acclaimed virtuoso shares her insights, taking us on a surprising and a very personal journey.

As the leading harpist of her generation, Catrin Finch has done a huge amount to move the harp to centre stage. Historically a solo instrument, in the 19th century composers came to recognise the harp's value as an orchestral instrument. The music of Berlioz, Mahler or Tchaikovsky would be unthinkable without the harp.

In this programme, Catrin Finch reveals the surprising number of avenues down which she and other prominent figures have taken the harp. Moving the harp firmly back into the spotlight across every kind of genre, she talks about her own collaboration with composer John Rutter and the challenges of transcribing JS Bach's Goldberg Variations.  The celebrated harpist Osian Ellis's collaboration with Benjamin Britten resulted in an iconic contribution to harp repertoire, while Catherine Michel's association with Michel Legrand took the harp into the field of cinema. The innovations of Alexander Boldachev, part of a new generation of performers, are pushing the instrument's boundaries in yet more unexpected directions. 

With music from: 

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique 
II: le Bal 
Les siècles
François-Xavier Roth, director 

Mahler: Symphony no 5
II: Adagietto 
Vienna Philharmonic
Pierre Boulez, conductor 

Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Boldachev   
Fantaisie, op 14 after Shéhérazade, op 35 
Alexander Boldachev, harp 

Legrand: Les parapluies de Cherbourg, Suite for harp and Orchestra 
Catherine Michel, harp 
Grandes Orchestre Symphonie 
Michel Legrand, conductor 

JS Bach arr. Catrin Finch: Goldberg Variations 
Catrin Finch, harp 

Poulenc, arr I. Moretti: A sa guitare, FP 79 
Felicity Lott, soprano
Isabelle Moretti, harp 

Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp    
II: Andantino 
Marisa Robles, harp
James Galway, flute 
Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields 
Neville Marriner, director 

De Falla, arr Grandjany: 
La vida breve
Xavier de Maistre, harp 

Salzedo: 5 Preludes  
II: Quietude 
Alice Giles, harp 

Rodrigo: Concierto d’Aranjuez arr by Rodrigo for harp    
3. Allegro gentile    
Naoko Yoshino (harp)
Orchestre d'Auvergne 
Roberto Forés Veses, conductor 

Britten: Suite for harp, op 83   
2. Toccata   
Osian Ellis, harp 

Rutter: Lullabi for Pegi 
Catrin Finch, harp 
Symphonia Cymru 
John Rutter, conductor

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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Catrin Finch shares her insights, taking us on a surprising and a very personal journey.

In this three-part series, the acclaimed virtuoso Catrin Finch shares her insights, taking us on a surprising and a very personal journey.

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The Harp's Journey, with Catrin Finch

Episode 2

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