29709Laviniabooklet.qxd 07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina1 1 CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 29709 LAVINIA MEIJER HARP VISIONS BRITTEN | PATTERSON | BYRNES | YUN | TAKEMITSU 29709Laviniabooklet.qxd07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina2 2 LAVINIA MEIJER members of the Royal Concertgebouw Lavinia Meijer is recognized worldwide as Orchestra. one of the most succesful rising stars. Bornin From ayoung age on she has won major Korea in 1983 and adopted into aDutch music prizes, such as first prizes at the Dutch family,she now lives in The Netherlands. Harp Competition and the International Harp She studied harp under the guidance of Competition in Brussels, asecond prize at the Erika Waardenburg at the conservatories of International Harp Competition in Vienna and Utrecht and Amsterdam, where she received third prizes both at the International Harp her Bachelor and Masters degrees with the Competition in the USA and in Israel. Special highest distinction. In october 2009 Lavinia awards have been given to her in The Meijer was presented the “Nederlandse Netherlands and by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Muziekprijs” at the Amsterdam Concert- in Londen. Besides performing the standard gebouw by the Minister of Culture. This harp repertoire Lavinia Meijer is verykeen Dutch Music Prize, astate prize, is the on playing modernmusic. She is also highest award aclassical musician can interested in experiments with electronic obtain in The Netherlands. Since afew music, theatrical performances and jazz. She years she has toured as asolo-harpist across has inspired several composers to write new Europe and America, visiting the main compositions for the harp in all possible concerthalls as Dutch representative in the combinations, not only the violin also a series Rising Stars. In that context she gave saxophone quartet and even arock band. solo recitals in Athens, Brussels, Cologne, Composers as Garrett Byrnes, Carlos Vienna, Paris, Birmingham, Stockholm, Michans, Jacob ter Veldhuis (JacobTV) and Luxemburg and Amsterdam. She also played Hans Zender wrote new music for her.The at Carnegie Hall in New York and made her first cd she made for the Dutch label Channel debut with the Korean Symphony Orchestra Classics, “Divertissements”, got some raving at the Seoul Arts Center in januari 2009. In reviews. Classics Today wrote about it: “If Holland she played as asoloist with the you have room in your collection for only a Radio Kamer Philharmonie (Hilversum), the single solo harp recital, then let it be this Residentie Orkest of The Hague and the disc”, giving two 10s for both artistic and Concertgebouw Kamerorkest, consisting of sound quality. 2 29709Laviniabooklet.qxd07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina3 3 Garrett Byrnes: “Lavinia Meijer has given Paul Patterson: “Lavinia is an amazing many superb performances of my work musician with afantastic technique. Ilove Visions in Twilight for harp solo. Idedicated working with her because she is acompo- Villanelle (2007), acomposition for violin sers’ dream! Nothing is too much trouble for and harp and commissioned by her,with her because she is aperfectionist. Her per- admiration and respect to her”. formances of my music have been exception- al; watching her in action is ajoy!!” 3 29709Laviniabooklet.qxd07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina4 4 Iamsometimes asked to name my favorite stylistic period. It doesn’tmatter to me, as long as we’re talking about good compositions and Ican give them my own personal interpretation. It’strue that even as ayoung performer Idiscovered that Ihad an affinity for modernmusic. Iamparticularly interested by the technical and interpretative possibilities. It gives the performer asense of freedom. Ialso enjoy the challenge of making modernmusic, which is experienced by so many people as “difficult”, into something not only approachable but exciting. Personal contact with the composer is apriceless advantage here. Iwould never have been able performthe works which were written specially for me by Garret Byrnes, Carlos Michans, and Jacob TV (Jacob ter Veldhuis) with such conviction if the composers hadn’tbeen around. Music for the harp has been composed in everyimaginable style over the centuries, and in the process certain structures and “rules” have come into being which were largely obeyed by everyself-respecting composer.But in the last centurythings changed; the limits were extended. Afew composers, such as Carlos Salzedo, deliberately departed from the beaten path, even though it was sometimes astruggle before they could ultimately realise their personal visions. My experience has been similar.Ihave more or less demanded the right to experiment with new music in order to establish my own place on the concertplatform. “Visions” presents avaried picture of recent repertoire from the last forty years. The title, which derives from the work by Garrett Byrnes, seems to me to fit this CD and its experimental atmosphere. It is adeliberate contrast with “Divertissements” (Salzedo, Caplet, and Ibert), my first CD for Channel Classics. My interpretation of “Visions in Twilight” is intended as ahomage to the Turkish harpist Fatma Ceren Necipoglu, who died so tragically,atthe untimely age of 36, in the Air France crash of 1June 2009. Fatma gave the world premiere of this piece, which was written for her.Only afew days before her death, she performed it again during the fourth Rio Harp Festival. Lavinia Meijer 29709Laviniabooklet.qxd07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina5 5 BENJAMIN BRITTEN His first important contribution dates back to Benjamin Britten never denied that he was 1942, when the harp was the only instrument dependent on the surroundingsinwhich he which was added to the score of the choral composed, and the singers and instrumen- work “A Ceremony of Carols” (the harp talists for whom he composed. At the head only appears as asolo instrument during the of the list, of course, was his partner,tenor Interlude). Britten didn’treturntothe harp Peter Pears. The honor roll is impressive: until 1969 when he composed afive- from Kathleen Ferrier and Janet Baker to movement suite at the request of Osian Ellis. Dennis Brain and Osian Ellis, Msistislav He completed his opus 83 in March 1969, Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya. and Ellis gave the premiere at the Aldeburgh Britten: “As an artist, Iwant to serve the Festival in June of that year.“Ifeel it is rather community.Ibelong at home –there –in 18th centuryharp writing, but somehow it Aldeburgh. Ihave tried to bring music to it in came out that way,” the composer remarked the shape of our local festival; and all the at that time. Although the “Suite for Harp” music Iwrite comes from it. Ibelieve in is unjustly considered one of Btitten’sless roots, in associations, in background, in remarkable compositions, he himself was a personal relationships. Iwant my music to bit too modest about its quality and origi- be of use to people, to please them, to nality.The last movement, ahymn, consists of enhance their lives…”. Nevertheless, Britten five variations on a“Welsh tune”. This is a was anything but an obsequious or lazy direct compliment to Osian Ellis, the harpist composer.Itwas not until he had clearly who commissioned the work. Ellis was closely defined his goal and firmly established it in involved in the creation and publication of the his mind that he could derive inspiration Suite. Beginning in 1973, after apartially from the musician whom he had in mind. unsuccessful heartoperation made it Although his interest in the harp dated from impossible for Britten to accompany Peter early in his life, and he even contemplated Pears on the piano any longer,heproduced writing aharp concerto, things never went several other compositions for voice and that far.Inthe beginning the harp’splace in harp, including the fifth Canticle (“The death his oeuvre remained largely limited to of Saint Narcissus”) and folk song settings orchestral parts. (“A Birthday Hansel”) 5 29709Laviniabooklet.qxd 07-10-2009 11:29pagePagina6 6 PAUL PATTERSON symbolize the spider.Moreover,hefirst Osian Ellis also played an important role in thought of the idea after avisit to Australia, the career of English composer Paul acountryrich in everyimaginable variety of Patterson. Patterson received his first spiders. There he made asudden acquain- commission for aharp composition from the tance with the Red-Backed Spider,which North Wales Festival, via Ellis. “Spiders” prefers to live inside atoilet. “Spiders” originally consisted of three movements. Ellis presents aportrait of the four most deadly gave the premiere of the work in this formin spiders: not only the red one, but also the 1984. The official premiere came ayear Dancing White Lady,the Black Widow,and later,atthe Wigmore Hall. Patterson began in conclusion, the Tarantula, whose poiso- his musical career as abrass player (“I went nous bite supposedly causes “a hysterical into the Academy as atrombonist and came impulse to dance”. In 2006, Patterson out as acomposer!”). His teachers included produced asequel to “Spiders” with the Elisabeth Lutyens and Richard Rodney triptych “Bugs”, which was written for the Bennett. He was Head of Composition and harpist and teacher Skaila Kanga. “Late ContemporaryMusic at the Royal Academy Night ANT-ics!”, the jazzy opening move- of Music from 1987 to 1997. His ment, is marked “Swing Tempo”. The gentler versatility and the ease with which he is able second movement clearly demonstrates to compose for awide variety of settings Patterson’sunderstanding of the technical have made him one of the most frequently possibilities of the modernharp. In the third performed composers in England. The movement, “Mosquito Massacre”, the influence of jazz on his work can also be harpist has to stage atheatrical scene. All clearly heard in his imaginative harp suites: of the added features, which are meant to compositions filled with humour and be performed by aplayer annoyed by a sometimes exciting passages which could “buzzing mosquito”, are precisely notated in almost have come from afilm score. the score. In the case of “Spiders”, Patterson drew his inspiration from the harp’sappearance, with GARRETT BYRNES the numerous strings forming asortofweb.