of Hartford. It will take place this month. Vera Dulova is a member of the jury.
I asked her in an interview, «What place would you say the harp has in modern music?»
«In the last two or three decades it has become a more important solo instrument. Before then, it was considered a salon instrument, on which the daughters of rich and aristocratic families strummed their ‘nocturnes.’ Now the repertory for the harp has been much enlarged. Prokofiev, Khachaturyan, Hindemith, Casella and many others have composed for the instrument. Paul Creston wrote an interesting rhapsody for the harp, which Khachaturyan likes very much. The famous composer once dropped into my class and heard one of my pupils playing it. ‘What charming music!’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s so new, and yet the novelty does not outshine the music.’ Marcel Grandjany, American composer and harpist, composed a lovely Fantasia on a Haydn Theme. There are some interesting arrangements for the harp by Professor Aristid von Wurtzler of Hartt College from the work of Handel, Corelli, Vivaldi and other composers. In short, solo harpists now have a large repertory to choose from.»
«I suppose the harp also has a larger place in the modern orchestra?»
«Unfortunately not. The older composers wrote far more interesting orchestra scores for the harp. This is especially true of the ballet. Take Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker, for instance. They all have lovely solos and variations and enchanting adagios. Glazunov’s ballet, Raymonda, and Asafyev’s ballet, Fountain of Bakhchisarai, have brilliant scores for the harp. At one time it was traditional for a ballet to have solos for the harp, violin and cello. Unhappily, contemporary ballet composers have abandoned this tradition. I say unhappily because the harp adds a very beautiful and warm tonal effect to the orchestra score.»
«Will you tell us something about the Soviet harpists who are competing?»
«Emilia Moskvitina, Natasha Shameyeva, Tatyana Tauer and Irina Blokha will be playing at Hartford.
Moskvitina and Shameyeva won prizes at the contest in lsrael. Tauer and Blokha are competing internationally for the first time. I’m making no forecasts; the one thing I do know is that the competition will be stiff. The program is very difficult and most of the participants are experienced. About our girls, Moskvitina is first harpist in the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kondrashin. Besides, she gives a recital annually, each time with a new program. Moskvitina is a fine musician-her technique is brilliant, and she is completely at home with the harp. There are times l wish her renditions were a little less perfect, a little more spontaneous… But that, of course, depends on the character of the piece she is playing.»
«What is she best at the classics or modern music?»
«She plays everything well but the classics are her forte. Her rendition of Handel’s Concerto, as arranged by von Wurtzler, is simply superb.»
«And Shameyeva is a different type of musician?»
«Oh, yes, Shameyeva is completely unlike Moskvitina. The two compete all the time. At the contest in Leningrad Moskvitina came out first and Shameyeva second. In Tel Aviv Moskvitina was second and Shameyeva third. She is a talented harpist, a lyricist by nature. Moskvitina is all flame, sparks and fireworks — she breaks through to her audience immediately. Shameyeva captivates you with her wonderfully deep penetration into the artistic texture of the composition, into that cherished realm of emotion to which, of all the arts, music is closest. Shameyeva finished a graduate course and is now an assistant in my department at the conservatory.»
«I understand that Tatyana Tauer is something of a phenomenon.»
«Yes, Tauer is amazingly talented. At 23, she is taking a graduate course, after finishing the conservatory last year. She won out over difficult competition and is now on trial in the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mravinsky. A very promising harpist, a virtuoso of great temperament and drive, she is already playing the first harp. Her temperament sometimes gets the better of her. For Tatyana, playing under a conductor like Mravinsky should be an excellent discipline. I’m hoping that Leningrad weather will cool her down a little.»
«And the youngest of the lot?»
«lrina Blokha. Though only 19, she is in her third year in my class. Irina graduated from a children’s ten-year music school in Kharkov. She studied with Anna Gelrot, one of our oldest teachers.
lrina is really special. Moskvitina, Shameyeva and Tauer are finished harpists; Blokha is not on the same level there. But she has remarkable gifts. She gets an exquisite tone, her technique is fine, and she is very musical. In short, she has everything! It is a pleasure to work with her-you don’t have to say anything twice. She understands what you want at a glance. I haven’t had a pupil like her for a long time.»
«At what age can a child learn to play the harp?»
«We begin training children as early as eight or nine. And they play the big concert harp from the start. There is a harp class in almost every district seven-year music school and in every secondary music school. On finishing the seven-year school, the young harpist enters a college of music, and then goes on to the conservatory. Those who have no instruments of their own practice on the school harps. The conservatory lends the student an instrument for home practice if he needs one.»
«I understand that there is a big demand for harps in our country. Do we make them?»
«We do. Their production started right before my eyes. In 1937, when I began to teach at