Interview, Harp Concertos from Anneleen Lenaerts

Young Belgian harpist Anneleen Lenaerts leaps in at the deep end with her latest album – tackling not one but three concerti. Glière's ever-popular, melodious work is balanced by the South European voice of Joaquin Rodrigo, and the album rounded off with a work from Lennaerts' native Flanders, Joseph Jongen's concerto from 1944.

Each of these works presents a different side to the harp - Glière's style is relatively musically conservative, Rodrigo's concerto is an arrangement of an original guitar work, and Jongen is in a class of his own, mixing Impressionistic, Romantic and other idioms into his own unique style.

I asked Anneleen about her approach to these works, and about the often turbulent circumstances that gave rise to them.

Since the harp version of the Concierto de Aranjuez was not merely endorsed but written by Rodrigo himself, clearly it is just as legitimate as the more common guitar version. But how much do you think the change of instrument changes the work's personality?

It's true that we feel very lucky that Rodrigo himself has made the arrangement of this world famous piece for harp. He has worked closely with Nicanor Zabaleta to find the best possible way to make the typical guitar techniques work on harp. However it's important that listeners don't listen to the harp version with the guitar version in mind, but listen to discover the new colours that a harp adds to this piece. The harp has the option to add very rich, deep and lyrical sounds, which definitely has an advantage in the second movement and most definitely in the dialogue and balance with the orchestra.

Jongen's concerto was written at the height of the Second World War, indeed around the time Belgium was being fought over prior to its liberation. Do you get any sense of it being a "wartime" work, or did Jongen manage to keep his music insulated from the troubles of the world outside?

I think Jongen definitely managed to keep his music insulated from this horrible time. Especially in his harp concerto, throughout the whole work is a positive feeling, light pulsations, open harmonies… At the same time his music is very sensitive and emotional, so it might be that he is expressing his feelings in this part, but it's never in a dark or heavy way. The atmosphere throughout the piece even develops to end in a festive allegro vivo.

Gliere’s musical conservatism certainly made survival under the whims of the Soviet musical authorities easier for him than for, say, Shostakovich or Prokofiev. But how much do you think this popular, Romantically-inspired musical voice was his true style, and how much a pragmatic concession to the artistic demands of the Party?

Having had the privilege of being invited by Glière's granddaughter Senta and great grandson Kiril to perform his concerto in Moscow recently, I've had the chance to discuss this matter with his relatives.

Surprisingly, Glière was never a member of any political party, and even managed to avoid membership of the Communist Party, something that was incredible at the time. The second interesting fact is that he wasn't Stalin's friend like many suppose, and they didn't even ever met. It is even a mystery for his family how he managed to stay independent, given his popularity at the time. It seems he devoted himself deeply to artistic work and composing, refusing government positions many times, before being asked to be the head of the composers' union, since they believed he would be the only one to unite composers from different nations and traditions.

Glière had always been attracted to the national Russian tradition, writing cantabile lyricism, rich and colourful harmonies, bright colours and traditional forms, something you can find in the harp concerto as well – a style preferred by the Soviets, which might have made it easier for him than for other composers like Shostakovich or Prokofiev.

After the Gliere and Rodrigo, perhaps two of the biggest pillars of the concertante harp repertoire, where do you go from here? Can you tell us anything about your future recording plans…?

Of course I feel very lucky to have had the chance to record these 2 important works in the harp repertoire, but there is definitely a lot more to explore! To expand the harp repertoire, I think it's very important to keep motivating composers to write for our instrument. Among others, I will premiere a new concerto by Kalevi Aho next season. Next to a new solo CD coming up, I will record a chamber music CD with Dionysis Grammenos – winner of the Grand Prix d’ Eurovision and ECHO Rising Star – an interesting combination of harp and clarinet.