Kudos to the DFP for organizing a very interesting harp concert. Ex-VPO harpist Xavier de Maistre presented 2 harp concertos - the first by Boieldieu and the second was by Haydn. Flanking the two harp concertos at this concert on 12 February 2011 was Mozart's Serenata Notturna K 239 (with principals from the MPO taking on the solo string parts) and Haydn's Farewell Symphony.
The Mozart was well played but the soloists seemed submerged in the musical texture and they did not stand out except for the prolix cadenzas that each played. Harpist de Maistre then played Boieldieu Harp Concerto superbly. This composer also played the harp and obviously he understood how to write the correct figurations for this lovely instrument.
After the interval, de Maistre treated us to a less-satisfactory performance of Haydn's Harp Concerto in D major. Normally, this is heard most of the time as a keyboard concerto. In my musical opinion, this concerto should remain a keyboard concerto and should not be transcribed as a harp concerto. The rapid figurations in the outer movements naturally did not work out very well in concert and there were quite a few finger slips by de Maistre.
At the end, we were treated to a fine performance of the Farewell Symphony by the MPO and maestro Claus Peter Flor. Yet again, this symphony had been performed at the DFP hall before. Surely, it is time for the DFP to invest in new musical scores - rather than re-hash the old library music.
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