Elizabeth Hainen, principal harpist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, has released Les Amis, her new CD that explores the harp works of Claude Debussy and André Caplet and the friendship between the two French composers. Hainen is joined on the recording by her colleagues Jeffrey Khaner (principal flute with The Philadelphia Orchestra) and Roberto Diaz, President of the Curtis Institute of Music, along with the IRIS Orchestra conducted by Michael Stern.
“Both composers were instrumental in utilizing the harp’s idiomatic colors and subsequently influenced the indelible position of the harp in the 20th [century] symphony orchestra,” says Hainen on her website. “This recording will be the first to exclusively pair Caplet with Debussy.” The Debussy works include his Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp,Danses sacrée and profane, and Hainen’s own transcription of thePetite Suite, originally for solo piano. The disc also includes Caplet’s Masque of the Red Death for harp and strings, and his solo divertissements “a l’Espagnol” and “a la Francaise”.
Les Amis is on the AVIE record label. For more information visit their website. Read more about Elizabeth Hainen atelizabethhainen.com.
