Harpist Xavier de Maistre to perform in Korea

Xavier de Maistre [CREDIA]

World famous French harpist Xavier de Maistre will hold his first concert in Korea later this month, revealed the concert’s promoter Credia on Tuesday.

According to a press release by Credia, Xavier de Maistre has been invited to take part in Hoam Art Hall’s Ditto Festival 2011, dedicated to classic music events, on June 23.

Xavier has already visited Korea before, once as part of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the other time as a co-performer to Korea’s KBS Symphony Orchestra in 2008.

Xavier de Maistre began to play harp at age nine and at age 25, he won first prize in the 1998 USA International Harp Competition, one of the major harp competitions in the world.

The same year he was admitted to the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2002, became the principal harpist there. He also became the first harpist at the orchestra to take the stage for an accompanied performance.

Since then he has also worked with many renowned conductors around the world, including Ricardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andre Previn, Daniele Gatti as well as singers such as Barbara Bonney, Kathleen Battle, and Diana Damrau in various world-renowned opera houses of Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Vienna, Tokyo Opera City, Lincoln Center New York, Salzburg Festival, La Scala Milan and others.

Xavier, who has now left Vienna's orchestra and is currently playing solo, has also released three albums of his own, one of them being “Nuit d’Etoiles,” his debut album which won the Echo Klassik Award as the "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2009.

For the upcoming recital, Xavier is to play Claude Debussy’s “Valse Romantique” and “Reverie,” Georg Friedrich Handel’s “Concerto in B flat Major, op. 4-6” in solo version, Francisco Tarrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra,” Carlos Salzedo’s “Chanson dans la Nuit” and Bedrich Smetana’s Moldau” among others.

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