Programme:
Georg Friedrich Händel, arr. Thurston Dart: Suite in C minor, HWV 446
Marcel Tournier: Four Preludes for two harps, Op. 16
Aldo Kumar: New Piece for Two Harps
Gabriel Fauré: Impromptu No. 6 in D-flat major, Op. 86
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Suite in A minor, RCT 1
César Franck, arr. Dewey Owens: Prelude, Fugue and Variation, Op. 18
Bernard Andres: Parvis for Two Harps

Mojca Zlobko Vajgl is without question Slovenia’s best known and internationally most acclaimed harpist. Over the course of her long career at the highest level, she has inspired the creation of numerous new works by Slovene composers, while at the same time teaching new generations of harpists at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where she is a full professor. She devotes particular attention to chamber music and has frequently performed in a duo with the brilliant French harpist Marion Ravot. The latter’s relatively brief career to date has seen her work with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
For the Winter Festival, the two harpists have prepared a journey through musical history. The core of the programme consists of French works from the Romantic and Impressionist periods, which saw the harp elevated to the ranks of the most refined and colourful instruments. The programme also includes baroque dances, which will take on a new light when performed on the harp. Finally, the versatile Slovene composer Aldo Kumar has created a new work especially for this occasion, which we will hear for the very first time at this concert.

• Mojca Zlobko Vajgl has recorded nine albums to date, covering the rich and diverse solo harp repertoire, chamber music and harp concertos
• french harpist Marion Ravot teaches at the University of the Arts in Berlin and regularly performs with leading German symphony orchestra such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; in December 2023 and January 2024 she gave a masterclass and workshop for students from the composition department and the harp class of Mojca Zlobko Vajgl at the Ljubljana Academy of Music
• Ravot was one of only two musicians to be admitted to the prestigious Juilliard Artist Diploma for Music Performance programme in 2015
• Handel’s Suites  were originally written for the piano but are frequently arranged for other instruments, including the harp
• Bernard Andrès is a French composer known for his works for the harp; Parvis  is an excellent example of his innovative approach to the instrument, in which he combines classical techniques with contemporary sounds; the word “parvis” means an open space in front of a cathedral, and the work portrays both the grandeur and the intimacy of sacred spaces; the interplay of the two harps creates a rich, atmospheric effect that is both meditative and dynamic