Rio de Janeiro will become the harp capital of the world in July. As of July 1st, the capital of Rio de Janeiro will host the 18th RioHarpFestival 2023. There will be 30 harpists from 23 countries, who will perform 73 concerts for 31 days, without interruption, all with free admission. In total, 150 musicians perform in various orchestras, many of which come from social inclusion programs developed in communities, making the festival in Brazil the strongest on the world circuit. The schedule can be accessed on the event’s website. RioHarpFestival brings together exponents from South Africa to India, in addition to representatives from almost all of Europe and Latin America. The event adds up to 73 concerts in 31 uninterrupted days, all with free admission, encompassing various formations of the harp and similar ones, from the best known harp, originated between Europe and North Africa in the 8th century, to the traditional Japanese koto. Expansion In an interview with Agência Brasil, the director and creator of RioHarpFestival and the Música no Museu project, Sergio da Costa e Silva, pointed out that, 20 years ago, when he started dedicating the month of May to harps, in the Music at the Museum program , initially with Brazilian harpists, did not imagine that the success would be such and that the initiative would gain greater dimension. “Two years later, we moved to the international version. We started timidly in 2005, with 4 harpists, and grew year after year. Now, in 2023, at the 18th Rio Harp Festival, we will have harpists from 23 countries, reaching 100 concerts, the majority in Rio de Janeiro.” Sergio da Costa e Silva informed that Brasília and São Paulo were joined later, with the BsbHarpFestival and the SPHarpFestival, which will have their first and seventh editions this year, respectively. The big step is planned for the European version, in August and September, with concerts in cities in France, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Austria. “Thus, RioHarpFestival became the biggest in the world and inserted Brazil in the world harp circuit”, he said. Most of the presentations take place at the Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro Cultural Center (CCBB RJ), which hosts 54 recitals in two daily presentations in its theater, with capacity for 172 people. There will also be recitals at Arte Sesc Rio, in Flamengo; at the Federal Justice Cultural Center (CCJF), in Cinelândia; at SESC Quitandinha, in Petrópolis; at the Royal Portuguese Reading Cabinet; at the National Library; at the Jockey Club; at Palácio São Clemente – Consulate of Portugal, in addition to tourist and historical points of Rio de Janeiro, including Corcovado and Fort of Copacabana. Highlights The German harpist Markus Thalheimer opens the program, on July 1st, at 1 pm, sharing the CCBB RJ stage with the camerata of the Uerê project, made up of children and adolescents from communities in Rio de Janeiro, aged from 7 to 18 years old, who play string and percussion instruments. Camerata Uerê was created in 2013 by Constance Depretz, a French violinist then based in Rio de Janeiro. Today, it is made up of 30 students from the project. Markus Thalheimer was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1987. He took his first harp lessons in his hometown at the age of 6. After his studies, he attended the Giuseppe Sinopoli Academy of the Staatskapelle Dresden for two years. Since the 2016/2017 season, Thalheimer has been the principal harpist of the New Lausitz Philharmonic Orchestra. Also on July 1st, at 3 pm, there will be a concert by Dutch harpist Joost Willemze, at CCBB Rio. He is one of the leading young Dutch harpists. At age 16, he received first prize at the national final of the Princess Cristina Competition in The Hague. In 2017 he won the Porto International Harp Competition and, a year later, the Italian Suoni competition. In 2022, he recorded his debut CD. On July 2nd, at 1pm, Willemze returns to the stages of CCBB RJ, at 3pm, with the special participation of the Orquestra de Gaita de Bagpipes, a pioneer in the municipality of São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio, considered a reference band in the state. The Bagpipe Orchestra promotes free classes for underprivileged children. As Sergio da Costa e Silva explained, the intentional fusion of Brazilian and Celtic music offers an improved repertoire and a distinct musical quality. On the 7th, at 7 pm, at Arte Sesc, the recital Ecos Latinos will bring together musicians Patrice Fisher, harp; Fran Comiskey, piano; Betsy Braud, flute (all US); Carlos Valadares, percussion (Guatemala), Reinaldo Pestana (percussion) and Papito Mello, bass (Brazil), with special participation by Claire Le Fur (France). A Latin jazz harpist, Patrice Fisher privileges the music of New Orleans, Brazil and Cuba, saying that not only does the harp feel harmonically “comfortable” with music, but also feels attracted by its complexities and syncopations: “That’s what gives desire to dance”, said the harpist. On the 8th, at 5 pm, the Casa Museu Eva Klabin, in Lagoa, in the south of the city, hosts the program of the Eva Concerts – Music in the Museum Series, with the Duo Spiritus Filmum, consisting of the harpist Leonor Maia and the flutist Francisco Barbosa . The two have already played in several concert halls in Portugal, Austria and Germany. Koto At the National Library, on the 11th, at 1 pm, Dina Celeste, harp and Gaby Portillo, guitar (Paraguay) will perform. At the same place, at 3 pm, it will be the turn of the Al Sharq Quartet, made up of Jaffer Swamani, Rudá Brauns, Vicente Alexim and Marcelo Conti, who will pay homage to Arab countries, including Turkey and Egypt. The extensive program includes the Trio Fujiyama Nippon, from Japan, which represents the koto, or Japanese horizontal harp, on the 16th, at 3 pm, at CCBB RJ, with the concert Tambores do Japão. Another novelty this year will be the concert by the Belgian Jacques Vandevelde, who will perform with Cacique Urutau Guajajara and the Indigenous Choir, on the 17th, at 12:30 pm, at CCBB RJ. According to Sergio da Costa e Silva, it will be a meeting between classical music and the spiritual music of native peoples. A new meeting of European harpists with Brazilian music will feature the Belgian Heleen Vandeputte, who makes special arrangements for children’s songs from Brazil, such as “Se Esta Rua Fosse Minha”. There will be four presentations at CCBB RJ, from the 17th to the 20th of July. On the 20th, at 12:30 pm, at CCBB RJ, the public will also be able to enjoy the meeting of harpists with the group Madrigal Cruz Lopes, a choir formed by 22 singers of the most varied styles, from classical to contemporary popular music, including folk music , sacred, operas and oratories. On the 22nd, at 6 pm, at the Army Museum, in Fort Copacabana, in the neighborhood of the same name, the Orquestra Violões do Forte will perform, with the special participation of the harpist Jesús Súares, from Venezuela. The 18th RioHarpFestival is scheduled to close on the 31st at the CCBB RJ, when the harpist Kobie du Plessis (South Africa) will perform at 12:30 pm; and, at 3 pm, the Duo Vanja Ferreira, harp, and Helder Teixeira, flute. Vanja Ferreira is a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF).
Agência Brasil
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