The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra is offering an exceptional concert on Friday, on the stage of the Rainier-III Auditorium, with the concert performer and Monegasque resident since 2014, Xavier de Maistre.
At 49, the musician is one of the greatest harpists in the world. With a rare humility, this international soloist, with an exceptional and atypical career, is not only talented. He placed his instrument on the same level as the piano or the violin and was able to rewrite scores for harp adapters, thus becoming a concert performer sought after by the greatest philharmonic orchestras for his audacity.
In 2017, Kazuki Yamada, director of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, newly appointed by its president, the Princess of Hanover, called on him to become the first musician in residence of the Principality of the OPMC. To launch his initiative, excellence and innovation were needed. Xavier de Maistre was there.
Since then, the soloist has not had the opportunity to play in the Principality. Friday evening, the musician gives a unique concert by interpreting Mozart’s piano concerto n°19, on the harp.
This concert turns out to be exceptional in several respects. Given as part of the second “Mozart in Monaco” edition, this work has never before been performed in the Principality. Xavier de Maistre hasn’t played it for two years… And only plays it once this year before doing three more programs next week in Germany. Between two rehearsals, Xavier de Maistre confides.
How is the interpretation of a score for piano on the harp innovative and relevant?
When I started my career as a soloist, I worked a lot on the repertoire. I had the vision that the harp could be an attractive instrument. But she had no repertoire of known composers. It is for this reason that there were so few requests for the harp as a solo instrument. When I landed a contract with Sony, I started with a first album which featured works by Debussy. I represent his works on the piano on the harp. Then, quite quickly, I prepared a Mozart album where I took over a piano concerto that I arranged for my instrument. Of the 27 concertos, I chose one that was particularly suitable.
Is it hard work?
When I do adaptations, I always make the arrangement sound different. But that one does not have to regret the original version. This concerto is played in a range that sounds particularly good on the harp. But it is formidable because it is much more difficult on the harp than on the piano.
One that is up to the challenge?
It’s a piece I’ve played a lot. But every time I have to take it back, I have cold sweats! To have the same virtuosity as on the piano, it requires more control and mastery. What is interesting is that the sound of the harp corresponds more to that of the pianoforte, the piano used by Mozart at the time. We find the stamps and the colors, the origin of the work of Mozart.
“Monaco has become at the level of Paris or Munich”
Do you manage to change the image of the harp, its place in classical music?
By dint of occupying the stages and being present on radio broadcasts, by dint of work and recording, this gives some programmers ideas. When I started, there was hardly ever a solo harp with an orchestra. It has changed a bit. Of course, we are still far from the piano or the violin but today this instrument has become a possibility. I have acquired a certain notoriety and I can get commissions from great living composers. Four years ago, a finished composer, Kaija Saariaho, wrote me a concerto which I took up with about twenty orchestras. A Hungarian composer, Péter Eötvös, has just finished a concerto for me that I am going to play next season with six major orchestras including Paris, Vienna, Berlin and Tokyo.
You, like the OPMC, show that classical musicians know how to be innovative…
I think that with the arrival of Didier de Cottignies as artistic delegate, Monaco has become at the level of Paris or Munich. Just look at the quality of the soloists and conductors who come to the Principality today. It is absolutely remarkable. I do not see what one could prefer more when one sees the programming of the piano.
Monaco, a capital of arts and culture?
There is a unique density in the world. Monaco is an extremely international crossroads, a hub with global reach. I regret to hear sometimes, far from here, a lot of a priori that tend to convey the idea of an outdated Principality. The country has an image problem. However, there are all the ingredients here to make this Rock shine even more.
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To reserve your place at the concert, approach the atrium ticket office: +377.92.00.13.70.
He started the harp at the age of 9
Xavier de Maistre began studying the harp, at the age of nine, at the municipal conservatory of Toulon. He is perfect in his musical training in Paris. At the same time, still in the capital, Xavier de Maistre graduated from Sciences-Po and the London School of Economics. This is the gold medal of the prestigious American competition United States International Harp Competition. At the age of 22, the solo harpist is the first French musician to join the ranks of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to giving master classes, he teaches at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg. In 2009, he received the Instrumentalist of the Year trophy at Les Échos.
Xavier de Maistre left the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010 to devote himself entirely to his solo career. With this objective which has carried it from its beginnings, that of making the harp better known. It is for this reason that he introduced many composers into the repertoire and transcribed scores so that they could be played with the instrument. He has been recording exclusively under the Sony Music label since 2008. His first album is titled Starry Night and is dedicated to Claude Debussy.
force fate
“Nothing predisposed me to become a musician. I even continued my studies at Sciences Po Paris and then at the London School of Economics. A course that I do not regret anyway because it allowed me to manage my career myself. as an artist and to have a “manager’s” view of my own work as well as that of the organizers of shows. As a child, I did not have an absolute ear. The music theory teacher quickly decided that I would do better to play football because she considered me under-gifted for music. On the other hand, I had good dexterity and good coordination. And above all a desire to please my harp teacher; which was decisive. The harp is a very solitary and very physical instrument, it is one of the rare instruments with which we make sound.