Harp Concerto (Glière)

Reinhold Glière wrote his Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in E-flat major, Op. 74, in 1938.

It lasts about 25 minutes and is in three movements:

1. Allegro moderato in E-flat major
2. Tema con variazioni in C-flat major^[1]
3. Allegro giocoso in E-flat major

Glière sought the technical advice of the harpist Ksenia Alexandrovna Erdely (1878–1971). She made so many suggestions that he offered to credit her as co-composer, but she declined. The work was published as the work of Glière as edited by Erdely.^[2][3][4]

The music combines features that are redolent of both the Viennese classical style and Russian romantic nationalism.^[1]

The Harp Concerto in E-flat has been recorded a number of times:

• Osian Ellis, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (1968)
• Olga Erdeli, Moscow Radio Large Symphony Orchestra, Boris Khaikin and Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1968)
• Catherine Michel, Luxembourg Radio/Television Symphony Orchestra, Louis de Froment (1992)
• Rachel Masters, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox (1993)
• Alice Giles, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn (1999)
• Gretchen Van Hoesen, New Symphony Orchestra (Sofia), Rossen Milanov (2002)
• Emmanuel Ceysson, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Renes (2009)
• Claire Jones, English Chamber Orchestra, Paul Watkins (2010)^[5]
• Beste Toparlak, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Isin Metin (2014)
• Xavier de Maistre, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Nathalie Stutzmann (2022)

• List of compositions for harp