Händel Xavier de Maistre & Festival Strings Lucerne

• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759): Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4 No. 6:
• 1 Händel: Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4 No. 6: I. Andante - Allegro 05:57
• 2 Händel: Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4 No. 6: II. Larghetto 04:40
• 3 Händel: Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4 No. 6: III. Allegro moderato 02:27
• Organ Concerto in D Minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 No. 4 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre):
• 4 Händel: Organ Concerto in D Minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 No. 4 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre): I. Adagio 05:25
• 5 Händel: Organ Concerto in D Minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 No. 4 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre): II. Allegro 04:02
• 6 Händel: Organ Concerto in D Minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 No. 4 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre): III. Preludio Solo 01:48
• 7 Händel: Organ Concerto in D Minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 No. 4 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre): IV. Allegro 03:20
• Organ Concerto in F Major, HWV 293, Op. 4 No. 5 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Álmos Tallós):
• 8 Händel: Organ Concerto in F Major, HWV 293, Op. 4 No. 5 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Álmos Tallós): I. Larghetto 03:14
• 9 Händel: Organ Concerto in F Major, HWV 293, Op. 4 No. 5 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Álmos Tallós): II. Allegro 02:47
• 10 Händel: Organ Concerto in F Major, HWV 293, Op. 4 No. 5 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Álmos Tallós): III. Alla Siciliana 01:55
• 11 Händel: Organ Concerto in F Major, HWV 293, Op. 4 No. 5 (Arr. for Harp & Orchestra by Álmos Tallós): IV. Presto 02:20
• Tema con variazioni:
• 12 Händel: Tema con variazioni 06:21
• Suite No. 7 in G Minor, HWV 432:
• 13 Händel: Suite No. 7 in G Minor, HWV 432: VI. Passacaglia (Arr. for Harp Solo by Tiny Béon) 05:41
• Minuet in G Minor, HWV 434/4 (Arr. for Harp & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel):
• 14 Händel: Minuet in G Minor, HWV 434/4 (Arr. for Harp & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel) 02:43
• Water Music Suite No. 1, HWV 348:
• 15 Händel: Water Music Suite No. 1, HWV 348: IV. Air (Arr. for Harp & Accordion by Jan-Peter Klöpfel) 02:58
• Total Runtime 55:38

Info for Händel

The multi-award-winning harpist Xavier de Maistre dedicates his new album to the music of George Frideric Handel, together with the Festival Strings Lucerne. In addition to Handel's only harp concerto, the Concerto in B flat major, HWV 294, the album also features arrangements of two concertos originally written for organ and orchestra: the Concertos for Organ in D minor, HWV 309 and in F major, HWV 293. There are also adaptations for solo harp of the Passacaglia from Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 434, originally composed for harpsichord, and of the ‘Tema con Variazioni’. A particular highlight is the arrangement of the Minuet in G minor, HWV 434/4, for harp and piano. Xavier de Maistre is accompanied on the felt piano by French pianist Julien Quentin.

Xavier de Maistre explains the project: "Handel's harp concerto was the first record I received as a gift from my teacher for my first recital. When I heard the first notes, I knew: this was going to be my life. The piece has accompanied me ever since, at auditions and in lessons. I waited a long time to record it because I was waiting for the right combination and partners. Now I have rehearsed it again for this recording, even adding many original embellishments. In the Festival Strings Lucerne, I have found the ideal partners, and for me, the two organ concertos are the perfect complement to this personal album."

Xavier de Maistre is one of those world-class harpists who consistently succeeds in drawing new facets and colors from his instrument. A passionate advocate of his instrument, he has expanded the harp repertoire and commissioned new works from composers. He also creates transcriptions of important instrumental works.

Born in Toulon, France, Xavier de Maistre initially studied harp at his hometown's conservatory and later perfected his technique in Paris with Catherine Michel and Jacqueline Borot. He also studied at Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics. In 1998, he won first prize and two interpretation prizes at the prestigious International Harp Competition in Bloomington, USA, and in the same year became the first French musician to be accepted as solo harpist by the Vienna Philharmonic. Since then, he has regularly performed as a soloist with some of the world's finest orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, and the Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. Xavier De Maistre has been an exclusive Sony Classical artist since 2008. He plays a Lyon & Healy instrument.

Xavier de Maistre, harp
Festival Strings Lucerne

Xavier de Maistre
is one of today’s leading harpists and a profoundly creative musician. As a fierce champion of his instrument, he has broadened the harp repertoire, commissioning new work from composers. He also creates transcriptions of important instrumental repertoire.

Xavier starts his 2024/25 season as an artist-in-residence of Sinfonieorchester Basel, by opening their season under Ivor Bolton and performing multiple concerts throughout the whole season. Other season’s highlights include performances with Seattle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tan Dun, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Nathalie Stutzmann, Korean National Symphony with David Reiland, and China National Symphony Orchestra. His Serenata Latina duo with Rolando Villazon leads him to major venues and festivals including Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Die Glocke in Bremen, Heidelberger Frühling, Teatro Cultura Artistica in Sao Paulo and Shanghai Grand Theatre, and his highly creative solo recital programme to prestigious series of Stanford Live in the USA and Meisterkonzert of Zentrum Paul Klee in Switzerland.

He is regularly invited by first-class orchestras across the globe: Chicago, Montréal, City of Birmingham, Swedish and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestras; Los Angeles, London, St Petersburg, Oslo and China Philharmonic Orchestras; Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo; working with conductors including Sir André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Daniele Gatti, Philippe Jordan, Bertrand de Billy, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Daniel Harding, Susanna Mälkki and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

As a recital soloist, he has been a guest at many top festivals, including Rheingau, Salzburger Festspielen, Wiener Festwochen, Verbier, Budapest Spring, Würzburg Mozartfest and Mostly Mozart in New York. He is passionate about chamber music and regularly puts together original recital projects, including numerous collaborations with highly versatile artists like tenor Rolando Villazón, flamenco and castanet legend Lucero Tena, Diana Damrau, Arabella Steinbacher, Daniel Müller-Schott, Baiba Skride, Antoine Tamestit, Mojca Erdmann or Magali Mosnier.

Xavier has been an exclusive Sony Music artist since 2008, when he recorded his first album, Nuit d’Etoiles, dedicated to Debussy. Further releases include Hommage à Haydn (2009), Aranjuez (2010), Notte Veneziana (2012), Moldau (2015), and La Harpe Reine (2016) with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie. His album Christmas Harp (October 2021) features paraphrases and fantasies of famous Christmas carols. He recorded a highly acclaimed Serenata Latina album with Rolando Villazon (Deutsche Gramophone) in 2020. In autumn 2022, his latest CD dedicated to Russian music was released, featuring Reinhold Glière’s famous harp concerto and Alexander Mosolov’s forgotten concerto, accompanied by WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under the baton of Nathalie Stutzmann.

Born in Toulon, Xavier studied the harp with Vassilia Briano at his local conservatoire, before perfecting his technique with Catherine Michel and Jacqueline Borot in Paris. He also studied in Sciences-Po Paris and then at the London School of Economics. In 1998 he was awarded First Prize (and two interpretation prizes) at the prestigious USA International Harp Competition (Bloomington) and became the first French musician to be admitted at the Wiener Philharmoniker that same year.

He has taught at Musikhochschule in Hamburg since 2001.

He plays on a Lyon & Healy harp.

Booklet for Händel