Composer: Benjamin Britten, Frédéric François Chopin, Jean-Michel Damase, John Field, Fred Hersch, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Henriette Renié, Ottorino Respighi, Clara Schumann, Marcel-Lucien Tournier
Performer: Magdalena Hoffmann
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: 4861724
Release: 2022
Size: 1.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Respighi: Pieces for Piano, P. 44
01. No. 3. Notturno. Lento (Version for Harp)
02. Chopin: Waltz No. 19 in A minor, Op. post., KKIVb:11, B 150
03. Chopin: Waltz No. 14 in E minor, Op. post., KKIVa:15, B 56
04. Field: Nocturne No. 5 in B flat major (H.37)
05. Field: Nocturne No. 12 in G major (H.58)
06. Renié: Danse des Lutins
Schumann, Clara: Soirées musicales, Op. 6
07. II. Notturno. Andante con moto (Version for Harp)
Britten: Suite for harp in C major, Op. 83
08. I. Overture. Majestic
09. II. Toccata. Fast and gay
10. III. Nocturne. Slow and quiet
11. IV. Fugue. Lively
12. V. Hymn. Slow and solemn
13. Pizzetti: Sogno
Tournier: Images
14. XII. La danse du Moujik
Chopin: Waltzes, Op. 34
15. No. 2 in A Minor “Valse Brillante” (Version for Harp)
Hersch: Character Studies
16. I. Nocturne for Left Hand Alone (Version for Harp)
17. Damase: Fantaisie on Tales of Hoffmann
Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 48
18. No. 2 in F Sharp Minor. Andantino (Version for Harp)
Night falls in diverse ways in Magdalena Hoffmann’s Deutsche Grammophon debut album. Nightscapes, set for release on 11 February 2022, sees the German harpist dive deep into the intimate, mysterious, magical world of night music, as well as exploring the theme of dance. Its tracklist spans everything from the austere beauty of Britten’s Suite for Harp Op. 83 and languid lyricism of Pizzetti’s Sogno to the folk like colours of Tournier’s La danse du moujik. The recording comprises both original pieces for solo harp and compositions for piano, skilfully transcribed by Hoffmann herself. The compositions chosen by the artist portray a multitude of nightscapes, from those we can see to those we know by intuition. “At night everything becomes more intimate, more deeply felt, more multilayered,” observes Hoffmann. “The darkness encourages an inward gaze, while the soul stretches its wings – and so does the imagination. Whether in dreams or during sleepless nights, the limitations placed on our minds by the (every)day begin to melt away.”
The night has never ceased to inspire artists, whether in literature, painting or music. And for good reason: is it not the place of intimacy, introspection and – above all – of the imagination? When the mystery of the night is expressed in music, and in particular on the harp, it touches us all and evokes very concrete images in each of us. In her album Nightscapes, Magdalena Hoffmann has set herself the task of capturing the magic of the night: “My instrument is the ideal vehicle for this intimate, but also magical and fantastic atmosphere. It’s not for nothing that the harp often corresponds to celestial or underworld moments in the orchestra.
The German harpist, born in 1990 in Basel, discovered her favourite instrument at an early age. Her career took a turn when, in 2016, she received two special prizes at the ARD International Competition. Two years later, she became principal harp in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2021 she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, and Nightscapes is her first project.
The album consists of original compositions for harp and arrangements of piano pieces. The former includes Benjamin Britten’s Suite for Harp, Op. 83, a key work in the 20th-century repertoire for the instrument. There is also the Danse des lutins by Henriette Renié (1875-1956), a French harpist for whom Fauré, Debussy and Ravel composed.
Magdalena Hoffmann also performs pieces by Chopin, Clara Schumann, John Field, Ottorino Respighi and Marcel Tournier. The genre of Nocturnes, in particular, conveys the intimate and mystical atmosphere that made it one of the most typical character pieces of Romanticism. But the light, dancing sound of the harp is also perfectly suited to Chopin’s waltzes or Jean-Michel Damase’s Fantaisie. Hoffmann, for her part, sublimates the very special intimacy of the instrument’s sound. A magical stroll through the night.