Yitzhak Yedid - Out to Infinity

Helping to enrich the harp's repertoire with new music, the Israel competition commissioned a piece for solo harp from the Israeli composer Yitzhak Yedid, which all the contestants were required to play on the first stage.  When I first received the score in the mail, I was delighted to find a whole page of performance notes included at the beginning.  What I love about modern music is that each new piece is created with its own, unique language of musical expression.  I think it is a great thing to constantly be exploring new languages for the harp, in the interest of finding those that are most natural to the instrument and which best exploit the harp's particular qualities.  However, this is also what makes learning modern music hard.  Fortunately, Out to Infinity is full of imagery that helps the performer to interpret the feeling of each section.  Within the score, there are labels - Prelude, Hidden wisdom, A kind and gentle voice, Fragments of dance... - and the preface further helps to illuminate what is intended by these titles - "Like an echo, appearing after a loud mysterious noise whose origins are unknown to you, so the composition begins in The Hidden Wisdom; it seems to simulate a heart beat, ticking quickly, perhaps from fright, perhaps from astonishment."  The music is written in a harpistic way, so that it is not hard to figure out how he wishes the piece to be played.  Its main technical difficulty lies in the passages of extremely fast, repetitious notes and in the closing section, where both hands must strain to reach the lowest registers of the harp, but it is possible to play, and there is room for a wide range of expression!

Mr. Yedid attended the entire first stage of the competition, during which he video-taped several of the contestants.  You can find ten different performances of his piece on the YouTube page he created for this purpose.

Tell me about the inception of Out to Infinity.  How did you come to be commissioned to write this piece for the competition?

It was about three years ago when I received a message from the harp contest that the artistic jury (they are different people from the other jury - mostly composers like Serge Natra and Ami Ma'ayani) decided to commission a piece for a solo harp from three Israeli composers, for the 50th anniversary of the harp contest.  Based on a blind review of the three pieces, they chose one to be the compulsory piece.  I think they asked me because I was awarded the prestigious 2006 Israeli prime minister prize for composers.  I was the youngest among the three composers.   I was of course pleased with the commission.

I wished to compose something really new, to bring a different sound from the harp, and for sure not to go for the typical sound that is associated with the harp.  So I decided to compose a piece in which the harpist would also use the piano strings, which would be prepared in advance with the sustaining pedal pressed for the whole piece.  I actually started the piece, but I had to ask my harpist friend a technical question and she told me that probably the harp contest woouldn't agree to such an idea.  I phoned the contest and they rejected it totally!

At that time, I had just moved to Queensland in Australia, and my wife and I stayed for a month in a tiny studio apartment on a noisy road in a guest house without a piano.  It was there where I composed the piece.  The infinity concept is about thoughts and imagination that one has in such a remote and beautiful place but so far away from his/her usual place.

What kinds of music most influence your compositional style?

Listening to my music, in a way is like watching a film - there is a story and images.  Some images may sound like an Alfred Hitchcock film (like the opening chord), but within the same piece I could also have images of an Arabic singing ritual.

Had you ever composed for the harp before writing this piece?

I hadn't composed for the harp before so I sat at a library for a few days and went through scores.  I especially researched S. Natra and L. Berio.

Did you consult with a harpist during the creation of the piece?

I actually met with a harpist only after I had completed most of the piece.   I wanted someone to check it and also wanted to hear how it sounded, so I googled to see if there was a harpist in the area.   It happened to be that a great harpist, Sebastien Lipman, who also participated in the contest in the past (was in the final) and was for many years the harpist of the great Berlin Philharmonic, lives in Brisbane.  So I phoned him; he was surprised but very welcoming.  He read through the piece from the manuscript - I compose only on paper with a pencil, no computer - and said it is not a easy piece at all, and contestants will have to invest lots of time to put together the non-legato, two-hands, tick-tak concept.  He gave me some notation suggestions.  Thanks to him, I was able to make it very clear how I wished it to sound.  After that I also had a great harpist from Israel, Gitit Boasson, to help me edit the piece before it was printed by the Israeli Music Institute.

*   *   *

Yitzhak Yedid is a "composer of classical music but also a pianist of improvised music."  He has released eight CDs with the German Label BTL and with International Challenge records.  He makes his living from composing commissions and performances as a pianist with his ensemble.  Currently, he is completing his PhD research at Monash University in Melbourne.

Comments from the Jury

After the jury had made their cut for the semi-final stage, a session was organized in which those of us who had not passed on were able to meet the members of the jury and receive comments on our playing.  This was our one chance to discover the motive behind the decisions made and to get ideas for what areas of our playing most need improvement.  On the surface, this appears to be the most educational aspect of the competition.  In practice, the whole experience of preparing and going to a competition is educational, and the comments of the jury are merely a cherry on the top of what you will have gained from participating.

Before I begin, let me say that I found it fascinating how much discussion there was, back and forth among the competitors, about the value of the the jury's opinion.  There was definitely no consensus that the jury was remotely trustworthy.  To an extent, this is the nature of music competitions; we all have to believe in ourselves so thoroughly just to have the guts to get up on stage that it can be crushing to receive a negative review.  Either you have to change your self-concept, or you have to convince yourself that the jurors are crazy and/or corrupt, so as to negate the validity of their opinions.  There have been many complaints flying back and forth that competitions are just so political, and this seems to help people feel better when their success is thwarted.  Temporarily leaving aside the scandal of the final awards, I think this is the wrong word; what they really mean to complain about is that the judging is subjective.  Everyone simply has a different opinion of what makes an effective, compelling performance, and different priorities for what to look for in a performer.  Music is meant to touch people on an emotional level, and you can never really know if your interpretation or style of playing will inspire, offend, or simply be lost on any one listener.

I won't share specifics about what the jurors told me or mention any names, since my intention is not to gossip but to make more general points. 

When going to these sorts of comment sessions, I advise that you bring a notebook and a pencil and scribble furiously the whole time!  It comes at you fast, and there is absolutely not enough time to digest what they say.  I was very lucky to get to talk to as many jury members as I did, and I only made it to about half of them.  The things that struck me the most were 1) how strong their opinions were, and 2) how hard it was to extract clear information from them.  Their responses were all across the board: One of them absolutely hated my playing, said bluntly that my technique was not up to the level of the competition and that he/she would have kicked me out after the first stage if only they were allowed to kick out more than four people.  Another told me that my whole conception for how to extract sound from the harp was wrong and that the choice of my modern piece in second stage was a complete dud.  Several others were completely in love with my playing, thought that my modern piece was a ground-breaking work of genius and that I should record it quickly before someone steals it, and had no explanation for why I hadn't been chosen to go on to third stage.  One was so passionate about my particular qualities as a performer that he/she invited me for a whole personal discussion later to discuss my future.  And there's always that one bit of unsolicited fashion advice, this one being that I should draw my eyebrows longer because it might make me look happier...... what?  I'm so confused.

The major obstacle to communication is that everybody defines their terms differently.  Everybody has his/her own vocabulary for talking about technique, sound, and effect.  Whenever you start studying with a new teacher, it may take months before you are actually on the same page, so it's unreasonable to expect that you can really understand the insights of six different teachers within the space of an hour.  The other half of the time their opinions are just not fully formed in the first place.  Sometimes I could tell that I just hadn't been given much thought.  In both cases, I tried to ask for clarification.  E.g. "I just didn't like your modern piece. It was boring." "You mean it was a bad choice for this program? You mean it wasn't well composed? Or did you find fault in my interpretation?"  I don't remember anything productive coming from that comment.  "Your technique is bad." I still have things to work on, but it's not that bad. "Okay, well, what can I do about it?" When I asked that, the general reaction was a look of, "Oh yeah, sorry, I'm supposed to be helpful."  And this produced more interesting recommendations, which I am now following wholeheartedly.


The comments I received were mild compared to some of the other contestants.  I heard that one poor harpist was ganged up on and attacked, and that she had to run out of the room crying to escape.  A perfectly wonderful harpist was told, "You just don't understand how to play the harp.  You see, first you put your finger on the string.  Then you pull the string.  And the string sounds."  She was waiting for the profound insight that was sure to come, but it ended there with, "This is what you have to understand." "Oh thanks!" she thought, exasperated. "If only someone had told me that before!"

By contrast, I was highly impressed when one of the jury members told me that he/she had come to the competition with a conception of how the Krumpholtz should be interpreted (infamously the hardest piece to play convincingly). However, upon hearing other interpretations, he/she had been thrown into doubt of his/her understanding of the piece and needed to go reconsider it, so had decided to entirely refrain from commenting on that piece.  I thought this was incredibly brave and honorable thing to say, and I appreciate this far more than feigning expertise.

One of the contestants suggested that it wasn't worthwhile to hear jury comments after a competition at all and that it's hopeless to know what they are looking for.  I agree that they can be incredibly hard to decipher, but if anything, they have great entertainment value (as long as you have the stomach for them)!  In all seriousness, what I found was that the jury members, having distinguished themselves as outstanding artists, each necessarily has a particular specialty.  One is great because he/she has perfected tone quality and cleanliness, and as a result, that is the primary element he/she listens for in a performance.  One is an innovator and champion of new music, and therefore most appreciates individual expression that goes beyond what we're already used to.  A 12-member jury can hope to be an average of these various specialties, but each individual may be way off on his/her own tangent.


Don't worry about how to please them all.  Just ask, what will be my specialty?

Life After Israel

We are finally back in Paris, after hours of being searched inside-out at the Tel Aviv airport and a big delay connecting in Munich.  The air is fresh and cold here and smells of autumn, and the serenity of the winter holiday season seems suddenly not too far away.  Now that I'm back home, Israel seems somewhat like a glorious, fantastic dream.  I can barely believe that it really happened.  The whole experience was so much more powerful than I expected it to be.  There were many times during the months leading up to the competition that I seriously doubted it would be worth the sacrifice, but like a ride on a roller coaster, those low months brought me to such a high as I've never experienced before!  The atmosphere created around the event put us at the center of the harp world's attention.  Fueled by the surrounding emotional charge, I was able to have the best performance of my life in second stage.  (I was choking on the excitement as I walked off stage and it was only several minutes later that my breathing was under control enough that I wasn't seriously worrying I would faint.)  I didn't anticipate what strong personal connections I would form with some of the other harpists there, how much closer it would draw me and Marta together, and what a readership this blog would inspire.  Standing here with my feet back on the ground, I am dazed and have the strange feeling that I can do anything now.

Though it has taken me a couple days to arrange the hurricane of thoughts in my mind so that they can be coherently written down, I assure you that I do not intend to abandon this blog.  Writing has always been an important part of who I am, and I have discovered that I love having this public outlet for it.  For the moment, there are a few things I have left to write, by way of wrapping up the story of the Israel competition.  For example, I had a request from a reader to write about the piece by Yitzhak Yedid on first stage, and I would like to share my experience receiving comments from the jury.  Then it will be time to move on, and I intend to adapt this space to serve as my own little publication for thoughts and observations on life, the world of harp, and music in general, as seen internationally by an American living in Paris.  One of the million things I gained from my experience in Israel was a sense of the role that my generation of harpists will play.  As I enter the professional world, I feel a responsibility to continue the innovation that older generations have brought and to pave the way for younger harpists to achieve even greater things.  I never intended to be a reporter - I am a musician - but I have received so much encouragement to write that I can't ignore it as one of my strengths, and I would be stupid not to incorporate it into my life.  Fortunately, internet blogging allows for so much freedom that I don't have to be a regular reporter in order to bring awareness and to have an impact on the world of opinions.  I love to analyze things that people think they understand but actually haven't given much thought to at all.  I want to use my writing to demystify the process of becoming a professional musician and to explore what direction to aim for in our art.  It's a vague statement of purpose for the moment, but it will all come together as I go.  Please come along; your comments do so much to enrich this blog.

Marta, signing off

Having invaded Elizabeth's blog long enough, I will now return to my previous role of vicarious parasite and read instead of write. As my swan song, I would like to somehow put into words what this whole experience has given me as a harpist and as a human being.

In my life as a harp student, I have done many competitions, mostly small or medium-sized ones, never more than three stages long. On paper, I always did well (three 1st prizes, two 2nd prizes, three 3rd prizes out of 10 competitions... not bad, right?). However, with each new competition, the experience became increasingly stressful, competitive, and generally negative, despite the good results. I was frustrated by my weaknesses (memory problems, small finger-slips, lack of concentration under stress), by the wildly different reactions I was evoking from jury members, and lastly by my inability to prepare properly because of my work schedule. Finally, I decided that competitions were not for me, and that I should just accept my new life as a dinky little harp teacher who plays a dinky little poorly-payed concert once in a while. Sigh. Shrug.

When Elizabeth and I decided together to begin learning the repertoire for Israel, I felt somewhere in the back of my mind that this was my last chance at becoming a real harpist. After learning my two Scarlatti Sonatas, failing to play them perfectly up to my high standards at my diploma exam, I gave up, realizing that even if I had the energy to go through with it, I didn't have the time. I suddenly felt the gush of relief that comes with being exempt from an arduous requirement, but mixed with bitter thoughts of remorse, self-pity and spite. After six years of dedicating my life to my instrument, to the detriment of many friendships, enriching experiences, and my desire for the accumulation of general knowledge, I was regretting it all. Over the past two years, I slowly came to terms with my situation, surprised to find joy in what the music world deems an occupation for those musicians who just weren't good enough (ranking only slightly above the basest of all musical careers - the musicologist). At the same time, watching Elizabeth's energy-consuming preparation made me thankful for the time I could spend on enriching relationships with my family and friends, and on keeping myself healthy and sane.

As the competition approached, and though I had accepted the life that Fortune had thrown in my path, I was preparing myself mentally for a resurgence of past griefs. I expected to feel as I did listening to the Lily Laskine competition in Paris last year: angry at myself for not participating during the first two stages ("after all, I'm just as good as they are..."), depressed because of the high technical level of the participants in the last stages ("how do they manage to not make any mistakes? It's not fair!"), and generally bitter that I didn't have the time to dedicate to achieving perfect playing.

I was totally taken by surprise. Listening to all of the harpists was a very profound experience for me. I did not automatically compare my abilities to each person playing as I have in the past. Rather, what I retained was a sense of positive reinforcement of my strong points, which had been in dire need of attention. I finally really and truly understood that perfection is not what makes a performance special. I saw for myself how engrossing sincere and natural musicality can be, how boring pure technique is, and how important an open personality is on stage. It is ironic that competitions as an institution are both what infected me with an obsession about perfection and what finally cured me of it. I gained more from listening to this competition than I did from all of the others in which I had played.

The harp aside, the two weeks we spent in Israel were beneficial in their own right. For me,"the country of Israel" had begun as a utopian place deserving of our pity and protection as I had heard during my childhood in America, then as an evil hypocritical place that brought on its own woes that I hear about as an adult in Europe. Now I have seen for myself, with my own eyes, how many shades of grey this part of the world holds, and how, depending on the angle of the lens, each society can be seen en rose or en noire. However, seeing people, institutions, and places of worship from different religions all mixed together on one street, seeming to live together in perfect harmony gave me a sense of hope - after all, here on this street it's possible, why not everywhere else? This may be obvious to some people, but having grown up in a white town in northern Michigan, and lived in snobby rich Paris where the religious and ethnic minorities all live in the dangerous suburbs, actually witnessing the mishmash of cultures made me realize that a solution to the problems of the region should be possible.

To conclude, I must thank Elizabeth for letting me tag along. If she had not persevered with her goal, I would never have been able to experience all of this. And now that Life After Israel has begun, and I have my duet partner back, we can work on conquering the world together. Watch out, everyone, here we come!

Final Results

1st prize not awarded
2nd prize goes to Ina Zdorovetchi
3rd prize goes to Remy van Kesteren

After a phenomenal concert of three Ginastera concertos, all beautifully, professionally, creatively executed by our three finalists, the results of the competition were a huge disappointment.  First prize was not awarded at all, (following a recent trend of withholding the first prize in other major international harp competitions such as Lily Laskine and Cité des Arts).  As if that weren't disappointing enough, the announcement of the results was handled terribly.  They did not warn us ahead of time that they would not be giving a first prize, so after announcing third prize, followed by second, they set poor Emily Levin up for a huge crash when she found out that she hadn't received anything at all.  The audience was so appalled and upset by how it was all unfolding that when Emily's special prize for the Renié was announced, they applauded with such heartfelt sympathy that they worked themselves into a standing ovation.

I have no explanation for why this happened.  When the jury makes a decision like this, they are effectively saying that nobody in the competition lived up to their standards.  However, considering the high level of playing we saw today, we have to wonder if they expect an unrealistic level of perfection.  Many people complain of unfair voting practices, or political influences (as they always tend to do after such events), and it is easy to be swept away by the general feeling of injustice.  However, it may be more constructive to ask the question: is it fair to offer a first prize and not award it? After all, isn't "first prize" defined as the best one competing?  Otherwise, it should be called something else, like "outstanding concert artist award," and the criteria for this award should be made clear from the beginning, not decided at the end, after we have all sacrificed so much to prepare.

Congratulations to the winners:

Emily, Ina, and Remy

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has been our home for the past two weeks. Though it's the second largest city in Israel, it's population is only about 400,000 people. The city does feel expansive, but without the bustle one can encounter in New York or Paris. Our guest house/hostel is located in Jaffa, which is effectively southern Tel Aviv. Historically, Jaffa was an important sea port (it claims to be the oldest working port in the world - it's where Jonas embarked on his epic voyage that ended up in a whale!), and more recently was an Arab city among Jewish ones. It definitely does have a very middle-eastern feel to it, with mosques singing beautiful prayers at various times of day, an overwhelming market that could be from Casablanca, and men hanging out smoking hookahs.

something for everyone

The old town was beautifully renovated in the late '50s and is now mainly a tourist attraction with small windy streets boasting many galleries and boutiques.

Old Jaffa

Tel Aviv itself is only 100 years old (founded in 1909) and is a mix of ultra modern architecture and the bauhaus style of the 1930's. These older buildings have earned Tel Aviv a listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; The Bauhaus style, based on functionality rather than ornamentation, originated in Germany and made its way to Tel Aviv before WWII. Examples of this style of architecture are hard to find in Europe because of the damage done during the war, which is why it is so rare to find them all here. Personally, I prefer the more imaginative modern towers...

renovated Bauhaus style architecture

Three towers in three primary shapes, representing the three monotheistic religions of the region

Though our first week here was quite busy because of the competition, the past few days have been calmer and we have been able to explore Tel Aviv more. There seem to be many small museums dedicated to famous artists or intellectuals and several about war. We decided that culture was our main point of interest and took a morning to visit the Eretz Israel Museum in northern Tel Aviv. It was a very interesting mix of inside and outside exhibits all focused on the history of the Jewish peoples from pre-history to present day, with archeological excavations, expositions of artwork and Judaica, and even working models of ancient olive-presses.

olive press

We were particularly impressed by the sand castle exposition created by graduates of the World Sand Sculpting Academy based in the Netherlands (who knew!).

Yesterday, the competition organized a (very long and hot) tour of Tel Aviv in an open air bus (complete with elevator music...) which culminated in a tour of the Bet Hatefutsoth Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, which was fascinating. The tour guide, though pressed for time, was very informative. The museum's goal was to expose the history of the resilience of Jewish culture without having the main focus be on beautiful artifacts, but rather on traditions illustrated by modern sculptures, three-dimentional models, and dioramas.

model of a synagogue in China

Jewish wedding ceremony

Now having visited Jerusalem and a small bit of the West Bank, Tel Aviv does feel like a very open and modern place in comparison. It is certainly a wonderful venue for the competition, particularly because of the proximity to the beach which has provided everyone with a great way to relax during a practice break, even if just for a walk along the promenade.

view of Tel Aviv looking north from Jaffa

Interview: Emily Levin

Emily Levin is the youngest of the three finalists who are now off in Jerusalem preparing the Ginastera concerto. At the age of only 18, it is a truly impressive accomplishment to have made it this far. Emily is from Denver, Colorado, where from the age of five she was a student of the Suzuki Method. Accompanying her in Israel are her teacher Mary Kay Waddington and her mother. Just this fall, she started her freshman year at the University of Indiana School of Music, with Susann McDonald. We managed to fit in a brief, casual interview with Emily before she left.

Can you tell us about your preparation for the competition? 

I started the music 2 years ago, about 3 months after the list came out. I had participated in the contest when I was 15, and I knew I wanted to do it again, plus I was really excited about the repertoire. I learned the "big" pieces first - the Salzedo variations, Renié, and Ginastera, and then added on to that. But it was difficult sometimes because I was in my senior year of high school, and trying to decide on college and such, and it was quite difficult to find the time. During the summer I considered not doing it, but I am so glad I did!

How did you finally settle on La danse devant l'arche for your modern piece?

My teacher (Mary Kay Waddington) just happened to have it, and I played through it a few times and saw lots of possibilities. I settled on that one, and was quite excited for it.

Is there anything you would like to share with us about your experience at the competition so far?

When I came the first time, I was amazed at how inviting and supportive the atmosphere is here. Most competitions are really cutthroat and competitive, but here, although the level is really high, the competitors enjoy spending time together and cheer one another on. This time especially, I have met some wonderful people. They are a welcome relief from the four walls of my practice room!

What are your plans for after Israel?

I don't have anything scheduled. This has been my major project for two years, and I am excited to just enjoy the college experience and work on some non-competition music. Life AI (after Israel) will be so relaxing. I have a lengthy list of pieces that I would love to learn - I will be starting that! Also, I have an orchestra repertoire class at college that I was exempt from until after Israel, and I will need to work on that.

We heard that you recently tried on 25 different dresses at the last-minute for the final stage. Tell us about your experience with the dresses.

I wanted to have a red dress for the Ginastera, and I couldn't find one anywhere in Denver or at IU. When my mom and I came, we decided that we would only worry about finding a dress if I made it to the semi-finals. Then I got to semi-finals, and since if you make it to the finals you have to leave Sunday morning at ten, basically, today (Friday) was the only day to go shopping!

 We went to a store where the guy didn't speak any English. There were a few potentials. The dressing room was tiny, tiny, tiny, five by five maximum. I'm crammed up in this corner, trying on dresses, and I came out and they all looked really bad. And then they just kept coming; there were, I'm not joking, there were 20 or 25. We're going to say 27, because that's cool (27 Dresses is a fantastic movie, by the way!). I tried all the red dresses, and then tried burgundy and blue and purple, and then he started pulling out dresses from the back. It just never ended. And then, finally, we hadn't found anything, so I got dressed, and as I finish my mom said, "Oh wait! He brought one more!" I could hear them talking about it - "Well, it might look good on. I don't know, it's sort of growing on me." I was picturing this horrible, horrible dress. I tried it on, and at first I didn't like it, because it was quite different and unique -the top of it is various shades of red, and front part is flowers, then it comes out and the bottom part is taffeta with ruffles at the end. Very different from my normal preference. But it's really pretty, it's really cool. It's kind of wild and fun.


The whole experience took two and a half hours, and I was really tired!

Stage 4 schedule

The final stage of the Israel competition will take place tomorrow evening, 8:00 pm, at the Jerusalem Theater in the city of Jerusalem.  Each of the three finalists will perform Alberto Ginastera's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Op. 25 with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Roberto Paternostro, followed by a free-choice solo encore.  The performance will be broadcast live on the radio, at the "Voice of Music" channel of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.  For those in Israel, the station is FM 91.4 or 94.4, and for those in the rest of the world, we have been told that it may be possible to listen on their website under the heading Kol Hamusica.

We will be back with the final results of the competition tomorrow night!

Jason, harp technician

We would like to thank Jason Azem for all the work he's done toward maintaining the Lyon & Healy and Salvi harps here in top condition.  Jason is a production manager at Lyon & Healy of Chicago.  This is the first time he's served as a technician at the Israel Competition.  We have been extremely lucky to have such a fine selection of instruments, as we have heard that this was not always the case in past competitions.

At a high-level competition like this one, it is of the utmost importance that all contestants have confidence in their harp's condition, because the tiniest mechanical malfunction can throw off a performance.  For the small price of a square of chocolate, Jason helpfully fixed a overly-zealous sharp disc on my Apollo on the first day.  Ever since, he has always been at hand, hanging out in his Bermuda shorts with a cup of coffee, ready to come to the aid of anybody in need.

 On behalf of all the harps, thank you Jason!

Floating in the Dead Sea

Marta and I took advantage of our free day yesterday to go on an adventure and signed up for a tour to the Dead Sea, independently of anything organized by the competition.  Early that morning, the bus came around to pick up people from various hotels in Tel Aviv, our tour guide introduced herself with a heartfelt rendition of Oh What a Beautiful Morning! Oh What a Beautiful Day!, and as we headed on to pick up more people in Jerusalem, she chatted happily with us about the architecture we were seeing along the way.

I thought I would include a map of Israel here to illustrate the route we took on this trip.  It was never consciously our intention to venture into Palestinian territory, but since it is obviously the most direct way to get to the Dead Sea, our bus did end up driving straight through the West Bank.  We both felt slightly uncomfortable to be taking such a risk, but we did make it back in one piece, and just seeing it through the window was an incredibly eye-opening experience.  From what we have seen of Israel so far, the land seems relatively inhospitable and the city does not strike us as particularly modern or clean, especially compared to what we are used to in France or the American midwest.  But we were not at all ready for the stark contrast we experienced as soon as we emerged from the other side of Jerusalem into the West Bank.  Suddenly we were driving across completely barren, hills of gravel, the sun beating harshly down from the cloudless sky, no longer any sign of plant life.  The few patches of buildings we saw from a distance were plain, box-like structures the same color as the land around them.  As we descended into the canyon around the Dead Sea, there were no longer even Palestinian buildings but occasionally little gatherings of make-shift shacks set up by the nomadic Bedouin people to provide shelter for themselves and their herds of goats.  It was disturbing to see people living in such conditions, to say the least.  As if to ward off the feeling, our guide cheerily tried to distract us by explained that every time we see a gathering of buildings where there are trees, we can know that it is a Jewish community, because the Jews have been commanded by God to plant trees wherever they go.

Palestinian territory

Bedouin huts in the desert

Those who learned something about the Dead Sea in eighth-grade science class may know that it is the lowest point in the world on dry land, over 400 meters (close to a mile) below sea level.  Water from the scarce rains of this region run down to this salty inland lake.  Eventually the H2O evaporates back into the atmosphere, leaving behind the minerals that were in the water.  As a result, the Dead Sea is a dense wealth of rare minerals.  The concentration of minerals in the Dead Sea is 35%, as compared to the oceans, 3%, and our bodies, 1%.  Because the water is actually more dense than the human body, we float like corks when swimming in it.  Bathing in the water is supposed to have magical health benefits, as essential minerals are absorbed through the skin.  The location we were taken to in order to experience this was the Ein Gedi spa.

That's about as much as we knew when we arrived, but we soon found that there's so much more to the experience that they don't normally tell you.  First of all, the beach is not at all sandy, but rather a ripply sheet of crystalized minerals.  We wore our shoes at all times, even into the water.

Abandoned bikes, caked in minerals

Marta in her Superman position

After we had spent a few moments bobbing around in awe and delighted laughter, we realized that the water had an oily texture.  We also soon found that it's not as comfortable as it looks; it stings! If you've ever put iodine on a cut to sterilize it, you'll know what I'm talking about.  Iodine is just one of the sterilizing minerals in the water, and we regretted having shaved our legs: every pore burned!  Though it's almost impossible to drown in the Dead Sea, a lifeguard is on constant watch over the beach, and if it looks like someone has accidentally splashed some water in his/her eye, the lifeguard will call instructions over a loud-speaker for how to stay calm and find a fresh-water faucet.  Drinking the water would be deadly; there is no life in the Dead Sea, save a few resilient bacteria.

There's so much haze hanging over the Dead Sea that it's nearly impossible to make out the mountains of Jordan, just across the water.  In fact, not even the horizon is very clear; the sea blends right into the sky, and we felt like we were floating at the end of the world.  (The only thing occasionally breaking the infinite expanse of blue were the fighter planes and military transport jets patrolling Israel's border overhead.)  Maybe the haze filters the rays of the sun too, because even though we were out there all afternoon, without a lick of sunscreen on, we didn't burn.  Plus, even though we were in the water for quite a while, our fingers didn't prune!  Nothing had the physical properties we were used to expecting, and combined with the barren landscape, we could have just as well been on the moon.

a mud bath, just to make sure we'd absorbed the most minerals we could get

rinsing off in the sulfur showers

We rode back that night, exhausted, lulled by our tour guide singing Hebrew lullabies about Ein Gedi and Jerusalem, amazed by how smooth our skin had become.

Stage 3 results

The results are out! The three finalists are:

Remy van Kesteren, The Netherlands

Emily Levin, USA

Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova

The Chamber Music Prize in memory of Yona Ettinger (US$3000) for the best performance of the Chamber Music in the Semi Final Stage went to Ina Zdorovetchi.

The three finalists will leave tomorrow at 10am for Jerusalem to begin their rehearsals. We will hear them again on Tuesday night when they perform the Ginastera Concerto with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

Politics, anyone?

It is nearly impossible to come to a middle-eastern country, let alone to Israel, without considering the political situation here. Though the countries are small, the turmoil resulting in their various disagreements is felt throughout the world. For this reason, the organizers of the competition invited Colette Avital (former Member of the Knesset) to lead a discussion about Israel's current political situation.

A polished orator, Ms. Avital is clearly a veteran public speaker. Her experience comes from years in the diplomatic service as ambassador to Portugal and Consul General in New York City. She then entered the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and served as vice-speaker. Now she has moved on to lecturing at the university level as a prominent member of the Israeli Labor Party.

Here is a paraphrase of her speech:

Israel is a country of paradoxes: It is a new state formed for an old people. It is currently experiencing a wealth of economic development, yet a quarter of its population lives under the poverty line. Israel was founded under egalitarian principles, yet social gaps seem to be expanding. Israel has one of the strongest military forces in the Middle-East, yet it constantly feels vulnerable and threatened. It has been seeking peace for 60 years, yet has constantly been at war.

The Middle East itself is filled with paradoxes. There are two emerging trends in the Arab world. In the first, people are becoming more moderate and pragmatic; many Arabs now accept Israel's existence and want peace. The second is a growing trend towards Islamic radicalism. Those groups of people who can't cope with modernity close themselves up in religious fanaticism. Many Arab countries and societies are torn between those two trends. Some countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia find a common cause with Israel in fighting terrorism. Other people have embraced radicalism, like in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon. Israel is frustrated in its efforts towards peace. It seems that every time a peace agreement is near, some fundamentalists blow up a bus and knock the fragile improvements off balance. It makes Israelis collectively feel like Sisyphus of Greek mythology, endlessly pushing a boulder up a mountain only to see it roll back down.

The biggest social problem facing Israel today is the general lack of political faith amongst the Middle Eastern peoples. 80-85% of the Palestinian population recognizes the two-state solution as the only way out, yet the same percentage doesn't believe it will ever come to be. This mentality is in stark contrast to that of the 1990's, especially during the Oslo Peace Process when hope in the Middle East was high. Now the region has entered a vicious cycle. Where there is violence, people become more extreme. To site an example, the Gaza Strip has been bombing southern Israel for the past seven years. A result of this can be seen in the politics of Israel - recent elections have seen a general move to the right of the political spectrum. This is mainly due to a general fear that Israel is running out of time, and that soon the West Bank will become like Gaza.

One of the major impediments to peace in Israel today is the over-democratisation of the government. Every group that can claim to represent 2% of the Israeli population has the right to a seat in the Knesset, which has 120 seats. Ten years ago, there were two main parties; Labor (center left) and Likud (center right). Today there are 14 to 18 parties. Before, the largest group of the Knesset could expect to win about 48 seats, and could then easily form a coalition with one or two partners. Today, the largest party only has 28 seats and is forced into coalition with many smaller parties in order to rule. Over the past 16 years, there have been seven prime ministers, and five governments. The past ten years have seen ten ministers of culture. With this sort of turn-around, it is impossible to form a persuasive policy, let alone to pursue it. Reform of the political system is greatly needed. This reform would bring stability to Israel, and only then can it be expected to function properly.

* * *

Meeting with Ms. Avital forced us out of the comfortable bubble of the harp world into "other people's" reality. Too often I find that harpists are so closely knit that they seldom dare to venture far from the proverbial nest, even within the music world. Though not everyone agreed with Ms. Avital's views on the situation, just being forced to think about it was a worthwhile experience.

Martino, the page turner

With the eye of a hawk and the stealth of a cat, Martino prepares his turn. His body inches ahead to the front of the chair. Slowly, his arm reaches out to the edge of the page, arching upward to avoid covering a single note or phrase marking with his sleeve. Frozen in this position, Martino watchfully eyes the harpist. At the slightest nod, the page has suddenly been turned, Martino is back in his chair, immobile, and the music goes on...

Martino turns, Gwenllian plays

Martino Panizza, 21, of Pavia, Italy, originally came simply to watch the competition. As a student of Judith Liber, chairperson of the jury, he was soon recruited for the heroic task of turning pages for Yedid's Out to Infinity in the first stage, and for the chamber music round. Though not all of the contestants chose to take advantage of his services, having decided instead to play by memory or to turn their own pages, those who did have been thankful for such a reliable and friendly presence.

Interview: Remy van Kesteren

Our only male harpist at the Israel Competition this year is Remy van Kesteren, from the Netherlands. He studies with Erika Waardenburg at the Utrecht Conservatory. We have been enjoying sharing ideas on music with Remy, as he has strong and thoughtful opinions on the direction that our generation should lead the harp world. At just the age of 20, he is artistic director of the First International Harp Competition & Festival in the Netherlands, which will be held March 23-27, 2010.

What is your favorite piece on the program?

The Ginastera concerto.

The whole piece or is there a specific movement that you like?

I like the whole piece. But then, I wouldn't like it without the second movement. I think it can be incredible. Of course, audiences prefer the first or third movements; the third movement is fun and rhythmical, and orchestrated in a very, very good way. It creates a really special atmosphere. But I like the second movement because there's a certain tension throughout, and if you can hold this as a harpist, then that's just awesome.

Why did you decide to do this competition?

Going to Israel is like a dream come true for me. I have planned to go to Israel all my life. I heard about it for the first time when Gwyneth Wentink won in 1998.  I immediately thought "I have to go there," because my teacher told us it's the biggest competition.  When I was six and I had just started playing the harp, my mother would play recordings of Turlough O'Carolan, and I was really impressed. She told me that everyone in Ireland still knows him, even though he died 300 years ago. So then - I was still little and thought about it awhile to grasp the idea of being so famous... and a few minutes later I asked my mother, "Is it also possible to be the most famous harpist of the whole world?"

This was your goal?

Yes, at the age of six, this is what I had in mind. So when I heard of Israel, when I was 10, I knew I had to go there. Since, if it's the biggest competition, it will lead me to my goal. Of course, now my goal has changed. I still would like to become a famous harpist, but that's no longer my goal. Competing in Israel was still in my mind, though, because if I decide things, I always do them. I decided that I would be going to Israel back when I was ten, and I hoped that I was going to win... but this we have to see!

So what are these other goals?  Can you tell us about the competition you are planning in the Netherlands?

The competition is going to be awesome, I hope. It's going to be different in a lot of ways. For instance, the jury; we're going to have a totally different setup. Since we hear of some strange, miraculous results in competitions... sometimes the results just aren't because of the music. They have political reasons or just spite between different teachers and different techniques. In general, it's a crazy idea that a lot harpists who all fight for a couple of concert spaces decide together who's going to be their next colleague and competitor. That's a really strange thing, and I never really got that.  In our competition, the majority of the members will be non-harpists.

We're going to have the first stage behind a screen. The audience will know who's playing but the jury won't, so it's only, purely about the music. The second round of course will be without the screen. I think the visual aspect is very important, but music should come first always.

Then, what I think is the most important thing that's lacking in harp competitions is what you get out of it. They are often not rewarding in that sense. Sometimes you get some money, sometimes you can pay your travel expenses. Our competition offers some monetary prizes, because it's always nice to get money even if it's just to repay expenses, but much more important is to get a career out of it. You can get a million-dollar check out of a competition and have no career whatsoever, so what's the use? (Well, you could use it for promotion of course.) It would be much more useful to get people concerts after the competition. For this first competition I don't know what we will be able to achieve, but we'll do our best to put these and other ideas into practice. The application deadline is only in two months, but we already have a lot of applications. Our limit is 32, and I think we'll pass it, which is really awesome for a first competition!

If there will be a second competition, which will depend on if this one is a success, we will spend half the energy on setting up an agency somewhat like what they have for the big violin competitions, to get concerts for the winners. I feel that we in the harp world are keeping ourselves down. We still think we're such a tiny group, we have to stick together and fight the big world. I always get a very nasty feeling when people say, "We have to stick together, we're harpists." We should grow out of that! We want to be taken seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously.  The harp has a great potential to be a big part of the music world!

An important part of our competition which I forgot to mention was that there is also a festival organized around the competition and opportunities to see concerts. Every competitor who doesn't pass on to the next stage will get a masterclass; everything will be recorded, and everyone will receive written comments from the jury.

It's going to be a short week, but I hope that we can draw an audience and make it a nice event.

Jerusalem

On Thursday, the competition organized a tour to the city of Jerusalem for those of us who were not busy practicing chamber music. After breakfast that day, we all met in the lobby, climbed aboard our bus, and a mere hour later we arrived in Jerusalem. Though we hadn't gone that far, in terms of physical distance, we immediately felt ourselves to be in a different world. Tel Aviv - where we have been staying so far - is a modern city. The skyline is spiked with skyscrapers. A center for science and technology, Tel Aviv is known as the silicon valley of Israel. By contrast, Jerusalem is a complex wealth of history and religion, where hundreds of important sites and monuments serve to keep events of biblical times alive today.

Our first stop was the City Hall, where we were received by the mayor, Nir Barkat, who welcomed us to Jerusalem. In this photo, he is the gentleman in the suit, front and center.

We then continued on to visit Yad VaShem, a Holocaust Memorial. (For this part of our trip, I have no photos to share, because we were not allowed to use our cameras.) There we met up with an excellent tour guide who led us on a efficient path through the exhibitions (since we had a limited amount of time). She gave our visit a sense of continuity and helped to make it special by relating several of her own family's personal stories of the Holocaust. The museum strives to tell the story from a Jewish perspective, rather than relying on German records of the events, and it also dispenses with statistics in favor of focusing on individuals. We saw videos taken of Jews in their daily lives before the Holocaust and interviews of survivors sharing their experiences as well as personal articles that had been recovered - diaries, photos, etc. The most moving part of the visit for me was the Hall of Names, which is an ongoing collection of all the names of the Jews who were killed. The circular design of the room, lined with bookshelves full of alphabetized file cases was very effective in helping one grasp the numbers involved. Throughout the museum during our visit, groups of young Israeli army trainees were being taken through as well - evidence of how important it is to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive in the national consciousness.

After getting lunch, we headed on to the Old City. We filed our way through narrow, bustling market streets until we reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The church was built to mark the locations of the last five stations of the cross, according to the Catholic tradition. Several different churches claim ownership over this crucial landmark - an unresolvable struggle that has brought every detail concerning the maintenance and operation of the church to a perfectly unchanging status quo. Within the church, there are ornate shrines to mark each step of Jesus' crucifixion. There are also throngs of people, so thick that one can barely move. Never have I been in a place where something as simple as a slab of rock was so charged with meaning and emotion.

kissing the stone where Jesus was laid after being removed from the cross

throngs of people in front of one of the 12th station; The Cross is Raised and Jesus Dies

With the few remaining minutes of our visit to the Old City, we were given free reign to explore the market streets. One of my first priorities was to taste the fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice that was being made everywhere we looked.

pomegranates are a native fruit of this region

the market

One day was not nearly enough time to explore the city of Jerusalem. For each thing we managed to see, we became aware of 50 other things that we would not be able to see. It gave us an appreciation for the way so many different cultures and religions have to coexist within the walls of a small Middle-Eastern city.

Semi-Final Stage

The competition has been lingering in a sort of calm before the semi-final storm as the remaining contestants prepare for third stage. The morning after the second-stage results were announced, they had to begin rehearsing with the chamber groups provided for the competition, leaving no time to recover before having to be ready with a whole new set of repertoire. The pieces for this round are:

Beethoven - Serenade (trio transcribed by Ami Maayani for flute, viola, and harp - originally for flute, violin, and viola)

Caplet - Conte Fantastique (for harp and string quartet)

Each contestant has now rehearsed both pieces on each day; they were given 50 minutes for each rehearsal and only had 30 minutes for the Beethoven on the first day. Those who have shown excellency as soloists in the first two rounds are now being challenged in an entirely different way. No longer is the stress on the memory of notes, for this time they are allowed to use their scores, but the jury will be looking for their skills at working in an ensemble: solid and clear rhythm, communication with the other musicians, attention to the balance of the sound.

The schedule of performances is as follows:

Friday 16, 13:00:

Noel Wan, USA

Remy van Kesteren, The Netherlands

Gwenllian Llyr, Wales

Saturday 17, 20:00:

Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova

Valérie Milot, Canada

Emily Levin, USA

The rest of us who are no longer busy practicing and rehearsing have now been free to see a bit of the rest of the country. Today the competition organized a tour of Jerusalem for us. We are still shuffling through the pictures that we took today and will post a more detailed review of our trip shortly.

Interview: Meredith Clark

After having survived the theft of her wallet and all the kerfuffle that ensues, Meredith very graciously agreed to let us interview her a few days ago. Unfortunately the credit card that was "overnighted" on Tuesday still hasn't arrived, and she is still battling with the confused and slightly disorganized front desk.

Meredith, now 23 years old, grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and studied with Sydney Howell, Delaine Fedson, and Ellen Ritscher, as well as spending a summer with Alice Chalifoux. She earned her Bachelor's Degree at Oberlin College where she studied with Yolanda Kondanassis, with whom she is now finishing her Master's Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Tell us a little bit about how you prepared for the competition?

You mean...besides practicing...?! I knew a few of the pieces before I decided to do the competition, which was quite a while after the list had been out, so it was a race to make sure that all of my pieces were learned, and learned well.

Did you go to any masterclasses?

Not that I played in, but this past summer I was at the American Harp Society Convention in Detroit and I saw a masterclass on the Hindemith which was really interesting.

So how else did you prepare?

All of the not-solo things I got to do with groups, so I was really lucky that the Beethoven and the Caplet I got to play on recitals at CIM with students and then two weeks before I left for the competiton I played the Ginastera with the CIM orchestra. I also played it in Germany in April with the Akademische Orchester Leipzig, which is like a training orchestra but there are people of all different ages. And I got to play it in the Gewandhaus, which was really awesome.

Is there anything you' d like to share with us about your experience at the competition so far?

I think I was really surprised in general how nice everyone was, you know, everyone seems really kind and concerned that everyone plays their best which is not how I would normally view a competition atmosphere. You know, it is always really frustrating when you don't do your best, but for that moment, that is all you can do, and then it's up to the judges.

What are your plans for after the competition?

New music!

What kind of music do you like to learn?

I really like more contemporary stuff, and I think if I got to choose it would involve a lot more of that and probably a lot more contemporary chamber stuff, not necessarily a typical chamber ensemble including harp. I've done some stuff with harp, cello, and percussion which is really cool, so maybe more of that. I don't know, lots of people are planning on doing the USA competition as well. I don't know if I want to do that, especially because the only music that I know for USA is the music I know for this competition, and a 45 minute recital, I can throw stuff on, but I would rather not have to play things like the Krumpholtz again, that's on the list! But who knows, we'll see!

Ron, the MC

One of my favorite moments every day has been sitting in the audience waiting for the competition to start. I have taken to observing Ron Debi, our wonderful Master of Ceremonies. He greets everyone as they enter the concert hall, in a surprising variety of languages. I have watched him fluently begin conversations in Hebrew, English, Italian, Spanish, French... I'm sure he must know German, though this I have yet to confirm. When everyone is settled in their seats, he very obediently, after getting the go-ahead from Judith Liber (the Jury Chairperson), gives the opening announcement (the same one each time...) in Hebrew and in English. Then, with perfect poise and diction, he dutifully announces each contestant and the program to be played. As the contestants play their hearts out, one can observe Mr Debi quietly sitting behind his podium on stage, eager to assist if the need should arise (bring over music stand, give nasty look to person making noise while coming in late...).

During the first stage, I noticed that he was always writing something in a notebook while everyone was playing, and I assumed that he must be taking notes. Only recently did we all discover that it was nothing as remotely boring as that... he was drawing each harpist! Here are just a few of the drawings that I was able to collect from fellow contestants (click on them for a bigger version):

Stage 2 results

The results for the second stage were just announced. Unfortunately, I did not pass on to the third round. I am of course disappointed, but at least I am happy with how I played. Deep inside I am relieved that I am done and can now spend my time going to the beach, watching amazing performances and writing blog entries.


The six chosen to play the chamber round are:

Noel Wan

Remy van Kesteren

Gwenllian Llyr

Ina Zdorovetchi

Valérie Milot

Emily Levin


The Mario Falcao Prize ($1,500) for the best performance of the free choice contemporary piece went to Remy van Kesteren.

The Irena Kaganovsky Prize ($1,000) for the best performance of the Renié went to Emily Levin.

Congratulations to everybody who made it this far!

Stage 2 repertoire

Each harpist in stage two has to play:

Suite in C minor BWV 997 - JS Bach

-Prelude

-Sarabande

-Gigue

Sonata for Harp - Hindemith

Pièce Symphonique en trois épisodes - H Renié

one free-choice contemporary piece "composed after 1975, of a duration not less than 5 nor more than 7 minutes, and preferably by a composer from the contestant’s own country (may be a movement from a larger work.)"

Listening to people's free-choice contemporary pieces has been very interesting. Many are quite tonal and pleasant to listen to, some are very atonal with surprising and colorful effects. I have been trying to figure out how the jury will judge this part of the program, since it is mostly different for each contestant, and in the process, have developed my own criteria:

1) Does it fit well with the program, or does it seem like the contestant chose it to get brownie points for playing a piece from his/her country?

2) Is the piece interesting enough for me to listen to it carefully all of the way through (you would not believe the amount of boring awful contemporary music out there)?

3) Does the contestant seem to have understood the point of the piece, or is he/she just playing it because one was required?

4) Does it seem technically difficult enough to be on the level of such a renowned international competition?

5) Is the performance appropriately theatrical, in the sense that the harpist's body language adds to the experience rather than being nonexistent, or over-exhuberant?

Results will be announced tonight. There are two special prizes to be had for the best performances of the free choice contemporary piece and the Renié. But in the meantime, just for curiosity's sake, here is a list of the contemporary pieces everyone chose:

Rachel: P Patterson - From Spiders (The Dancing White Lady, Tarantula)

Elisa: J-F Zbinden - Kakamura

Noel: P van Onna - The Secret Garden

Remy: H Holliger - Präludium

Gwenllian: P Patterson - (The Red Backed Spider, The Black Widow, Tarantula)

Paola: Donatoni - Marches
Ruri: Hosokawa - Two Japanese Folk Songs

Elizabeth: W Alexander - Limberlost: The Life of the Birdwoman

Emilie: H Holliger - Präludium

Ina: I Yun - In Balance

Meredith: D Erb - Sonata for Harp, mvt 1

Anna: J Charpentier - La Danse devant l'Arche

Valérie: C Lizotte - La Madonne

Emily: J Charpentier - La Danse devant l'Arche

Marina: S Natra - Prayer