Elizabeth Jaxon - Beyond the Moment

Blogging in Utrecht

2010-04-03T01:49:00.000+02:00

I can't keep up! I still owe you the end of the story of the Tehran Orchestra tour, but in the meantime I've been running off and having other adventures. As I mentioned, I was in Utrecht this past week, blogging the First International Harp Competition and Festival of the Netherlands. I actually wasn't there to play the harp but to write, write, write. It was an interesting change of pace for me

Join me in the Netherlands

2010-03-25T09:51:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to drop a quick post here to let you know that while it may seem that I have abandoned my writing, I am actually busily typing away here at the First International Harp Competition and Festival in the Netherlands. Please come check out the blog at their official website. I'm having a great time here! We sped through the first round yesterday and are eagerly awaiting the semi-final

Strasbourg

2010-02-08T00:19:00.004+01:00

From the first day of my tour with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra (TSO) it was clear that I was in for an incredibly profound experience, rich with culture, politics, and especially music. I arrived in Strasbourg still with no idea what to expect and still barely a clue about what was going on. The moment

Kicking back into gear with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra

2010-01-22T00:23:00.003+01:00

I do realize that I said I would keep blogging after Israel and then I clearly didn't. This makes me somewhat less-than-true to my word, which is kind of disappointing, isn't it? However, I'm here now to say that, even if it took me a while, I'm back and I'm going on another adventure! When I got a last-minute call to go on tour with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, I realized this was the

Yitzhak Yedid - Out to Infinity

2009-10-27T22:14:00.007+01:00

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

Comments from the Jury

2009-10-23T23:45:00.001+02:00

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

Life After Israel

2009-10-23T23:45:00.000+02:00

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

Marta, signing off

2009-10-23T10:57:00.005+02:00

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

Final Results

2009-10-21T03:03:00.000+02:00

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

Tel Aviv

2009-10-20T16:24:00.000+02:00

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

Interview: Emily Levin

2009-10-19T21:46:00.007+02:00

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,

Stage 4 schedule

2009-10-19T21:33:00.000+02:00

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

Jason, harp technician

2009-10-19T21:10:00.001+02:00

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

Floating in the Dead Sea

2009-10-19T14:41:00.001+02:00

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

Stage 3 results

2009-10-17T23:57:00.003+02:00

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

Politics, anyone?

2009-10-17T23:50:00.004+02:00

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

Martino, the page turner

2009-10-17T23:33:00.008+02:00

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

Interview: Remy van Kesteren

2009-10-17T19:03:00.003+02:00

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

Jerusalem

2009-10-17T17:08:00.000+02:00

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

Semi-Final Stage

2009-10-15T22:15:00.004+02:00

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:

Interview: Meredith Clark

2009-10-15T20:35:00.011+02:00

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

Ron, the MC

2009-10-14T17:38:00.004+02:00

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,

Stage 2 results

2009-10-13T23:17:00.000+02:00

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

Stage 2 repertoire

2009-10-13T15:41:00.011+02:00

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.

Interview: Marina Roznitovsky

2009-10-13T15:33:00.005+02:00

For our second interview, we decided to feature our one native Israeli. Marina , 26 years old, was actually born in the Ukraine to a Russian-speaking family and moved to Israel when she was 6 years old. She began harp lessons at the age of 12 with Olga Moitlis originally of Moscow, who has become like her second mother. (Whose harp teacher is not like a second mother?) When she finished high

What Marta has been up to

2009-10-13T13:44:00.000+02:00

So far on this blog, there has been a lot of Marta writing about what I have been doing. Today I am taking over the keyboard to let you know what Marta herself has been up to. While my life these days is a pretty predictable sequence of practicing and playing (and sometimes getting dressed up and posing for pictures), Marta gets to do a much more interesting variety of

Stage 2 debriefing

2009-10-13T00:28:00.004+02:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that El was amazing today!I spent the whole day being sick to my stomach for her, while she happily ate lots of food and was not at all nervous. I guess she had already been nervous once this week, and twice would have been too much. She played better than I have ever heard her play, and I am really proud that she had such a great performance here at the

Interview: Gwenllian Llyr

2009-10-11T21:52:00.007+02:00

Yesterday, Elizabeth decided that it would be worthwhile to start a mini-interview series on the blog. We have met so many harpists here, we'd love to share them with you too! The social dynamics here are unique in that everyone comes from a different background, but shares the last two year's worth of work and experiences, albeit in a different setting and with different approaches. Also, we

The Shabbat Elevator

2009-10-11T20:47:00.005+02:00

From our first ride up the hotel elevator we had both been puzzled by this admonishment on the elevator buttons: We mostly wondered why anyone would need to touch the doors on any other day… On Friday night, the mystery grew stronger, as the “Shabbat Elevator” suddenly came to life and seemed to have a mind of its own. Of the two elevators, one was completely disobedient to any commands given

First Stage Results

2009-10-11T11:00:00.007+02:00

ELIZABETH MADE IT !! After about an hour of deliberation, the jury announced the results last night at around 11:30pm. The rules and regulations state that 16-18 people are admitted to the second round. Since only 20 competed, the obvious choice was to pass 16. So without further ado, here is the schedule for second stage: Monday 12, 14:00 Rachel Piesslinger, Austria Elisa Netzer, Switzerland

How El is doing

2009-10-11T10:12:00.014+02:00

I have been getting many emails from concerned family members and friends to the effect of “how is Elizabeth really doing?” So I’ve decided to elaborate on her general state of physical, mental, and musical well-being. I separate these three states because we have been having different problems and having to find different solutions for each one. Physically, El has a predisposition to

Another October Birthday

2009-10-10T00:58:00.002+02:00

Happy Birthday Isabelle! We send you many happy wishes from Israel...

One Down...

2009-10-10T00:34:00.000+02:00

It has finally begun. After a long wait – and waiting is the hardest part – I have now played my first stage. I’m not quite sure what to tell you, because I know that I don’t have a clear perspective on my own playing. I’m sure those in the audience, depending on what each individual looks for in a performance, had a different opinion of my playing and how it compares to

First Stage Schedule

2009-10-07T22:54:00.002+02:00

The first stage takes place over three days. El plays on Friday at 14 :00 ! The program is :Two of the following Scarlatti sonatas : K198 E minor, K380 E Major, K426 g minor, K531 E Major Krumpholtz Sonata no 1 op 16bis Yedid Out to Infinity (the Israeli piece especially comissioned for this competition) Either Scintillation or Variations on a theme in Ancient Style

Apollo

2009-10-07T22:11:00.000+02:00

Marta and I have switched roles for the evening ; she is practicing the harp while I write a blog post ! We have just returned to the hotel from a very nice evening with a couple of the other harpists, on the beach of the Mediterranean and to a restaurant for copious amounts of hummus, eggplant, and falafal. We wandered around the historic port city of Jaffa and experienced an exotic world I’ve

That was a Gala 'v an Opening Concert!

2009-10-07T12:54:00.013+02:00

Just imagine... ten soloists, six harp concertos, two and a half hours, and one President of Israel... and you get the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the International Harp Contest in Israel. The evening began with a very sweet presentation by harp students of Mariana Schwartzbart (Jerusalem Academy of Music, Israel Conseratory - Tel Aviv, Beer-Sheva Conservatory). They set up two harp quartets

Down to twenty

2009-10-07T12:49:00.002+02:00

Contestant number 15 (Andrea Krickovic) did not come, so we're down to 20!

And now for some real news

2009-10-06T16:30:00.003+02:00

I promised to pass all information on as soon as it was available, so here is a list of contestants with their playing order. Thus far, no specific times have yet been attributed. Of the thirty-some harpists originally planning to participate, only 21 have actually come. El's number is lucky 13!!1 - Rahel Piesslinger, Austria2- Lauyee Yeung, Hong Kong3- Elisa Netzer, Switzerland4- Ruth Mar,

Holy Smokes - our flight to Tel Aviv

2009-10-06T15:10:00.007+02:00

After fighting with the wireless internet, the non-wireless internet, and my computer for an hour, I finally am able to let you all know that WE MADE IT!! In short, we flew from Paris to Tel Aviv through Frankfurt and arrived at the hostel around 3:30 this morning. Surprisingly, after all of the horror stories we had heard, the security checks were not at all worse than what one must endure

Ginastera, the music video

2009-10-05T00:56:00.000+02:00

As I depart on a plane bound for Tel Aviv, I leave you with a special treat. This is my plea to let me through to the final stage so I can play the Ginastera concerto for real. Click on the screen-shot and it will take you to my video on YouTube: There is so much repertoire to learn for Israel that I soon realized that if I didn't find an imaginative way to practice it, I was going to go

Harpy Birthday, Elizabeth!

2009-10-03T01:09:00.004+02:00

May your next quarter century be as exciting and fruitful as your first! Enjoy your last year of "youth" discounts here in France before you join us adults who suddenly have to pay full price for everything at the ripe old age of 26.

Choosing appropriate ornamentation part II

2009-10-03T00:16:00.003+02:00

Last night, or more like early this morning, after much debate we made our final decisions on ornamentation. After a beautifully satisfying dinner celebrating Elizabeth's 25th birthday (two days early) courtesy of her mum, we walked back to my apartment and sat hunched over our work at my kitchen table. My husband went to bed... the cats went to bed... the crazy upstairs neighbor went to bed (

The Instrument Itself

2009-10-02T20:54:00.005+02:00

The most frequent question I get from people who don't know how this works is: “So... do you take your harp with you on the plane?” I quickly say: “No, no, good lord, that would be a nightmare.” There will be harps provided at the competition venue, and I will play those. The most frequent follow-up

One week to go

2009-09-29T00:15:00.002+02:00

We are leaving in exactly one week! I can hardly believe it! This past week, I had a scare with tendinitis. I started having pain in the second finger of my left hand, right along the top of the joint where it connects to my hand. Anxious to avoid aggravating the problem, I immediately did everything I

Choosing appropriate ornamentation

2009-09-24T21:22:00.007+02:00

The Prelude of the Bach suite on second stage ends with two chords (V/V and V for those of you who are interested) prolonged by fermatas, followed by a short coda. Historical tradition has it that in such cases the performer was expected to ornament the chords in order to 1) prolong the harmony and 2) show off a bit. Elizabeth has been playing around with ideas for embellishments for these two

Introducing Marta

2009-09-21T00:14:00.006+02:00

I am very excited to introduce a special guest writer to this blog... Marta!In the interest of bringing you the most up-to-date news that we can from Israel, Marta will be here, armed with camera and computer, to give the latest scoop, while I'm busy glued to a harp or have my nose stuck in my scores. Marta is highly qualified for this job, being my team partner in this whole operation, privy to

Shana tova!

2009-09-20T23:31:00.004+02:00

This weekend was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year! I looked it up, and we are now on year # 5,770, counting since the beginning of the world. It's disconcerting, isn't it, to imagine living under a different calendar from the one we're used to? Since time-stamping e-mails would be a computer programmer's hell otherwise, the Gregorian calendar has been universally accepted. It's true that the

Pros and Cons of competitions

2009-09-20T23:21:00.002+02:00

Thank you to Helen at Camac Harps for the plug for my blog on the Camac Harpblog! I feel so honored to be featured in such a serious and wonderful publication, and additionally encouraged that she completed the post with the poignant citation of a convocation address given to incoming students at Juilliard in

Challenges

2009-09-11T00:42:00.008+02:00

I have reached the point in my preparation where I have, for the most part, finished learning and studying my pieces, and now what remains to be done is getting the hang of playing them through cleanly from beginning to end (or from end to beginning, while standing on my head and drinking a glass of Perrier). I have to build up my concentration and endurance so that nothing may throw me off. But

La Fontaine

2009-09-08T00:02:00.003+02:00

WARNING: Do not try this at home, kids!When you're preparing a big, international solo competition, you're generally supposed to say no to other commitments that creep up, especially in the days immediately preceding the competition. However, real life is always more complicated, so I have gotten myself dangerously over committed.I am going to be spending most of my evenings this month playing

Thanks for the support

2009-09-07T23:56:00.003+02:00

When I was little and would see Oscar winners work themselves into a babbling mess frantically trying to thank everybody they could before being dragged away from the microphone, I thought it was all a boring political formality and wished we could just move along to the next prize. But now that I am

Hebrew 101

2009-08-31T23:16:00.004+02:00

Of course, you can't go to Israel without at least trying to learn Hebrew! So I went to my local library, which just happens to specialize in language resources, and checked out a basic audio course. It's a good excuse to get out and go to the park. I sit on a bench and practice writing out sentences like “

Sitting and Practicing

2009-08-30T00:21:00.000+02:00

Preparation for a competition (or concert or exam) involves a whole mix of interesting things, such as: choosing and arranging the pieces on your program; organizing the logistics of harp transportation; shopping for fancy dresses and shoes; setting up rehearsals and practice performances, etc. Due of the

Introduction: Aiming for Israel

2009-08-23T22:32:00.009+02:00

Enough reasons have built up to finally result in the launch of my blog. It seems that everybody is asking me to let them know how things go at the competition I'm doing in Israel this October, and I've decided this is the best way. There's so much to tell! This competition is not just about what happens in