Greetings on the Occasion of the 17th International Harp Contest
Maestro Zubin MehtaPreparations are underway to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Harp Contest in Israel, one of Israel's oldest and most successful musical endeavors. As young aspiring harpists the world over are preparing to participate in the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel, we in Israel are planning what promises to be an unprecedented musical experience for contestants and public alike.
Once again, thanks to the
enthusiastic and generous support of harpist and philanthropist,
Yoko Nagae Ceschina, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will participate in the
Contest. The IPO, accompanying several of the winners of the previous 16 Contests,
will perform in a special 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala Concert.
I am happy to preside as Honorary President of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the International Harp Contest in Israel. I am proud to note that the level of performance on the harp, the abundance of new music composed for the harp and the greater public awareness of the beauty of this heavenly instrument that has blossomed over the past half century, is primarily fruit reaped from the Harp Contest in Israel. Many talented young harpists have been launched on their way to fine careers.
The vast and varied required repertoire of this Contest spans nearly 400 years of music history. One need not win a prize to benefit from this Contest. It is enough to prepare it! Those who participate will have the opportunity to perform Chamber Music with leading Israeli musicians as well as listen and learn from the performances of their peers. I urge harpists everywhere to come and share this unique musical experience.
Zubin Mehta
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director for Life
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I am happy to preside as Honorary President of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the International Harp Contest in Israel. I am proud to note that the level of performance on the harp, the abundance of new music composed for the harp and the greater public awareness of the beauty of this heavenly instrument that has blossomed over the past half century, is primarily fruit reaped from the Harp Contest in Israel. Many talented young harpists have been launched on their way to fine careers.
The vast and varied required repertoire of this Contest spans nearly 400 years of music history. One need not win a prize to benefit from this Contest. It is enough to prepare it! Those who participate will have the opportunity to perform Chamber Music with leading Israeli musicians as well as listen and learn from the performances of their peers. I urge harpists everywhere to come and share this unique musical experience.
Zubin Mehta
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director for Life
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Limor Livnat, M.K.The harp is one of the world's oldest musical instruments. Its origins lie in the Middle East and the ancient Mediterranean basin. It is referred to in texts from the time of the great psalmist, King David, who excelled in playing the harp, through the Psalms, where it figures as a celestial musical instrument through which people sang their praises to God, to Greek mythology, according to which Apollo, the god of the sun and music, gave Orpheus the gift of an instrument called the "lyre" – a precursor of the harp.
With it, Orpheus hypnotized his listeners. It was said that his playing could divert the course of rivers, charm the animals of the forests, and even coax trees and rocks to dance.
Brave seafarers invited him to join them on their voyages, as his music could quiet the raging seas.
The harp, the largest of the stringed instruments, produces the most delicate and plaintive of sounds. With a soft, caressing velvet touch, something in them penetrates the most exquisite, hidden chords of the human soul. Its tones remind us of the whisper of raindrops on a windowpane, or the songs of angels, as we imagine them.
This year, the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel marks its jubilee anniversary. It was established in 1959, in honor of the State of Israel's tenth birthday. Since then, great harpists from Israel and around the world have gathered here every three years. The Contest remains the most prestigious of all those that have come after it, bringing us great repute and honor.
The Contest's finals take place in the City of David, a symbolic tradition which lifts Jerusalem to the height of the celebration. This is fitting and proper for Israel's capital, of which the poet and outstanding officer, Yosef Sarig, who fell in Ramat HaGolan during the Yom Kippur War, wrote:
"I saw a city wrapped in light And it rises in all the colors of the rainbow, And, like a harp of many strings, it plays in me. I saw a city wrapped in light."
Our heartfelt thanks to the musicians, judges and lovers of harp music from Israel and abroad, for your great contribution to our musical culture.
Limor Livnat, M.K.
Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports
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The harp, the largest of the stringed instruments, produces the most delicate and plaintive of sounds. With a soft, caressing velvet touch, something in them penetrates the most exquisite, hidden chords of the human soul. Its tones remind us of the whisper of raindrops on a windowpane, or the songs of angels, as we imagine them.
This year, the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel marks its jubilee anniversary. It was established in 1959, in honor of the State of Israel's tenth birthday. Since then, great harpists from Israel and around the world have gathered here every three years. The Contest remains the most prestigious of all those that have come after it, bringing us great repute and honor.
The Contest's finals take place in the City of David, a symbolic tradition which lifts Jerusalem to the height of the celebration. This is fitting and proper for Israel's capital, of which the poet and outstanding officer, Yosef Sarig, who fell in Ramat HaGolan during the Yom Kippur War, wrote:
"I saw a city wrapped in light And it rises in all the colors of the rainbow, And, like a harp of many strings, it plays in me. I saw a city wrapped in light."
Our heartfelt thanks to the musicians, judges and lovers of harp music from Israel and abroad, for your great contribution to our musical culture.
Limor Livnat, M.K.
Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports
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Patricia E. Wooster, ChairmanTo The International Harp Contest in Israel,
I am very pleased to offer hearty congratulations and best wishes from the World Harp Congress to the International Harp contest in Israel on the occasion of the Contest's fiftieth anniversary! The vision and courage of the founders if the Contest, the world's first such event,
are evident as we look back on a half-century of brilliant performances and on the remarkably successful careers of
so many of its winners.
Truly the world of the harp stands in great debt to those founders and to the many supporters and staff members who continue to ensure the Contest's vitality today.
As we gather to experience its seventeenth iteration, the International Harp Congest in Israel enjoys an enviable reputation among the most prestigious international harp competitions. May your future contain many more anniversaries as significant as this one!
Warm regards,
Patricia E. Wooster, Chairman
Board of Directors
World Harp Congress, Inc.
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Truly the world of the harp stands in great debt to those founders and to the many supporters and staff members who continue to ensure the Contest's vitality today.
As we gather to experience its seventeenth iteration, the International Harp Congest in Israel enjoys an enviable reputation among the most prestigious international harp competitions. May your future contain many more anniversaries as significant as this one!
Warm regards,
Patricia E. Wooster, Chairman
Board of Directors
World Harp Congress, Inc.
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