Various Artists - Harp Meets Piano

Ever imagined an entire programme devoted to marrying the sounds of the harp and the piano? Yes, of course there is quite a comprehensive repertoire for these two instruments thanks to the composing talents of Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), Joseph Woelfl (1773-1812), Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812), François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834), Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), Elias Parish-Alvars (1808-1849) and Nicholas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856), to mention but a few of the better-known names, but, to be honest, not many of their works retain much significance. Years later, a young French composer, Régis Chesneau (born 1986), took an interest in this unusual instrumental pairing; working from three of his arrangements, the harpist Isabelle Courret - sometime soloist at La Scala in Milan - and the pianist Cyprien Katsaris have devised this surprising programme, a veritable journey through the centuries.