Celebrated harp soloist and Telarc recording artist Yolanda Kondonassis has written a detailed and comprehensive treatise for the harp that will be a great boon to harpists at all levels of performance accomplishment. Kondonassis has divided her book into three broad sections. Part I: On Building the Foundation, covers all the basic techniques and issues involved in playing the harp from elbow, hand, wrist and finger positions to the art of practicing, pedal technique and special effects possible on the harp. Part II: On Strengthening and Conditioning, features exercises and etudes for strengthening the individual fingers, facility of pedal use, scales, arpeggios and much more. Part III: On Warming Up, has recommended stretching exercises for harpists and warm-ups designed for beginning, intermediate and advanced harpists. Throughout the book, there are photographs that demonstrate proper hand positions and copious musical examples. On Playing the Harp is the perfect A to Z compendium of material for developing the multifaceted art of playing this delightful and increasingly popular instrument. |
