Third time's the charm! This certainly applied to this solo concert by harpist Anneleen Lenaerts in Kapellen, organized by the Davidsfonds. March 2020 was the original date, but 'something happened' as the chairman put it, and the concert was postponed three times over. Saturday evening, January 8, 2022, it finally happened. Highly coveted tickets had sold out weeks in advance. Dedicated concert-goers had repeatedly cleared the new date in their calendars.
Anneleen Lenaerts performed an hour-long solo recital with repertoire from her new album Vienna Stories. Ten years ago, the newly graduated Lenaerts began the career of her dreams. To her great surprise, she was accepted as solo harpist with the Wiener Philharmoniker. The album Vienna Stories is a kind of reflection of her musical adventures over the past years in Vienna. Both pieces from various operas where the harp plays an important role, as well as symphonic works to which Lenaerts cherishes special concert memories.
It was announced beforehand that Lenaerts would provide no commentary between pieces. A pity, but the reason for this soon became clear: it was cold in the Sint-Dionysiuskerk. Visitors kept their coats on, and between pieces one could see Lenaerts rubbing her hands to keep them warm.
The evening opened with Zabel's Fantasie on themes from Faust by Gounod. Lenaerts impressed with her technical precision. It was evident that she was fully aware of the composer's intentions. All melodic lines were presented in a stylistically conscious and meticulous manner.
This was followed by "Walther's Preislied" from Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, arranged by Hans Trnecek. Lenaerts demonstrated her art of drawing everyone into the beautiful vocal lines of the piece. It was as if her fingers sang in deep tones to the audience.
The programme continued with a Fantasie on La Bohème by Puccini written by Lenaerts herself. A tradition among influential harpists in the early 19th century, to showcase the technical possibilities of their then 'new' double-pedal instrument and to expand the limited repertoire. Again, beautiful melodic lines and crystal-clear arpeggios. Even the pianissimo playing resonated through the vast church.
In Smetana's Moldau, once again arranged by Hans Trnecek, Lenaerts played all the river passages with such elegance that it seemed effortless. After the performance, a broad smile appeared on her face during the applause. It perhaps revealed that the harpist was pleased to have brought this challenging cascade to a virtuosic conclusion.
Two of her own arrangements as a finale. "Song to the Moon" (from Rusalka) by Dvořák, in which the harpist moved with the emotional melody. And Les Preludes (S97) by Liszt, where Lenaerts beautifully brought out the intense, dark tonal colors in the lower registers of her instrument.
After a standing ovation, Lenaerts returned to the stage for an encore. Suddenly she revealed a completely different side, and pedal slides, nail glissandos and jazzy timing flew around our ears. After our 'journey' along Lenaerts' ten-year jubilee in Vienna, this was a refreshing finale. The harpist clearly has quite a few other qualities up her sleeve!
Information
- WHO: Anneleen Lenaerts (harp)
- WHAT: solo recital with works/arrangements by, among others, Albert Zabel, Wagner/Trnecek, Smetana/Trnecek and Lenaerts herself
- WHERE: Sint-Dionysiuskerk, Kapellen
- WHEN: Saturday, January 8, 2022