Amandine Carbuccia (photo by Nike Martens)

Elizabeth Jaxon: What made you originally decide to participate in the Dutch Harp Competition?

Amandine Carbuccia: I decided to do the competition last summer. I wanted to do a competition, because I like having a goal in my practicing, and the Dutch Harp Competition was happening in March, which was perfect to begin the first part of the year. I chose this competition because the program instantly attracted me; I like the idea of having a first round of required repertoire and free choice for the second round. This allows us to choose a program which we particularly like and to present ourselves as individual artists. And then the prospect of playing the Aranjuez concerto [by Joaquín Rodrigo] with an orchestra in the Finals, that was motivating!

EJ: How did you approach the process of preparing for this competition?

AC: I would say that I proceeded in the order of competition rounds. I started out by practicing the CPE Bach Sonate, because I had to record one movement, as well as a Posse etude, for the preliminary round. Next, I set in on the second round, putting the CPE Bach Sonate aside to rest for a couple months. I constructed a program essentially on a theme of French music, with works by Renié, Cras, and Grandjany. I really like to play this music, and it enables me to best express my personality. There was just one odd piece out – Scarlatti – but I have some Italian heritage as well! And finally, I started the concerto, around Christmas time. For Rodrigo, I practiced a lot with the CD. I listened to it very often and listened to many different interpretations and therefore different styles, but always the [original] guitar version. In the beginning of March, I started rehearsing the concerto with a piano accompanist from our class, which was very useful for me. I also got some advice from a Spanish friend of mine, which helped a lot for the style.

Of course, I prepared the entire program with my teacher in Frankfurt, Françoise Friedrich, where I am doing a one-year Erasmus exchange. I also went to Lyon to play my program for my teacher at the CNSM, Fabrice Pierre. It’s funny because two weeks before the competition my former teacher from Nice, Michelle Vuillaume, came and gave a masterclass at the Hochschule in Frankfurt, so I also had the chance to work with her again. I believe I worked on my competition program with all of my teachers! The help and support from my teachers was indispensable. They were really very invested and believed in me throughout the process of preparation, which is very important.

The amount of time which I devoted to the competition was not always the same. I made sure to have everything ready about three weeks in advance, at which point I did many run-throughs, concerts, etc. I tried to run though my first round cold every morning, without having warmed up, and in the afternoon I played either the second round or the Rodrigo – I would alternate. After each run-through I would work in detail on whatever hadn’t gone well. Before arriving at the period of run-throughs, I practiced about four hours per day, but this is an approximation: it depended on the day. I was also starting my praktikum with the Münster Orchestra in January, so I didn’t always have a lot of time to practice, but I did a lot of mental practicing with the scores in the train. However, my work with the orchestra also helped me keep my mind clear, especially in the week leading up to the competition. I was always busy with orchestra – I was still in rehearsals the day before the first round – and this distracted me from thinking too much about the competition or stressing out. To boost my confidence, I would tell myself: “You have done the maximum, you are ready, and now have fun playing and give everything.” Beyond that, what the jury will think is another story!

EJ: Is there any special strategy you have for remaining focused during the competition week itself?

AC: First of all, I didn’t have a choice! When you find out that you’re in the next round, there’s nothing to do but to remain concentrated. Once I was at the competition, therefore, I was already concentrated and in a “bubble”. The concentration became more difficult to maintain towards the end of the week, because I began to get tired. I also didn’t go to all the evening concerts, in order to stay concentrated on the competition. It’s too bad, because they seemed interesting, but I thought it was more serious to reread my scores and go to bed early.

Nonetheless, I admit that I wasn’t concentrated 24/7. I also took advantage of my free time to take walks in Utrecht or to spend time with the other competitors and relax. Every evening, I would always look over the scores for the next round. I always do that – it reassures me and refocuses my concentration on the competition.

EJ: What was your favorite aspect of the competition week?

AC: To sum it up in a word, I would say the ambiance. Each round felt to me like a real concert. Of course, I was nervous waiting to play (and actually really nervous before the first round!), but once I walked on stage all the pressure decreased – there was a warm feeling in the hall which put me at ease. I was able to share my music with the audience each round, without thinking of the competition itself.

The ambience [of the festival] in general was also really nice, thanks to the impeccable organization by a team of really awesome people! I also have some really nice memories of the other finalists. We didn’t know each other at all before the competition, but the three of us got along really well and shared plenty of good moments (like our photo shoot, or evening meals together). We supported each other until the very end, and that’s extraordinary!

EJ: What was the most challenging aspect for you?

AC: The speech I had to give in English at the beginning of the second round, because I don’t have a good mastery of the language. I was worried no one would understand me.

I also have an awful memory of the train ride from Utrecht to Münster which I took at the beginning of the competition so that I could be back in Münster for an orchestra rehearsal. There was a whole succession of incredible incidents: after an accident on the tracks, I had to take several busses and finally a taxi to get back to my place, all of this in the middle of the night, with all the announcements in Dutch, and just one day before the first round! But I figured that, after all of that, I must have a bit a luck.

EJ: What are your plans now, for after the competition?

AC: First of all, I’m going to return to France next year, to the CNSMD in Lyon, to finish my master’s degree, because this year I did an Erasmus exchange in Frankfurt, Germany. I am also going to try to enter the CA program (two years of study at the CNSM to become a certified teacher), so I’ll do auditions in Lyon and Paris in September. I have always wanted to teach, so I hope I get into this program; I know that it’s not easy. But I also want to come back to Germany afterward to do some orchestra auditions. I am doing a praktikum (apprenticeship) in an orchestra this year, in Münster, where I am seeing what it’s like to be in a professional orchestra, and it makes me want to continue on this path. The ideal thing would be to teach and play in an orchestra, both at once!

I’m also very interested in music therapy, and I’ve been involved with the Live Music Now foundation in Frankfurt since October 2011. The foundation’s mission is to bring music to people who cannot otherwise access it – for example people in retirement homes, hospices, prisons, etc. – and each concert is an unforgettable experience.

EJ: Has winning First Prize changed anything for you?

AC: Now I have to do interviews!! But seriously, I would say primarily that it has brought me a lot of self confidence. It’s a huge personal satisfaction to have won the first prize. I see the future now with much more optimism.

EJ: Part of the First Prize award is that you will be invited for the Dutch Harp Tour in 2013. Do you think you will perform the same repertoire in 2013 that you did for the competition, or do you have other repertoire in mind that you want to present?

AC: I will of course present new pieces, but also keep some from the competition. There are certain pieces that I just have to play in concerts, like the Rhapsodie by Marcel Grandjany – it’s my signature piece, and I never program a concert that doesn’t include it! There’s also the Tango by Jean-Michel Damase; I adore playing that piece, so it will surely be on the program. But most of the pieces will be new. I’m already planning out the program, with the help of Remy (the wonderful competition organizer!). It’s a bit early, because the tour isn’t until February 2013, but it’s good because I can program lots of new pieces and I have almost a year to organize my practicing. The next year will be busy, because I will also be giving my master’s recital, in June, 2013. The earlier I plan my programs, the better!

Amandine Carbuccia (photo by Nike Martens)

Biography

Born August 9th, 1990, in Nice, Amandine Carbuccia began studying both harp and violin at the age of 7. Her first teacher on harp was Michelle Vuillaume, who introduced her to all the richness of the instrument and who inspired her to continue her studies to an advanced level. Amandine completed her pre-college studies with Ms. Vuillaume at the Regional National Conservatory (CNR) of Nice in June, 2007, earning a premier prix and an honorable mention. The following year, she was admitted unanimously into the class of Fabrice Pierre and the Superior National Conservatory (CNSM) in Lyon, where she completed a bachlor’s degree.

Currently in her first year of master’s degree studies, Amandine is regularly invited to play with orchestras such as the Lyon Opera, the Saint-Etienne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Cannes, Provence, Alpes, Côte d’Azur, and the Bratislava Orchestra. She was principal harpist of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra in 2008, the Netherlands Youth Orchestra in 2010, and the Berlin Youth Symphony in 2011. In January of 2012, she won the coveted apprenticeship position with the Münster Symphony Orchestra, where she will play second harp until the end of the season.

Having studied jazz harp with Park Stickney and Baroque repertoire with Sylvain Blassel, Amandine distinguishes herself by her eclecticism and her openness to contemporary music. This lead her to perform, in June 2009, with the Folk Songs of Berio, in the Grand Auditorium of Barcelona.

Already a veteran of competitions, Amandine’s victories previous to the Dutch Harp Competition include First Prize in the supérieure category of the 2006 UFAM competition and, in 2009, First Prize in the 3rd International Harp Competition in Nice, as well as a special prize for the best performance of the contemporary work.

During the current academic year, she is studying at the Hochscule fur Musik in Frankfort sur le Main, with François Friedrich, thanks to the support of the Erasmus exchange program. Amandine has also been giving community outreach concerts with the association Live Music Now since 2011.

The three works on display had been selected as finalists from among over 100 other applications to the Dutch Harp Composition Contest. Back in December, the contest jury (consisting of experienced composers and new-music interpreters Klaas de Vries, Godelieve Schrama, Nora Mulder, and Roel van Oosten) took the time to consider each application and narrow the field down to a choice of just three pieces. Shuffling through some of the other entries and glancing at the titles, however, one has to wonder what sort of diversity had been overlooked amongst the works that went unrecognized this time. Some particularly imaginative titles were “A witch’s diary (fragments)”, “Prettygirlproblems” all one word, and everyone’s favorite “A fountain of flesh”. Yet, there is so much more than a title that goes into a successful composition.

I was not able to make it over to Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh in time to hear the beginning of the concert, but fortunately I made it just in time to hear the selections for the Composition Finals: “Mouvements” by Italian composer Nicoletta Andreuccetti, “Like as waves make toward the pebbled shore” by French composer Frédéric Ligier, and “Clouds, rock” by British composer Laurence Rose. During the intermission, as the audience was casting their own vote for which piece was their favorite, I seized the opportunity to talk to the composers.

I was quite surprised to find that Laurence Rose, despite the success of his harp composition, composes only as a hobby. His full-time profession is as a wildlife conservationist, and he works for the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds (RSPB) in the UK. This was his first attempt at writing for the harp, and he entered the Composition Contest as a fun way to motivate himself to complete the piece. At first, to learn about the instrument, he read books and did research on the internet, but eventually concluded that the best way to discover the instrument was to see it for himself. He was able to borrow time on the harp at his university, surprised to find the administration willing to give him a key to the harp room and leave him unsupervised. In this way, he was able to become acquainted with the properties of the instrument from a completely fresh and unbiased perspective. He told me that he was most impressed with the physical presence of the instrument and wanted to give each part a voice – the resonating case, the pedals… everything. The focus of his piece ended up being more on these physical features, rather than such musical features as melody and harmony, and that was definitely evident in Miriam Overlach’s performance, involving resonating pedal changed and percussion mallets against the strings.

There is already something of a story behind the notation of “Clouds, rock”, in fact. At first, the jury warned that the notation may be too difficult to decipher in time to prepare the piece for performance in the short time given. This was because the pedal changes were originally notated on a separate 5-line staff. Working closely with Miriam, however, they were able to change the pedal notation to a simpler two-line staff (right foot on top and left on bottom) which was easier to read but still preserved the rhythmic notation of the pedal line, which in this piece acts as a voice of its own.

Clouds, rock - by Laurence Rose (photo by Elizabeth Jaxon)

Monsieur Frédéric Ligier was much more understated in person, soft spoken and minimalist in his explanations. He explained that the piece was inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnet of the same name. It is a “musique aui recherche l’interiorité”, deeply introspective and meditative, as is appropriate when contemplating a subject as grave as mortality itself.

“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked elipses ‘gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.”

Nicoletta Andreuccetti has all the fire and inner passion of an Italian artist, which made the language barrier between us especially frustrating. Fortunately, my Italian friend (also a contestant in the Harp Competition) was at hand to translate for us. Ms. Andreuccetti explained that though she had used the harp in her chamber music compositions before, this was her first time writing for solo harp and that she was trying out a different kind of gesture at the instrument, mostly consisting of blocked chords. She leaned over and confided to me that there is a hidden meaning within “Mouvements”. She sees humanity currently in an age where diversity is disappearing, and it is becoming harder for the voices of individuals to be heard. From what I understood, the three different movements of the piece each represent a different voice. Each one is strange, something different from what we’re used to hearing, because even if it is saying essentially the same thing that we all have to say, it gives a different perspective. She impressed upon me the importance of us listening to these voices, not just the ones speaking now, but the ones from our past as well. The last 20 seconds of her piece cites Berio’s famous “Sequenza”, which for her represents this memory of the past that we should confront and understand, so as to better deal with issues in the present.

First Prize winner Nicoletta Andreuccetti, with harpist Gwyneth Wentink (photo by Elizabeth Jaxon)

Perhaps the jury picked up on the enormity of her musical message when they decided to award Ms. Andreuccetti with the first prize. Laurence Rose came in second but also grabbed the audience award. Mr. Ligier won third. It was an eye-opening and refreshing night for everyone.

First Prize (€10,000 and concert tour in 2013): Amandine Carbuccia (France)

She additionally won the Omroep MAX Award, consisting of a concert or studio registration.

Second Prize (€5,000): Sarah Verrue (Belgium)

Third Prize (€2,500): Ruth Bennett (United States/United Kingdom)

Winner of the Fiordifrutta Audience Award (€ 2,500) is Amandine Carbuccia (France). The award was presented by harpist and The Voice of Holland-winner Iris Kroes, who gave a magnificent performance during the jury deliberations.

The Festival Classique Originality Award, given to the semi-finalist with the most original recital programme and presentation, was handed to Anna Steinkogler (Austria). She will develop and perform a concert format during Festival Classique 2013.

The Dutch Harp Competition 2012 congratulates the contestants on their magnificent performances this week!

In Baroque music, we learned, it is just as important not to take tempi that are too fast (so to be able to appreciate each note), as it is to make sure that slow tempi are not too slow (to keep being able to feel the “big” beat). The work being examined was the first movement of the CPE Bach Sonata.  Andrew Lawrence-King, whose English is beautifully clear and eloquent to my American ears, began by noting again that the tempo should allow us to feel three big beats rather than six smaller ones.

He then went on to explain that in order to really transmit the beauty of Bach’s music, we must understand what it is that makes each note beautiful and unusual.  To our ears, for example, a second-inversion chord is nothing unusual.  During the time period, though, it gave the impression of being up-side-down.  Same thing for chords with added tones: a commonplace in Jazz, they were akin to “driving the wrong way on a one-way street”.  Andrew Lawrence-King then gave an absolutely fascinating example from a passage of the sonata, where he narrated all of the “surprises”  that happen in very visual terms, like a dancer who leaps back and forth across the stage to end up exactly a step away from where he started.  All of these unexpected turns of melody and harmony must be felt by the performer if there’s any hope of getting across to the audience.  ”Be sensitive” was his catch phrase.

As the masterclass came to an end, I regretted only hearing 30 minutes of it, and will be on the lookout for future opportunities to hear Andrew Lawrence-King speak about baroque music in such a passionate way.

- review by Marta Power Luce

The second evening concert, entitled Better than Coffee, was of a completely different atmosphere and nature: a bit of India in Utrecht. Gwyneth Wentink, harp, George Brooks, saxophone, and Zoltan Lantos, Indian violin (with five strings AND a whole set of sympathetically vibrating strings!), showed us how the concept of the Raga in Indian music is similar to jazz in many ways. The trio took full advantage of modern technology, by using a loop effect in their sound system to repeat “riffs” of the violin over which they improvised using what seemed to be Indian modes. The effect was mesmerizing, creating a meditative atmosphere that, as they say is “better than coffee” in the morning!

- review by Marta Power Luce

The competition jury has selected the following three contestants, in order of performance, to continue to the final round of the Dutch Harp Competition 2012:

Amandine Carbuccia (France)
Sarah Verrue (Belgium)
Ruth Bennett (United States/United Kingdom)

The final round will take place on Sunday April 1st, 7:30 PM at Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn. Each finalist will perform Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, accompanied by the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht. The evening will be hosted by Christiaan Kuijvenhoven, and The Voice of Holland-winner Iris Kroes will make a very special appearance. Tickets are available here.

For me as the festival blogger, however, this was quite an inconvenience! It’s all well and good to let the music speak for itself, but at the end of the day, I still have an article to write. I think it’s rather unreasonable to expect me to come up with words when not even the artists themselves can. I’m always up for a challenge, though, and thus began the quest. During the intermission I questioned various members of the audience: “How would you describe this music?” Strangely enough, everyone I talked to chose to describe not so much the music, but the way it made them feel: “When you’re hearing it, you accept that you’re just living and that you can take your time.” “It gives you a sense of life.” “Touches the heart.” “The music takes you along.” Remy was walking around in a blissful daze declaring, “I feel like hugging everyone in the audience!” One audience member used the term “authentic”. In a sense, maybe this is the best sort of description for what we heard, because their music was so much about communication – with each other and with the audience, spontaneous and unguarded.

As a young boy in Colombia, Edmar learned to play both the traditional Colombian harp and the trumpet, before he moved to New York City at the age of 16. In New York, he wanted to study jazz on the harp, but as there was no jazz harp program in existence at the time, he completed his jazz studies on the trumpet and then transferred what he had learned to the harp. His technique on the Colombian harp bears little resemblance to that used by classical harpists. In the right hand, he plucks the strings with his fingernails, allowing him great facility to execute melody lines or rapidly repeating chords, while anchoring his wrist on the soundboard. His left hand is constantly dampening the strings with the heel of the hand, the fingers angled up, to create a rhythmic bass line.

Eric Vloeimans is one of Europe’s best trumpet players. His playing is not restricted to any particular style, and he is a master of improvisation and of creating his own original music. This great versatility served him well for this concert. After merely one hour of rehearsal the day before, the two musicians were nonetheless so well coordinated with each other on stage that it seemed they had been playing together for years. The trumpet sang with such a wide range of tone colors that at times it sounded as raw and intimate as a human voice. Despite what one may assume, the two instruments were a very successful combination. However, Eric insisted that the instrument he was collaborating with – whether a piano, a guitar, or even a harp – was not an issue. All that mattered to him is the person behind the instrument, and that the music be something he can dance to.

Eric Vloeimans and Edmar Castañeda (photo by Nike Martens)

Many times throughout the show, Edmar made reference to God. Outside the hall during intermission, I caught him and said, “I didn’t realize you were so religious.” He interrupted me as I had barely finished speaking the last word. “Ah, not ‘religious’. It’s all about the ‘relationship’, my relationship with God.” Start calling it religion and you tend to lose sight of that fundamental spiritual aspect, amid all the side issues of the various doctrines. It was nice to be reminded of this. One of my favorite pieces that evening was a gorgeously introspective piece entitled ‘Jesus de Nazareth’, which Edmar wrote as a gesture of thankfulness for everything in life that he has been given. I can’t speak for the rest of the audience, but the music helped me as well to reflect on everything I have to be thankful for myself, leaving the evening with a pleasant after-taste of serenity and fulfillment.

Slot one: 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM

1) Sarah Verrue (Belgium)

C. Debussy, Suite Bergamasque: Prelude, Menuet, Clair de Lune, Passepied
P. Hindemith, Sonate
C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane

intermission

2) Valeria Kurbatova (Russia)

C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane
J.S. Bach (arrangement M.C. Jamet), Suite no. 1 BWV 996: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Bourree, Gigue
M. de Falla, Spanish dance no. 1 uit ‘La vida breve’
S. Rachmaninov (arrangement Valeria Kurbatova), Prelude op. 32 no 12

3. Ruth Bennett (United States/United Kingdom)

M. Grandjany, Rhapsodie
A. Casella, Sonata per arpa
C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane

Slot Two: 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM

4) Mami Segawa (Japan)

A. Jolivet, Prelude pour harpe
P. Hindemith, Sonata
H. Renié, Pièce symphonique
C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane

5) Joel von Lerber (Switzerland)

N. Rota, Sarabanda e toccata
C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane
G. Tailleferre, Sonata pour harpe
E. Walter-Kühne, Fantaisie sur un thème de l’opéra Eugène Onegine par Tchaikovsky

intermission

6) Amandine Carbuccia (France)

H. Renié, Pièce symphonique
D. Scarlatti, Sonate K. 208 in A Major
J. Cras, Premier impromptu
M. Grandjany, Rhapsodie
C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane

7) Anna Steinkogler (Austria)

C. Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane
L. Spohr, Fantasie in C minor
A. Caplet, Divertissements I & II
T. Takemitsu, Stanza II for harp and tape

Results will be announced around 7:00 PM.