{"id":7955,"date":"2012-11-26T10:16:21","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T15:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=7955"},"modified":"2012-11-26T10:16:21","modified_gmt":"2012-11-26T15:16:21","slug":"daily-album-review-11-the-sharply-drawn-watercolours-of-harpist-valerie-milot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2012\/11\/26\/daily-album-review-11-the-sharply-drawn-watercolours-of-harpist-valerie-milot\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily album review 11: The sharply drawn watercolours of harpist Val\u00e9rie Milot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Erick Labb\u00e9 photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s tempting to dismiss the harp as a wishy-washy instrument — a fact not helped when an album is entitled Aquarelles<\/em>. But harpist Val\u00e9rie Milot is a much more hefty artist than that.<\/p>\n

Milot, born and raised in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res, Qu\u00e9bec and who polished up her artistry with Rita Costanzi in New York City, is a great Canadian talent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Her latest album for the Analekta label is a mix of well-roatsted chestnuts (such as Erik Satie’s three Gymnop\u00e9dies<\/em>, the Clair de lune<\/em> by Claude Debussy and Franz Liszt’s Third Liebestra\u00fcme<\/em>) and slightly newer repertoire for harp, including the wonderfully evocative Pour le tombeau d’Orph\u00e9e<\/em> by the late Dutch composer Marius Flothuis (1914-2001).<\/p>\n

Aquarelles (watercolours) imply blotchy, blurred edges and under-saturated colour, which so doesn’t do justice to Milot’s playing. There is a powerful sense of rhythm and articulation to her incredibly nimble fingers, yet she also manages to find the right degree of atmospheric wash that we associate with the instrument.<\/p>\n

This is muscular sweetness and virile sensitivity, which make for particularly compelling listening.<\/p>\n

For all the album details, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And here is Milot with the final piece on the album, Zaragoza, from the second Spanish Suite<\/em> by Isaac Alb\u00e9niz:<\/p>\n