AHJ, Vol. 5 No. 3, Summer 1976

the mixture of harmonies, and the lack of clearness.
These faults are rather the qualities of the
harp; string vibrations diminishing freely give
the harp its own unique character. Why should a
harp sound like a piano? It must be treated according
to its own esthetics.
d. Although the organ is regarded as the polyphonic
instrument, it is incapable of differentiating voices
on the same manual, a limitation which applies
also to the harpsichord. Yet the skillful harpist
can give each voice its own "color" by using his
hands alone. The harp has no mechanical devices
which affect its tone.
These so-called limitations are the very factors which
give the harp its divine beauty, and challenge the player
to the utmost. It is interesting to note, along these lines,
that the clavichord (the instrument preferred by Bach
and also by Mozart) had an excessively thin sonority,
but its notes answered to the pressure of the fingers,
and one could therefore obtain great expression and
clearly differentiate the parts of a fugue. I need not
elaborate on the parallels to the harp!
Let me conclude by saying that in music, and more
specifically in the music of ancient times, there is a
constant "transcription" in the sense that the interpreter
transcribes, transmits a message, brings to life the
composer's thought in order that the listener may grasp
this thought with his mind and thereby feel an intellectual
satisfaction, and at the same time an impression
of beauty.
Marcel Grandjany Memorial Concert
Remarks by Peter Mennin, Director, The Juilliard School of Music
Before the second half of the recital begins, I just
wanted to say a word of welcome and greeting to our
special guests and, also, to members of the American
Harp Society, some of whom, I understand, have come
from New Jersey and other cities outside New York to
be with us this evening.
This occasion, as you know, is in honor of Marcel
Grandjany, and it was planned some time ago to take
place as close as possible to the date of his passing last
February 24, when he was in his 83rd year.
Tonight's program is special in several ways. Not
only are we remembering Marcel Grandjany, the teacher,
but, in addition, we are hearing the music of Marcel
Grandjany, the composer. All of the Juilliard performers
who are taking part were his students here-and
they are continuing their studies--and I am sure the
music they are playing takes on a special significance
because of that fact.
The harp has been a part of Juilliard teaching and
performing from the School's earliest days. Harp instruction
was included in the very first Prospectus of the
Institute of Musical Art (later to become the Juilliard
School of Music) back in 1905. The first teacher was a
well-known musician and concert performer, Madame
Adelina Rossini.
Marcel Grandjany came to Juilliard in 1938, when
the School was up on Claremont A venue, and for the
next 37 years he was to be the major teacher and influence
for literally hundreds of young performers who
came to study with him, and later joined the country's
major orchestras.
It is not necessary or even practical to recall the
major events and achievements in his career as performer
and teacher. Most of them are well known to
you. But I did want to mention that the anniversary of
his New York debut is two days away, on Saturday;
he performed, to great acclaim, at the famous Aeolian
Hall on February 7, 1924.
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There were many "firsts" in his career. One of which
he was most proud occurred in 1927 when he gave the
first complete solo recital for harp in his native Paris.
He opened the program with his own "Rhapsodie," and
tonight the program will conclude with it. He performed
the music of Ravel, with the composer conducting.
Every major orchestra invited him to perform as soloist.
His recordings were numerous and popular, particularly
at a time when it was not possible or easy to attend his
public performances. No one was more aware than
Grandjany of the limited number of solo and ensemble
works for the harp, and no one did more than he in
enlarging the repertory through his own extensive composing,
transcribing and realizations.
But I imagine most of you this evening have been
thinking of Marcel Grandjany in a rather personal way,
as indeed I have. He was always so delighted when one
of the School's orchestral programs would include a
harp concerto, and he could be counted on to participate
in the auditions for the soloist. But his interest
was not limited to harp by any means. He attended
meetings of the Faculty, came to social gatherings in the
holiday periods, and, with his wife Georgette, who is
with us this evening, was often seen at concerts in Alice
Tully Hall and the Juilliard Theater.
When he founded the American Harp Society in
1962, he told a large committee of interested musicians
that there was a genuine need to foster appreciation of
the harp as a musical instrument by improving the
quality of performance and by encouraging the composition
of music for the harp. But to a single visitor
one afternoon, he summed up all his ideas about performing
and teaching and composing in one sentence:
"Music is a way to give pleasure."
What we hear and feel here tonight demonstrates
that simple truth a thousand fold.
AMERICAN HARP JOURNAL