Heidi Lehwalder
BornSeattle, Washington
United States
GenresClassical
Instrument(s)Harp
Years active1958-present
Websitewww.heidi-lehwalder.com

Heidi Lehwalder (born 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is an American classical harpist. She is internationally renowned as one of the world's greatest harp prodigies, and as the final student of master Carlos Salzedo.[1] Leonard Bernstein said of her, "...The main thing to tell you about Heidi is that she is simply a genius," in his notes for the Young People's Concerts.[2] She was the first recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, later to be renamed the Avery Fisher Career Grant.[3][4][5] Heidi was given a harp at the age of seven by her mother, who was a cellist with the Seattle Symphony, and Heidi made her debut performing with the Seattle Symphony at nine.[3][6][7] She studied with Carlos Salzedo at his music colony in Camden, Maine for two summers beginning in 1960, and it was Salzedo who prepared her to play in The International Harp Contest in Israel in 1962. The Philharmonic Hall commentary on the contest said that "Heidi was the one and only sensation of the entire affair."[8]

In 1962, she appeared on The Firestone Hour with Dick Clark. On December 23, 1963, Lehwalder appeared on Leonard Bernstein’s Young People's Concerts on CBS at the age of 14.[9][10] In 1964, she won the Young Musicians Competition in Los Angeles.[11] In 1969, Lehwalder was a recipient of a Rockefeller Grant as well as a Ford Foundation Grant which enabled her to commission Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Colgrass to write Auras, a Concerto for Harp and Orchestra.[12] Lehwalder premiered Coloros Magicos by José Serebrier and Roberto Caamano's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Pan American Festival in Washington, DC in 1970 and 1973 respectively.[13]

Lehwalder has performed as a soloist with more than sixty-five orchestras throughout the United States, including The New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony, The Nashville Symphony, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, The Oregon Symphony, The Boston Civic Orchestra and has had numerous solo appearances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. She has been a frequent guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as well as numerous music festivals.[3]

She teaches masterclasses internationally, including at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the 12th World Harp Congress in Sydney, Australia.[6] She is the founder and was the director of the Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia as well as the Chamber on the Mountain Series in Ojai, California.[3][6]

As a recording artist Lehwalder has recorded for Nonesuch, CRI, RCA, Vanguard and RCA Red Seal.

Select Discography

  • 2014 - Forever is Composed of Nows (Crystal Records)
  • 2006 - Orpheus Trio plays Debussy, Ravel, Faure, Devienne (Vanguard Classics)
  • 1995 - Impressions (RCA Victor Red Seal)
  • 1989 - Ceremonies of Carols: Works by Britten, Poulenc, and Respighi (RCA Legacy)
  • 1983 - Scintillation – Music for the Harp (Nonesuch)
  • 1980 - Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp; Syrinx for Solo Flute; Ravel Sonatine en Trio; Faure Impromptu for Harp Op. 86; Devienne Duo III for Flute and Viola (Vanguard Audiophile Recording)

References

  1. ↑ "It's All in the Family". Harp Column. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  2. ↑ Bernstein, Leonard. "Young People's Concerts Scripts: Young Performers [pencil on yellow legal pad paper pages 1-7, pages 8-9 white 7.5"x10"]". LOC.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ammer, Christine (2001). Unsung: A History of Women in American Music. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 1574670611.
  4. ↑ "GUTIERREZ WINS FISHER PRIZE". The New York Times. New York, NY. May 21, 1982. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ Heidi Lehwalder, harp. Retrieved 2016-07-03. The award she received was then called the Avery Fisher Prize but has since been renamed the Avery Fisher Career Grant. The "Avery Fisher Prize" designation is now used for a bigger award.
  6. 1 2 3 Goodman, Leslee (2016-02-01). "Simply a Genius". Ventana Monthly. Ventura, CA: Southland Publishing. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  7. ↑ Ericson, Raymond (1977-09-09). "What It's Really Like to Be a Harpist (Published 1977)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  8. ↑ "Reviews". Heidi Lehwalder. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  9. ↑ Kopfstein-Penk, Alice (2015). Leonard Bernstein and His Young People's Concerts. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 214. ISBN 9780810888500.
  10. ↑ "Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts: Featuring Heidi Lehwalder - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  11. ↑ "Bio". Heidi Lehwalder. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  12. ↑ Vandagriff, Rachel S. (2015-04-07). "American Foundations for the Arts". Oxford Handbooks Online. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935321.013.112. ISBN 978-0-19-993532-1. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  13. ↑ "Heidi Lehwalder – Marrowstone". Retrieved 2020-12-25.
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