I’ve been fond of Yolanda Kondonassis’ harp albums and Jason Vieaux’s wonderful guitar albums. So this joint project was a “must-buy” for me. This is very atmospheric music. I really liked “Fantasía for guitar & harp“ by Xavier Montsalvatge & Yolanda Kondonassis. “Hypnotized” lives up to its name with its quiet rhythms. If you’re looking for some delightful mood music, you might want to give Together a try. GRADE: B+
Not familiar with them but have to admit the harp is my least favorite instrument on the planet.
Steve, Jason Vieaux just won a Grammy for his solo CD, PLAY. Yolanda Kondonassis tours constantly. I own several of her harp CDs. But I can’t play them in my car because the harp sound gets drowned out by the road noise.
I like this sort of music for background, especially for a dinner party. I hope that doesn’t sound as if I’m trivializing it.
Deb, I’m just like you when it comes to background music for a dinner party. TOGETHER fits the bill! I’m taking Diane out for Valentine’s Day at a restaurant that has a harpist play during dinner. Very enjoyable!
Jason Vieaux performed for our chamber group a few years ago, and we’re having him back next season. Fine player, and a nice guy; I drove him to SFO and we had a pleasant conversation about Cleveland, where he lives and teaches at CIM. I see by her bio that Kondonassis also teaches at CIM, which explains how this unusual pairing happened. I suspect their repertoire qualifies as “crossover”, which means it will get airplay from non-hardcore FM classical stations that like to program “beautiful music” in the daytime hours. Probably not my cup of tea, though I do have a lot of solo guitar and solo harp recordings. A harp & horn duo recording that I picked up years ago proved to be one of the most soporific things I’d ever heard; I ditched it quick. Sucked.
Art, Jason Vieaux grew up in Western NY and performs here on a regular basis. Diane and I have seen Vieaux’s performances four times. If he performs here again, we’ll go.
Never heard of either of them but must admit, I am not a big fan of harp music.
Jeff, Yolanda Kondonassis has performed with most of the major orchestras. Jason Vieaux is a local guy who teaches in Cleveland. Brilliant guitar player!
I wonder what it is about harp music that people dislike? Bad association of some kind? This sounds intriguing, but I’d want to hear some before buying.
Rick, I prefer piano music to harp and guitar music. But these two artists are worth listening to.
Also not a fan of the harp. it’s too attention-grabbing for me with those long trills.
Patti, I have to be in the mood for harp music. It’s an acquired taste.
I always considered Harpo Marx’s solos dead spots in the movies, but as background noise the harp is okay. They used to have a harpist in the atrium of the Embarcadero Plaza Hotel in San Francisco when I was a street artist.
Bob, Diane loves harp music so our Valentine’s Day dinner accompanied by a real-live harpist is a big plus.