Xavier de Maistre is coming to Riga

He gives his amazing instrument a new life, new colors, a new repertoire, new emotions, sometimes very violent, and the public – a new musical experience. De Maistre’s playing combines power with sophistication, elegance with sensuality. That is why he performs in the best halls and with the best orchestras in the world, receives international awards and is considered a sensation of the modern academic scene.

He is the winner of the main award of the German recording industry Echo Klassik in the section “Instrumentalist of the Year” (2009). His name adorned the posters of the La Scala theater and the Paris Opera, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Vienna Musikverein, festivals in Salzburg, Verbier, Rheingau, Budapest, Würzburg and Schleswig-Holstein. He is the stage partner of the brilliant singers Diana Damrau and Roberto Villazon. He was invited to collaborate with such conductors as Riccardo Muti, Daniele Gatti, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir André Previn, Heinrich Schiff, Antoni Ros-Marba, Bertrand de Billy, Walter Weller, Gilbert Varga, Josep Pons and Philippe Jordan. He gives lessons and master classes at the Hamburg Academy of Music, New York’s Juilliard School of Music, Tokyo’s Toho University and London’s Trinity College of Music.

The relationship between Xavier de Maistre and the harp began with love. True, first he, a 9-year-old boy from Toulon, fell in love with a harp teacher, and then with the instrument, but this does not change the essence of the matter: music has firmly entered Xavier’s life… which was not at all part of his parents’ plans. They decided to balance their son’s studies at the conservatory with intensive sports. At the age of 16, de Maistre won his international competition and became a member of the French youth rowing team. Six workouts a week, my hands, like a real hard worker, are covered in blisters and calluses… “But I strengthened my back muscles,” Xavier laughs. “And I never had any health problems, unlike most of my colleagues.”

For a higher education diploma, Xavier’s parents sent him to Paris, to the famous Ecole des Sciences Politiques – School of Political Science, and then to the London School of Economics. But it was impossible to discourage the young man from music. He also attended the conservatory in Paris before beating all competitors at harp competitions in Cardiff, Munich, Vienna, Jerusalem, Bloomington and was accepted into the venerable Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, which at that time was led by our Maris Jansons. The next step in his career brought Xavier to the very top: he became the main harpist (and the first Frenchman) in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Actually, for his specialty this was the ceiling. But in 2010, Xavier broke through this ceiling, abandoning a solid position in favor of a solo career.

This would be an incredibly bold step for any instrumentalist, but especially for a harpist. So much beautiful music has been written for piano, violin, cello, and even guitar, viola, flute, oboe and clarinet, enough to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the concert repertoire of the harp.

But Xavier de Maistre was head and shoulders above most of his colleagues in a creative sense. Having a personal contract with the recording company RCA/Sony Music, he released a series of innovative albums on this label that quickly became popular. He has the talent to make the most interesting arrangements himself and perform anything, from classical to flamenco, from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” to Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance.” He also knows who to order music to show the strength and energy of the harp – a complex organism with seven pedals, 35 synthetic and 11 metal strings.

“I like to hold the harp in my hands, as if in an embrace, and I also like that there is nothing between me and the sound. Contact occurs directly, without hammers or bow. It’s a very physical instrument. Touching the strings and stretching them is a very exciting feeling,” says Xavier.

Hot and sexy, they write about him, and he laughs and answers – what can you do, you always have a better chance of attracting people’s attention if you look good, but if there is nothing behind it, you still won’t see success.

And he enjoys success wherever he appears on stage.

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