THE LARK

"Italian harpist Agnese Contadini brings rapturous color and spot-on timing to her lavish new release The Lark. The project got its start with the six poetic musings by Liszt, Consolations, which are also happily available as sheet music. These touching miniatures stand in stark contrast to his flamboyantly virtuosic oeuvre and require a gentleness of touch, a strong sense of line and the maturity to let the notes sing, all of which Contadini naturally possesses. Luminescent and memorable is Ksenia Erdeli’s transcription of The Lark in its recording premiere as well as Tchaikovsky’s March, which requires a slightly bolder, more present sound, which in Contadini’s hands remains warm and full. Painting with a broader brush and opulence in Hans Trneček’s fanciful Moldau transcription, she draws us to the many moods of Smetana’s homeland."

Alison Young for “Harp Column” magazine