Lavinia Meijer

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Lavinia Meijer, a South Korea-born harpist from The Netherlands. She took up the harp at age 9 and enrolled at the Utrecht Conservatory at age 11. We’re playing her 2016 record The Glass Effect, which is half Philip Glass pieces and half contemporary pieces from the likes of Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm. For the rest of this rec we’ll quote her:

I'm from South Korea and I was adopted into a Dutch family. I always felt that I was different…. I met a girl at my elementary school who played the harp. When I heard the instrument I immediately knew that was the mysterious instrument that I was looking for. It has so many strings and I was very creative with my fingers. I was painting and drawing at a young age. I saw this perfect challenge in all of these strengths. The sound was the most purest sounds that I have ever heard... purer than the human voice. It went directly into my heart. I did play piano for one year but I really wanted to feel what I was doing - directly with my bare fingertips. With the harp, you shade the color with your fingertips and you play every string... you can dampen the strings for dynamics. It's a direct instrument and that is what I really like about it.

The Glass Effect - Lavinia Meijer (120m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a great Wednesday.