FOR YOUR GRAMMY® CONSIDERATION
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
YOLANDA KONDONASSIS, Harp and Percussion
REENA ESMAIL: Terra Infirma: Concerto for Harp and Percussion
***
Best Classical Compendium
REENA ESMAIL: Terra Infirma
***
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Terra Infirma: Concerto for Harp and Percussion
REENA ESMAIL
***
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble
Vijay Gupta and Yolanda Kondonassis
REENA ESMAIL: Sandhiprakash
***
Best Choral Performance
REENA ESMAIL: Curiosity: Earth Speaks
Yolanda Kondonassis, Solo Harp,
Interlochen Center for the Arts Chorus,
Carter Smith, Director
LISTEN:
Reena Esmail and American harpist Yolanda Kondonassis share artistic and ecological passions, which are explored on this vibrant recording . . . Kondonassis serves as enchanting soloist on many instruments in Terra Infirma, a concerto for harp and percussion . . . Images of fire are evoked in glistening sonorities and snapping rhythms . . .
GRAMOPHONE
I was mesmerized by Terra Infirma . . . It’s truly outstanding . . . Kondonassis plays magnificently on this album.
CULTURAL ATTACHE
The harp playing is superb . . . a colorful, intricate, and occasionally fierce body of work that is of the utmost importance.
TAKE EFFECT
[Terra Infirma], a seven-movement concerto for harp and percussion, is performed entirely by Kondonassis, who navigates both roles with striking theatricality . . . The music blossoms with energy, highlighted by radiant cello lines and harp textures that drift like ash rising into the sky . . . Truly a collaboration among like-minded artists both seeking to reimagine the harp concerto in a contemporary, compelling form while grappling with environmental loss . . . a recording that is as reflective as it is forward-looking.
THE HARP COLUMN
The Terra Infirma Project – comprising the world premieres of three new works by Reena Esmail, a commercial recording release and a year-long series of educational and residency activities at Interlochen Center for the Arts – represents a major highlight of my career and one of the most treasured artistic processes I will ever experience.
I began my life in music at Interlochen Arts Academy as a high school student over 40 years ago, and while this project has brought me full-circle, it has also offered everything I love most about my career as an artist: the creation of new music; deep collaboration with respected colleagues; the exploration of new artistic territory; meaningful engagement with young musicians; art that inspires environmental conversation; and the opportunity to enjoy the process of creation as much as the final product.
As a project that takes its inspiration from the wonders of Earth and the challenges that face its sustainability, I cannot imagine bringing this music to life with anyone but young artists – still striving and discovering the newness of their voices, playing and singing from a place of pure joy, and viewing the world through an open lens to every possibility. My heartfelt thanks to all my collaborators for their faith in the Terra Infirma project and for their endless dedication to the new terrain of this giant undertaking.
To my beloved Interlochen, I offer my immense thanks and admiration for continuing to nurture excellence in their extraordinary artistic garden - and for inviting me into that magical space once again.
-Yolanda Kondonassis
