Xavier de Maistre is a fighter, a seeker, almost obsessed with his plan to establish the harp as a solo instrument in today’s concert world as it is more than just a shiny gold instrument in the orchestra or an accompanying instrument that is beautiful to look at. It is a serious solo instrument on which works from all musical periods can be masterfully interpreted.
The central theme of “Xavier de Maistre and the Harp” is a concert in Hasselburg’s cultural heritage concert barn. As part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Xavier de Maistre plays the Concertino Op. 34 by the British composer Elias Parish-Alvars together with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Elegantly interwoven with the concert, a documentary journey with Xavier de Maistre enfolds for the audience: we see him rowing, his recreational sport, on the Mediterranean; we accompany him on a tour of the Museo dell‘Arpa Victor Salvi in Piasco, northern Italy; we participate in rehearsals with his students of the Hamburg Academy of Music; and are even present when Xavier de Maistre receives the long-awaited new cobalt blue harp from the USA at the Salvi harp manufactory.
A film by Beatrix Conrad
DOP: Nikolai Sevke
Sound: Hennig Jäger, Jonas Nahnsen
Editor: Uli Peschke
Production Manager (NDR): Melanie Clausen
Commissioning Editor (NDR): Claudia Cellarius
Production Manager (3B): Mária Géczi
Executive Producers: Bernhard von Hülsen, Maria Willer
A production of 3B-Produktion GmbH commissioned by NDR in cooperation with ARTE.
