4 Girls 4 Harps is a quartet of award-winning female harpists formed in 2000.[1] They play Salvi concert harps and modern electric harps.[2] As of June 2012, the members were Keziah Thomas, Angharad Wyn Jones, Harriet Adie and Eleanor Turner.[2]
Radio
editThe group's music has been broadcast internationally on ABC Classic FM[3] and in the UK on Classic FM, where their recording was David Mellor's Recommended CD of the week in June 2009,[citation needed] on Rob Cowan's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 3 in September 2009,[4] and on BBC Radio 2's Melodies for You programme with Alan Titchmarsh in March 2010.[5][6]
In December 2013, 4 Girls 4 Harps performed live on BBC Radio 3.[7]
In May 2015, the 15th anniversary of its formation, the group again performed live on BBC Radio 3 with the BBC noting, "Their upcoming concert at Temple Church in London features the world premiere of 'Tetra' -a four movement work based on the lives of four influential woman and composed by four female composers, commissioned by the quartet to mark the anniversary".[8] In the same month, they also performed live on BBC Radio Four's Woman's Hour.[9]
In May 2017, Classic FM's Lizzie Davis noted, "4 Girls 4 Harps [have] made a name for themselves with innovative arrangements of well-known works – from Piazzolla to Borodin. Harps don't often get the chance to be centre-stage, but 4 Girls 4 Harps are changing that, with their creative and virtuosic arrangements of well-known works for harp quartet".[10]
Television
edit4 Girls 4 Harps have also featured in several TV programmes including S4C's Nosen Lawen (March 2010) and Wedi 7 (May 2009). The group were also showcased in an article in Classical Music magazine (August 2009) about upcoming new groups and in Muso magazine (Oct/Nov 2009 issue).
Critical reception
editReviews of 4 Girls 4 Harps' concerts include:
"...A varied and innovative repertoire and four engaging personalities: A star." - N2 Arts and Entertainment, May 2010
"... no gimmicks, no stunts, no fancy costumes beyond elegant evening wear – just engaging chat and rather lovely music." - Lichfield Gazette, July 2011
"enriched their audience with floods of melody in an eclectic yet well proportioned selection of musical delights." - South Wales Evening Post, July 2012
References
edit- ^ "Mercury Must: Award-winning harpists in town". Stamford Mercury. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ a b "4 Girls 4 Harps: Saturday, June 9, 2012 - 19:30". BBC Music Magazine. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Classic Drive with Julie Howard". Limelight. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Rob Cowan Breakfast Show". BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Alan Titchmarsh with Melodies for You". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Alan Titchmarsh with Melodies for You". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Presenter: Sean Rafferty (17 December 2013). "4 Girls 4 Harps, Tallis Scholars". In Tune. BBC. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Presenter: Sean Rafferty (28 July 2015). "Jubilee Quartet, 4 Girls 4 Harps, Jim Dale". In Tune. BBC. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Presenter: Jane Garvey; Producer: Beverley Purcell (26 May 2015). "Rock Star Amanda Palmer on the Art of Asking". Woman's Hour. 36:05 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio Four. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Davis, Lizzie (19 May 2017). "You have to hear Piazzolla's Libertango on four harps". www.classicfm.com. Classic FM. Retrieved 7 June 2017.