BRIDGET KIBBEY: Love is Come Again

Bridget Kibbey

Love is Come Again

© 2006 Bridget Kibbey (634479892073)

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With a blending of folk elements, alluring energy and virtuosity, harpist Bridget Kibbey displays new directions on an ancient instrument.

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The Artist:
As hailed by the New York Times, harpist Bridget Kibbey “…made it seem as though her instrument has been waiting all its life to explode with the gorgeous colors and energetic figures she gets from it.” A 2004 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, a winner of Astrals Artists’ 2003 Auditions, and most recently named a winner of Concert Artist Guild’s 2007 International Competition, harpist Bridget Kibbey has been featured in Symphony, MUSO, and Harp Column magazines, and has been featured on New York’s WQXR, NPR’s “Performance Today,” and A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts.” She recently won the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS II auditions, and will perform, tour, and record with the Society for three years, starting in 2009. Ms. Kibbey recently self-released an album of solo works, entitled “Love is Come Again,” named one of 2007’s Top Ten Recordings by TimeOut New York.

This season’s highlights include a Weill Hall recital debut, Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with the Tallahassee Symphony and Christina Jennings, The American premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Broken Minuets with Symphony in C at the Kimmel Center, and recitals under the auspices of Asociación Nacional de Conciertos (Panama City, Panama), Bridgewater/Bayshore Library Series (Long Island), the Norton Building Concert Series (Chicago), and the Algonquin Arts Society (New Jersey).
Chamber music appearances include the New York premiere of Elliott Carter’s Mosaic at Zankel Hall, appearances at the Port Fairy and Soul Food Festivals (Australia, with the New York Harp Trio), the American Harp Society National Conference and Vermont’s Mozart Festival, and with America’s Dream Chamber Artists and the North Country Chamber Players series. She will also perform Osvaldo Golijov’s Ayre with Dawn Upshaw in Athens and Amsterdam.

Ms. Kibbey has received such honors as the Premier Prix at the International Chamber Music Competition of Arles, France (in collaboration with flutist Julietta Curenton), Second Prize in Rome’s Valentino Bucchi International Competition (Music for Harp in the 20th- and 21st-Century), the Juilliard School Peter Mennin Prize for musical leadership and excellence, an American Harp Society Anne Adams Award, a Mustard Seed Foundation Harvey Fellowship, and was a winner of Astral Artists’ 2003 Auditions. She appeared as featured soloist with the Juilliard Symphony, the Israel Youth Philharmonic, the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, America’s Dream Chamber Artists, The Haddonfield Symphony (now Symphony in C), the Westmoreland Symphony, and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. As an orchestral harpist she has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Possessing a special interest in new music, Ms. Kibbey premièred new works by many of today’s living composers including Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Kaija Saariaho, Augusta Read Thomas, and Charles Wourinen. She joined soprano Dawn Upshaw in recording Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs and “Ayre” by Osvaldo Golijov for Deutsche Grammophon, and performed Britten’s Canticles in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with tenor Ian Bostridge. At Carnegie Hall she was a soloist in Weill Recital Hall’s Elliot Carter/Oliver Knussen workshop, and joined a hand-selected group of young musicians in presenting the first concert in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, under the direction of John Adams. She has been a featured soloist in New York’s Music at the Anthology Festival, the Sonic Boom Festival, and the Juilliard FOCUS! Festival, and is the founding harpist of the International Contemporary Ensemble. She has performed at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Spoleto, Mostly Mozart, Pacific Music, Bowdoin Summer, June in Buffalo, and the Vermont Mozart Festivals.

Bridget Kibbey is on the harp faculties of New York University, The Juilliard School Pre-College program, and Vassar College. She holds both Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she completed studies with Nancy Allen.




THE ALBUM: This recording celebrates composers and the harpists who
inspired them to explore and expand the range of the instrument--artists who
have redefined the role, colors and technique of the harp.

Andre Caplet (1878-1925) liberated the harp from
a restrictive and primarily decorative role into an individual and distinctive voice in his two Divertissements. Germaine Tailleferre was first exposed to the harp by Caroline Tardieu, Paris Conservatory's Assistant Professor of Harp- the result being a charming set of rhythmic undercurrents in her Sonata of 1953. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976),
inspired by harpist Osian Ellis, created a 20th century masterpiece, with an
extraordinarily broad range of atmosphere and personality in Suite for Harp, Op. 83. Elliot Carter (b. 1908) composed Bariolage (part of his Trilogy for Oboe and Harp) for his friends Heinz
and Ursula Holliger. Written in 1992, this fantastic display of temperament
and rhythmic activity continues to stretch the bounds of harpists'
virtuosity today. Finally, the talented young Kati Agocs (b. 1975) blends the traditional roots
of American Bluegrass and Hungarian folk melodies into a powerful commentary
on love and war in this world-première recording of Every Lover is a Warrior.

reviews

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  • Album Review
    author: Time Out New York

    Even with the classical recording industry on a shaky foundation thanks to megacorporate disinterest and the demise of Tower Records, artists who issue their own music run the risk of having their efforts dismissed as vanity projects. But harpist Bridget Kibbey is far from a hobbyist: She has played Carnegie Hall alongside Ian Bostridge and Dawn Upshaw, and performs astounding feats on a regular basis with the International Contemporary Ensemble. No doubt she could have held out for a label deal, but why bother? Everything about Love Is Come Again, from its unconventionally attractive packaging to Adam Abeshouse’s exquisite recording, attests to Kibbey’s professionalism and imagination. Perhaps inspiration would be a better term, given this program of underexposed works by innovative composers moved to write for the instrument after encountering a major player. À la Française, the first of André Caplet’s Divertissements, offers the frilly ripples one would expect in a solo-harp recital, but Kibbey’s range of touch in the second, À l’Espagnole, forecasts subtler pleasures ahead. Performances of Germaine Tailleferre’s Sonata, Benjamin Britten’s Suite for Harp and Elliott Carter’s Bariolage are technically assured and full of character. In Every Lover Is a Warrior, the promising young composer Kati Agócs spins folk materials into a powerful, ruminative suite. Add it all up, and calling this a strong contender for the year’s most distinguished debut CD doesn’t seem like an overstatement. (Available at bridgetkibbey.com)—Steve Smith

  • Phenomenal
    author: Cherwyn Ambuter

    This is obviously the work of a consummate artist who has done all her homework. The technical passages are negotiated with ease as though they are no big deal - just the means to an end, which is expressive communication. Kibbey has something to say to us, and in an intelligent yet meaningful way. Exploring composers who are less well-known, Kibbey takes a risk in presenting herself on this CD; but her risk is well-considered. This album is gorgeous.

  • author: Angi

    I was privileged to hear Bridget perform live, and this CD is gorgeous. I spend most of my work day listening to it, and I think I'm a nicer person because of it.

  • author: Allegra Lilly

    Hi Bridget, I bought your CD! I obviously loved the whole thing, but I specifically wanted to say that only a harpist of your caliber could make me want to play something by Carter!! It's amazing!

  • Superb!
    author: N-Concerts

    An enlightened selection of both new and, not often heard works for the harp. Ms. Kibbey’s performance of each work is not only technically outstanding, but she is always extremely musical as well. This recording must have been a “labor of love” for the performer, who is setting the bar very high for all other harpists. The engineering and production standards are also top notch and the sound is simply gorgeous. A pure joy to listen to!

  • Beautiful
    author: K Spix

    "Love is Come Again" is beautiful -- a total listening pleasure. I highly recommend it.

  • Awesome
    author: Asli Yumustutan

    This album took me to another dimension. Bridget's tremendous beauty on the cover totally reflects her music. Marvellous work!

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