MASTERCLASS

12.07.

VANJA CONTU

Electroacoustic Harp: Expanded Possibilities.

14.07.

VIKTOR HARTOBANU

tba

15.07.

CATHERINE MICHEL

VIKTOR HARTOBANU

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Félix Godefroid International Harp Competition in Belgium, 2nd prize winner at the Franz Josef Reinl Foundation International Harp Competition in Vienna and finalist at the USAIHC Composition Competition in Bloomington with his work Chants.

Viktor Hartobanu was born in Germany in 1990 to Romanian musicians. At the age of 5, he received his first piano and harp lessons from his mother. At the age of 9, he was accepted into the junior class at the Leipzig University of Music. In 2010, Viktor completed his studies in Leipzig with a diploma after only 4 semesters. He then continued his studies in Geneva from 2011 and in Brussels from 2012, completing his Master’s degree in both cities.

In 2013, Viktor won the audition for the Orchestra Academy at Staatskapelle Berlin. Since 2021, he has been part of the „Wagner-Lesarten“ project with Concerto Köln and Dresden Festival Orchestra.

Invitations to masterclasses and competition juries have taken him to many countries in Europe and Asia. Since 2010, he has taught at the Royal Harp School „Tamnak Prathom“ (T), „Koosha Music Centre“ (IR), „Ginza Jujiya Harp Elite Academy“ (JP), among others. In 2017, Viktor Hartobanu was appointed to the Vorarlberg State Conservatory. Since 2020, he has been involved in establishing and expanding the now accredited Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music (AT) as Director of Studies. In 2024, he passed an internal appointment procedure to become a university professor.

CATHERINE MICHEL

Catherine Michel is a dominant figure in the world of the harp, applying her talent to the many aspects of the instrument. She is a leading representative of the great tradition of the French harp school and studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Paris in Pierre Jamet’s class.

During her career, Catherine Michel has been harpist with the Orchestre National de Radio France and the Orchestre National de l’Opéra de Paris, playing with conductors such as Bernstein, Boehm, Boulez, Celibidache, Maazel, Metha, Ozawa and Rostropovich. In her career as an international soloist, she has performed worldwide with renowned orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and the London Symphony Orchestra.
In her extraordinary and extensive discography, Catherine Michel also devotes herself to lesser-known works. For her recordings, she has received the Grand Prix de l’Académie du Disque, the Grand Prix de la SACEM, Le Prix de la Découverte Radio France, Les Victoires de la Musique, 5 Diapasons, and the Disque d’Or, among others.

Teaching plays an important role in her life. Catherine Michel has taught at the conservatories in Hamburg, Detmold and Zurich, as well as at the Royal College in London, and regularly gives masterclasses all over the world.

Catherine Michel has discovered and published a number of harp works, as well as methods and exercises for virtuosity from the 18th and 19th centuries. She has also published a book on the repertoire of the pedal harp in the 18th century.

VANJA CONTU

Vanja Contu is an Italian harpist and sound artist whose work expands the harp’s expressive possibilities through electronics, preparations, and improvisation. She performs internationally as a soloist and in ensembles, and regularly teaches workshops on harp and electronics, giving presentations on electroacoustic harp at renowned institutions and festivals (most recently Darmstadt Ferienkurse and ZKM). She collaborates with composers, dancers, and visual artists, and founded Tubipora Musica and Ensemble Kontakte to explore new repertoire and hybrid sound practices. Since 2012 she has worked with Salvi Harps in quality control, research, and development, co-designing the Electra electroacoustic harp in 2020 with Frap Audio.

She graduated with Gabriella Bosio and continued advanced studies with Eleanor Turner and Fabrice Pierre.

ELISABETH PLANK

Vienna Harp Day’s founder Elisabeth Plank is an internationally renowned soloist. Being at home at the stages of the world, she has performed in renowned concert halls and festivals in Europa, Japan and Latin America – such as Musikverein Wien, Konzerthaus Berlin or NOSPR and has released four critically acclaimed solo albums. As a soloist, she has appeared with orchestras such as Thüringer Symphoniker, NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, RSO Wien, Barockensemble der Wiener Symphoniker or Wiener KammerOrchester.

Elisabeth Plank is also an experienced pedagogue, passing on her knowledge as lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and in masterclasses all over the world.
www.elisabethplank.com