This is a blog series featuring performances of my  harp showpiece “Baroque Flamenco” by other musicians. Click HERE to link to the overview blog Baroque Flamenco Around the World.

Featured Performer: Paola Testa, Italy

BRIEF BIO or DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOU DO:  Paola Testa is an Italian harpist, graduated from the Conservatory. She has won numerous awards in national and international competitions, recorded  albums, and collaborated with symphony orchestras. 

She’s harp teacher at a high school and she’s majoring in Musicology at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paolatest
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/paolaarpa?s=08

DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING PERFORMANCE OF ‘BAROQUE FLAMENCO’ INCLUDING WHERE & WHEN IT WAS:  Paola Testa, Competition Performance, May 2015 at Catania (Sicilia)

Q & A

1.  If you had to describe the experience of playing “Baroque Flamenco”  in 5 words or less, what would they be?

Energy, strength, happiness, satisfaction.

2.  What do people say when you play this piece?

The public really likes this piece.  The sentences that tell me often are:
“You have an impressive harpistic technique.”
” This piece is really difficult.”
“I’ve never heard anything like it on the harp.”

3.  What drew you to this piece – why did you choose to learn it??

I listened to this piece on You Tube for the first time and I fell in love.  So I decided to study it.

4.  What does this piece add to your repertoire (and/or your life) that you didn’t have before?

I reinforced my technique of glissando with nails and percussion on the sounding board. In addition, instills in me huge satisfaction play it.

5.  What would you tell someone else who’s thinking of learning this piece that you wish you’d known before you learned it?

I would say to study it because you can draw big technical advantages. This piece is complete, modern, new and always played with conviction.

6.  What do you think you can get from working directly with the composer of the piece that you can’t get from the sheet music?

Having the opportunity to work with the composer is a real fortune.  The composer knows the real essence of the piece which can help the performer to be able to play at their best.