Lucia Bova

The Modern Harp

In recent years a number of excellent texts dedicated to the harp have appeared on the international publishing scene. The innovative nature of the present text lies instead in its ability to retrace the evolution of idiomatic harp writing, through a study of compositional styles and an analysis of significant harp works by contemporary composers. To this purpose, it presents a highly elevated number of examples taken from the compositions of some of the most important composers on the international panorama. The fact that in ItalyL'Arpa Moderna has been adopted as a textbook by many conservatory professors, and that numerous requests have arrived from students and teachersall across Europe to publish an English translation of the book, is sufficient to conclude that the structure of the book, and the methodological accuracy with which the topics contained in it are treated, still fill a considerable gap in international scholarship dedicated to this instrument.