The harp enjoyed its moment of maximum fortune as the 19th c. dawned, its popularity most evident in aristocratic circles and bourgeois salons where innumerable...

The harp enjoyed its moment of maximum fortune as the 19th c. dawned, its popularity most evident in aristocratic circles and bourgeois salons where innumerable works featuring the instrument were first heard. As with the piano, many operatic transcriptions or paraphrases were the order of the day. The works featured on this new CD from harpist Paola Perucci, all quite rare, share a common denominator: Gioachino Rossini - the author of two works and inspirer of the others by Robert-Nicholas-Charles Bochsa and his pupil Théodore Labarre. Ms. Perucci teaches at the Conservatory of Bologna.