Harp Concerto in C minor

Henriette Renié (1875–1956) was the foremost female harpist and composer of her era, a pupil of Alphonse Hasselmans who succeeded her teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, and her Harp Concerto in C minor (1900–01) is the most substantial work she composed for the instrument. A three-movement concerto of Romantic ambition, it combines virtuosic display with genuine lyricism in the Franckian tradition, and its central Andante is a nocturne of considerable beauty. Renié also composed the famous Légende, still a standard examination and competition piece, but the concerto is her most architecturally ambitious achievement and occupies an important place in the harp orchestral repertoire.