Marie Antoinette & Harf / Festival Klaaspärlimäng 2026

The iconic French queen Marie Antoinette was also a great patron of the arts and played a key role in shaping the musical tastes of the French aristocracy. Considering the harp one of her favorite instruments, she helped turn 18th-century Paris into a center of harp music. Works by the harp virtuosos of that era are brought to festival audiences by acclaimed Austrian harpist Elisabeth Plank, who has been described as “an exceptional performer, with complete mastery of her instrument, full of character and color in her playing.” She has performed at world-renowned venues such as the Vienna Musikverein, the Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Musikverein Graz, among others, and has collaborated with ensembles including Camerata Bohemica Prague, the Thuringian Symphony Orchestra, NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, Wiener KammerOrchester, and Barockensemble der Wiener Symphoniker. Elisabeth Plank has won numerous international competitions in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Japan, and in 2014 was awarded the “Young Celebrity Master” title at the Swiss Summer Academy HarpMasters. She is also the first harpist in history to be selected as an ambassador for the “New Austrian Sounds of Music” programme (2023–2024). Her acclaimed solo albums have been released by labels such as ARS Produktion, Gramola, GENUIN, and Alpha Classics.