Lavinia Meijer
Program
Philip Glass Koyaanisqatsi
Philip Glass Metamorphosis 2 & 4
Douglas J Cuomo Every Door (World Premiere)
Olafur Arnalds Tomorrow's Song
Nils Frahm Ambre
Philip Glass Etude 16 & 17
Philip Glass The Hours
Lavinia Meijer Atmospheric Rivers
Lavinia Meijer Open Window
Program note for Every Door
Itaru Sasaki, is a old garden designer living in the village of Otsuchi, on the Western coast of Japan. At the age of 72, in 2010 he lost his cousin to cancer. He responded by building a phone booth in his backyard, with a phone that's not connected to anything. He used it to communicate with his lost relative, to help him deal with his grief.
A year later, Japan was hit with the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in that country, triggering a tsunami which caused a meltdown in a nuclear plant. Almost 20,000 people lost their lives, including over 1,200 in Otsuchi (about 10 percent of the town's population). In response, Sasaki opened his wind phone to others. Since then, over 30,000 people have visited to connect with those who have died. There is always a notebook placed by the phone, and in it many visitors have left messages for their loved ones.
For a long time, the specific location of the wind phone was intentionally not revealed — there were no guides or maps. The act of wandering, the uncertainty of where you are, and of how and when you'll arrive was a sort of meditation, opening the visitor to the possibility that many things exist beyond the way we normally experience them.
Every Door is in two parts. The first is a wandering in sound, with the idea of settling the mind of the performer and listener, leading them through their own internal landscape. The second part is spoken, with text by Lavinia herself. Before beginning to write the piece I asked her what she would say, what she would write in the notebook. After some contemplation she replied very simply:
I would have opened every door for you.
– Douglas J. Cuomo, March 12, 2025
About the Artist
Lavinia Meijer
Harpist Lavinia Meijer is an exclusive Sony Classical International Artist who has performed in some of the leading concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall New York, Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Musikverein Vienna, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Bronfman Auditorium Tel Aviv and Seoul Arts Center.
Lavinia is passionate about broadening the possibilities of the harp. In addition to performing the classical harp repertoire, she experiments with electronic music, theatrical music, jazz and avant garde work by composers like Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Garrett Byrnes, Paul Patterson, Carlos Michans and Konstantia Gourzi. She has collaborated with artists such as Philip Glass, Iggy Pop, Sufijan Stevens and Ludovico Einaudi.
The internationally known ‘avant pop’ composer, Jacob T.V., wrote her a suite for harp, samples and boombox. The piece, Cities Change the Songs of Birds, is set in New York and created a sensation after the premiere among international harp societies for challenging the perception of the harp as an “angelic” instrument. She has also performed her own arrangements of pieces by Radiohead and Leonard Cohen in classical venues to much artistic and critical acclaim and commercial success.
As a concerto soloist she has worked with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Netherlands, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Israeli Philharmonic, and Seoul Philharmonic among others. Conductors she has collaborated with include Ludovic Morlot, Andrew Grams, Thierry Fischer, Charles Floyd, Franz Bruggen, Hannu Lintu and Marco Boni. She has also worked with the Kronos Quartet performing Bryce Dessner’s Aheym.
In 2021, Lavinia gave the world premiere of a new harp concerto by Jaap Nico Hamburger with the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. The piece was commissioned by the Government of the Netherlands and the United Nations to mark the 75th anniversary of the International Court of Justice. Additional accolades include an invitation to perform at the PyeongChang Winter Music Festival to celebrate the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Lavinia has an affinity with the music of Philip Glass and her intense groundbreaking renditions of his music have mesmerized audiences across the world. After meeting him in 2011, he gave permission for her to transcribe his five-piece, Metamorphosis, for harp. Since then she has transcribed various other of his works, including Opening Piece, various movements from The Hours, Etudes and the main theme from Koyaanisqatsi. She is fortunate to have performed alongside Philip Glass on several occasions, both in the US and Europe.
Lavinia is one of few classical artists to have had an impact on European rock album charts. In addition to being awarded two gold albums, her Channel Classics recording of www.bluoceanarts.com
Metamorphosis / The Hours and her Sony Classical album Passaggio have both achieved platinum sales. Her many recordings feature music as varied as Handel, Bach, Scarlatti, Takemitsu, Dessner, Muhly, Piazzola, Ravel and Debussy. Her 2019 album, A Gentleman’s Honor, is a collaboration with French DJ Maud Geffray originally performed in Paris and subsequently broadcast on France TV's Culturebox channel. Lavinia also appears as a featured artist on Brittany Howard’s 2020 Grammy-nominated solo album Jamie, and on the 2020 Sony Classical release Peaceful Choir, in collaboration with World Choir for Peace. Lavinia’s 2022 solo album Are You Still Somewhere? received the Edison Classical Album Award (the Dutch equivalent of The Grammys). Most recently, her multi-album recording project featuring a series of EP releases, culminated in her 2024 album release Winter. Inspired by the four seasons it covers music from more than three centuries, including her own original compositions.
Born in South Korea, Lavinia Meijer was adopted at the age of two and subsequently raised in the Netherlands. She studied at the conservatories of Utrecht, where she was admitted to the conservatory at the age of 11, and Amsterdam, where she graduated with the highest honors.
Lavinia is an Ambassador for Save a Child’s Heart.