International Harp Contest in Israel

The International Harp Contest was established in 1959 and has been described as the first competition devoted exclusively to the harp.[1][2] Aharon-Zvi Propes initiated the contest, having also initiated the Zimriya Festival of Choirs in 1952 and later the Israel Festival in 1961.[1][5] Maariv additionally reports that Teddy Kollek, then director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, assisted in establishing the contest.[6] An alternate Ynet account attributes its founding to David Ben-Gurion as part of Israel's tenth-anniversary celebrations, creating an unresolved discrepancy in the published record.[2]

The choice of the harp drew on the instrument's association with King David, giving the competition a cultural resonance beyond ordinary music-festival programming.[4] From its inception, the event was conceived partly as a vehicle to distinguish Israel through culture and tourism, reflecting the ambitions of Israel's early cultural institution-builders.[7]

The contest is held every three years and is organized around multiple elimination stages culminating in a symphonic final.[8][7] A 2015 account stated that, among international harp competitions, only the contests in Israel and Bloomington, Indiana, required this level of symphonic competition.[7]

A defining rule is that all competitors must perform a newly commissioned Israeli work.[4] This requirement has encouraged the composition of dozens of harp pieces in Israel and abroad and helped bring works by Paul Ben-Haim, Tzvi Avni, Sergiu Natra, and Ami Maayani to international attention.[4] At the 2015 edition, the Propes Prize—named in honor of the contest's founder—was designated for the best performance of that edition's commissioned piece.[9]

The age limit has varied between editions: the 2015 contestants were required to be under 35, while the 2018 field was described as comprising harpists under 36.[9][10] In 2018, only two competitors brought their own harps, and organizers supplied ten instruments from which the others could choose. Differences in string spacing and instrument response can make performing on an unfamiliar harp technically demanding.[4]

In a 2009 interview, composer Ze'ev Steinberg described the contest as taking place in Tel Aviv every three years. Steinberg, who had served for approximately thirty years on its executive and musical committees, was preparing to judge the October 2009 edition marking its fiftieth anniversary.[11]

The 19th edition, held from November 23 to December 3, 2015, marked the first time the contest took place in Acre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[9] Its opening rounds were staged in the Knights' Halls in Acre's Old City, with the semifinals and later stages moving to the Acre Auditorium.[4] Twenty-six competitors participated, Maestro Zubin Mehta served as honorary president, and the closing concert featured the Haifa Symphony Orchestra under conductor Doron Solomon.[9] The traditional first prize was a gold concert grand harp valued at US$55,000, donated by Lyon & Healy of Chicago, complemented by additional monetary prizes and a special prize from the mayor of Acre.[9] The commissioned work for that edition was Menachem Wiesenberg's "Mizmor Shir."[9]

The 20th contest was scheduled for October 15–25, 2018, at the Acre Auditorium and the Knights' Halls, with a program described as twelve days of recitals and chamber concerts.[4] Thirty-one harpists—29 women and two men—were listed to compete, representing Finland, the United States, France, Israel, China, South Africa, and other countries.[10][4]

Artistic director Yulia Rubinsky, principal harpist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, shaped the repertoire by incorporating works not originally written for harp, including Haydn piano trios adapted for harp. She also introduced François-Adrien Boieldieu's Harp Concerto to the contest's orchestral final for the first time.[4] The nine-member jury was chaired by French harpist Catherine Michel and included representatives from France, the United States, Korea, Switzerland, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Israel.[4] The first-prize winner was to be allowed to choose between a Lyon & Healy harp and an Italian Salvi harp, while the prize package also promised concert appearances in China, Israel, North America, and South America.[4]

The opening concert of the separate 2022 Israeli Harp Competition was scheduled for December 19 at Heichal Hatarbut, the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, in Tel Aviv. It featured French harpist Mélanie Laurent alongside the South American traditional-music ensemble Folklorico Latinoamericano.[12]

Forty-seven years elapsed between the contest's founding and its first Israeli winner.[7] When harpist Sivan Magen claimed first prize in 2006, his package included a specially built gold harp valued at $55,000, a recording, a debut recital in London produced by the Victor Salvi Foundation, and a concert with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.[8] By contest tradition, Magen was also invited to open the following triennial edition in Israel.[8]

During the competition, which drew 23 contestants, Magen also received two stage prizes: a $2,000 award for the best performance of an Israeli work—Paul Ben-Haim's Poem—and a $1,000 Renié Prize for his rendition of Henriette Renié's Fantastic Ballad.[8] Second prize, worth $6,000, went to Cécile Maudire of France, while the $4,000 third prize went to Atsuko Chida of Japan.[8]

The international edition scheduled for Jerusalem in December 2025 was canceled after only two musicians registered, compared with 68 registrants for the preceding edition.[2] Organizers announced a two-year postponement and expressed hope that the war might have ended by the rescheduled date.[2]

Italian harpist Claudia Lucia Lamanna, winner of the most recent international contest, had been designated to chair the jury of the local Israeli competition, perform at its opening concert, and lead a master class. She canceled her trip after what the report described as international pressure.[2] Artists who had registered for the international contest were also reported to have withdrawn for fear of "tainting" their musical reputations by appearing on an Israeli stage.[13] The domestic competition for Israeli harpists was reported to be continuing as planned.[2]

The 2025 episode was not the first time the contest had intersected with boycott politics. A 2013 Foundation for Defense of Democracies commentary, citing an external page that tracked Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions actions, stated that ten young harpists had withdrawn from the contest as a symbolic cultural-boycott gesture.[14]

Published accounts broadly agree that the contest began in 1959 and describe it as the first event of its kind internationally.[1][2] They differ, however, over its institutional founding. Encyclopedia.com and The Jerusalem Post identify Aharon-Zvi Propes as its initiator.[1][5] Maariv adds that Teddy Kollek assisted Propes, whereas Ynet attributes the founding to David Ben-Gurion and the state's tenth-anniversary celebrations.[6][2] Because the available accounts assign different roles to these figures, the precise attribution remains unresolved. The sources asserting that it was the world's first harp competition also do not provide a comparative survey of earlier competitions, so the distinction is best presented as a widely reported characterization rather than an independently settled historical conclusion.

Over more than six decades, the International Harp Contest has been recognized as one of Israel's world-class musical events, alongside the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition.[3] Prestigious international competitions in Israel, including the harp competition, have also been described as drawing large audiences and forming part of the country's broader cultural life.[15]

The contest's commissioning requirement has generated dozens of new harp works and expanded the international visibility of compositions by Israeli musicians.[4] By connecting the harp with King David and placing the instrument at the center of an international event, the contest has also served as an expression of Jewish cultural continuity.[4] Its triennial rhythm and symphonic finals have made it a significant proving ground for emerging harpists.[8][7] The cancellation of the 2025 international edition demonstrated the political and cultural pressures now affecting its ability to convene the global harp community in Israel.[2][13]