Who would think that an exciting book can be written about a musical instrument? Yet it can be done. Nora Mercz guides us along the harp's adventurous development among the tempests of human civilization starting from the prehistoric age through the Middle Ages up to these days. First, the author tells us how the instrument was used by mythic heroes, ancient gods, mediaeval and modern monarchs or commoners gifted by musical talent, then she describes the harp's magic influence on the human soul. In the meantime we can keep track of how the harp was shaped from a bow of one string into an instrumental masterwork.
About the Author: Nora Mercz, born in Budapest, did not prepare for making music her career. She started playing the harp just for the love it at the age of 16. Encouraged by her teachers, she took an entrance examination and was admitted to year 5 of the Bartok Bela Conservatory. Hereupon she pursued studies and obtained her artist-teacher diploma at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. She could not accept invitations for grants in West-Berlin and New York, but she was given a two-year postgraduate scholarship in the Soviet Union in 1971. She was delighted to experience the classes and teaching of excellent and renowned harpists. After returning to Budapest, she was the teacher of harp, harp methodology and chamber music at the Teachers' Training Institute of the Academy of Music until 1997. She reorganised the harp-education in schools of music urging the start of harp-learning as early as childhood, just one of many achievements throughout her career. In 1992 established and directed the Hungarian Centre for Harp with the aim of promoting integration of the Hungarians into the international community of harpists through foreign relationships beyond propagating the instrument in Hungary. Her activity was manifold: inviting the most outstanding harpists of the world, organizing concerts and master classes, promoting appearances for the youth, editing and publishing the scores of Hungarian pieces for harp, etc. Nora Mercz, also, performed in concerts as a soloist and played chamber music, in addition to this, she was involved in many TV programmes and numerous radio programmes. In 1993 she released an album and in 2008 she shot a film -etude entitled "Along a forest spring.""