Harpist Marcel Grandjany was born on Sept. 3, 1891, in Paris, France.
From an early age, he demonstrated prodigious talent. After being admitted to the Paris Conservatory at 11, he took home the Premier Prix at 13 years old.
He then launched his international career at 17 with his first public recital. A series of recitals, which included one with Maurice Ravel in 1913, brought him great acclaim.
After a brief stint in the French military during the First World War, Grandjany played the organ at Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris. He eventually moved to the United States and became the chair of the Juilliard School of Music’s Harp Department in 1938.
According to Archiv Music, his influence is “hard to overstate.” And his method is taught throughout the world.
Granjany was known as a “sensuous harpist,” and it helped that he was born with “large, spatula-shaped fingertips.”
