# Harmonica



## jurianbai

Some article said harmonica is the biggest selling instruments on earth. But why it never rise as a respectfull CLASSICAL instrument? can name classical repertoire for harmonica?

http://www.planetharmonica.com/VE/ConseilsBPUK.htm


----------



## Weston

Vaughan-Williams' _Romance for harmonica, strings, and piano_ is the only one I know of. This is the only piece with harmonica I've found that does not sound shrill to me. I'm not too fond of the sound in the blues-rock idiom.


----------



## Taneyev

Arthur Benjamin Harmonica concerto
James Moody Suite dans le style francais for harmonica and harp
Moody quintet for h.and SQ
Gordon Jacob Divertimento for h.and SQ


----------



## jurianbai

Will check out some pieces mentioned above. 

But still major name in classical music like Mozart and friends (was there any harmonica around that time?) did not have a harmonica repertoire. Is it the instrument not 'musically' challenging to compose, or in marketing point of view, harmonica is not much "sell" rather than have a violin concerto.


----------



## Weston

jurianbai said:


> Will check out some pieces mentioned above.
> 
> But still major name in classical music like Mozart and friends (was there any harmonica around that time?) did not have a harmonica repertoire. Is it the instrument not 'musically' challenging to compose, or in marketing point of view, harmonica is not much "sell" rather than have a violin concerto.


Now that you mention it, didn;t Mozart write a couple of pieces for _glass armonica _and chamber instruments? I think that was a completely different type of instrument, though. It was like rubbing wet fingers over a crystal wine goblet or somethng like that. It must have been very hard to play or very expensive. I've never heard of any other compositions for it. I haven't even heard these. I've only heard about them.

Maybe in Mozart's time the harmonica as we know it was looked down on as a folk instrument. I'm only guessing -- I haven't researched it.


----------



## jurianbai

Search on internet on GLASS ARMONICA , that's completely different instrument I guess.

on youtube :





wiki :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica

wow... the first time I seen this of kind.


----------



## Cortision

I think the harmonica is the biggest selling instrument partly due to the fact that it is cheap and portable. A great instrument though, in the hands of a master. I play it terribly, terribly badly. I make dogs howl in misery. 
I think it became popular only late nineteenth century, which may explain why there is no standard classical repertoire for it.


----------



## Sid James

The late* Larry Adler *was a great mouth harmonica player. I can recommend his *Gershwin album*, incl. a version of _*Rhapsody in Blue*_ which the composer himself was said to admire (they knew eachother well) -


----------



## Chrythes

Also there's Michael Spivakovsky's Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, the first movement:


----------



## starthrower

Howard Levy
http://www.levyland.com/concertodiatoniccd.php


----------

