Every once in a while, I hear a piece of music that really excites the senses; so it was the other day, when I chanced upon the playing of German, Rüdiger Oppermann. Like most people hearing him for the first time, I kept looking for the blues guitar player, bending the notes and pinging wicked harmonics. I kept looking because as John Diliberto (Amazon) so aptly noted in a review, "
You're not supposed to play the Celtic harp like this." That's right, Rüdiger Oppermann is a harp player, not a blues harmonica player but a customized electro-acoustic Celtic harp player.
Classical training at piano and cello, playing electric guitar in a Blues band, followed by African and Indian influences after his conversion to the harp, have led him to be regarded as
one of the best and most innovative harp players the world has ever known. He has over 30 albums to his name and has also made quite an impact on the Jazz scene.
Listening to a few audio clips cannot do justice to a player who has such a wide repertoire but
listen to clip 5, Wintertime/Summertime from his 1999 'Fragile Balance' album to get a feel for his amazing virtuosity; it's only a short clip but gives great satisfaction in a continuous loop.
