Gregory Harrington is one of Ireland's most recognized violinists
Above: photography by Jacob
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
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1. PopImpressKA Journal: You were born in Ireland? What is your most beautiful memory about the place where you were born?
Gregory Harrington: I was born in Dublin and I moved here to New York in 1999. I have so many beautiful and touching memories from growing up in Ireland and living there as a child to a young adult. Those memories include my formative years playing so much tennis as a family, playing music, going with Dad and my brother John to the Irish Rugby internationals in Lansdowne Road which was such a thrill, to encountering so many great friendships from University (College Dublin) and finally embarking on this musical journey. So I think it’s rooted in the simplicity of sharing the beginnings of this journey with my parents.. and that is more touching and meaningful now because they’re both gone.
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2. PJ: How did your parents influence your career and what was so special about violin, your choice of the instrument?
GH: I think I feel their presence every day as there is always something that I do that reminds me of them and their influence on me. They were loving, supportive.. and so very encouraging. I think they both instilled in me the idea that there was no limit or ceiling to what I could do - just the single-mindedness to targe
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3. PJ: How were you inspired to work on your new album “Without you”? What is behind the name?
GH: It started when I was opening for the New York Tenors in Carnegie Hall many years ago and I performed standards with my jazz quartet. It was such a beautiful evening and I think that’s where it started, that is where I started exploring the sounds of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. I was simply fascinated by how they took simple standards and melodies and made them so intrinsically beautiful through their individual voices. They gave such different and meaningful interpretations to the same notes of music. So I then started creating my own and really letting the interpretations settle and sit inside me and develop. In terms of the album title "Without You", it’s dedicated to my dad - he loved music and was so supportive and ever present for my career. He was there for the Carnegie concert and he heard most of this album before he passed three years ago. So it is a dedication to him.
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4. PJ: Who are your favorite violin performers?
GH: I grew up listening to the classical icons Heifetz and Menuhin along with the sound of my incredible teacher Erick Friedman (who was a pupil of Heifitz) so I have been shaped by those violinists primarily. Gidon Kremer and Vadim Repin are phenomenal and I just love seeing them live. In the jazz realm, there are many incredible violinists but Stephane Grapelli’s sound always has such humor.. the violin played well with a story told through the strings is a glorious sound so anyone that can do that is quite special.
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5. PJ: What is the oldest violin you ever had a chance to perform on and who was the maker?
GH: I had the beautiful opportunity of performing a concert on an incredible Antonio Stradivarius violin from 1702 and then the US National Anthem for the NBA on a different 1692 Antonio Stradivarius - loved them both. Some years after that, I performed on a Guarneri ‘del Gesu’ from 1738. They are two of the most famous and incredible makers (both Italian and making instruments mostly in the early 1700’s) that have ever lived and I feel so fortunate to perform and experience a little of both of their creative virtuosity. Hopefully one or two more opportunities will arise again in the future - the Heifetz Guarneri "del Gesu" is the one that I would most like to play!
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6. PJ: How did you choose your particular violin?
GH: A number of years ago I was in conversation with a good friend about creating a consortium to purchase a Stradivarius violin (they can go anywhere from 2 million USD to 16 million USD and higher). And I was trying out two Stradivarius instruments and I found this incredible violin by Peter Greiner in between them. He is a modern maker and I fell in love with the sound as it is so rich. There’s a depth and there’s a darkness of tone and in expressiveness that gets completely to the center of the sound - it is just so intrinsically beautiful. When I came back to my friend and told him about the violin he casually said that he would buy it and give it to me on loan - on the proviso that I practiced :) He has been a phenomenal supporter of which I am beyond thankful and so lucky to have. I’ve recorded a number of albums on it and I just love playing concerts as it gives me such freedom and room for expression and such scope to envisage the colors I want to create.
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7. PJ: What are your classical influences and modern influences?
GH: As a violinist, I would have to say Bach and Beethoven are my main classical influences as everything really stems and evolves from them for me - and their music is just so cleansing and beautiful. I will always love the Beethoven Violin Concerto! I think modern influences range from some incredible performers - Miles Davis to Chris Botti, Frank Sinatra to Michael Buble and Hendrix to RadioHead.
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8. PJ: How do you feel about success? Fame? Happiness? Fortune? Power?
What do those traits mean to you?
GH: I think success is something that I would look back on at the end of the career and be so happy and proud of the journey that I’ve taken. It will only be meaningful if I can share it with others or if my music has a really positive impact in the life of someone else.
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Above: photography by Daniel D'Ottavio
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9. PJ: How do you think today’s performances differ from the past since we use so much computer technology today for new sounds and arrangements for classical instruments?
GH: I think they are markedly different in terms of technology but not necessarily in terms of concept. If you look at some of the great instrumentalists and composers of 200 years ago like Liszt or Paganini, they used to create their own concert transcriptions of the most famous operas at the time on their instrument - whether that was for piano or violin. And audiences used to flock to these concerts in their hundreds and thousands so their reputation preceded them throughout Europe and the western world. As opera was the popular medium of the time, in essence they were performing “pop covers”. So crossover has always existed I feel - but the manner that we experience concerts now is quite different,
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10. PJ: Your favorite book, country to visit, holiday, time of the year, cuisine?
GH: For a book, it's a tie between "The Essential Neruda - selected poems" and the hysterically funny "Ross O'Carroll Kelly" series by Irish Author Paul Howard - so different yet so wonderful... New Zealand, a week in Belize, summer when it is in the low 80s with minimal humidity, and French cuisine - great steak & great wine - can't go wrong!
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Above: photography by Matt Beier
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11. PJ: If you could perform with anyone out there in the world, who would it be?
GH: Just walked off stage with Glen Hansard last night at the Beacon Theatre in New York and that collaboration is way up there as he’s an artist and a musician that I have admired for years. It’s really hard just to pick one so whether that’s Billy Joel or Tony Bennett, Bono or Diana Krall, Ricardo Muti or Daniel Barenboim - there are many that I feel that I could just learn so much from exchanging musical ideas onstage.
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Above: photograohy by Emilio Moscoso
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Gregory with his band members during and after their performance
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Above Images: Eugene Charkov / copyright@popimpresskajournal
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Hallelujah
Hallelujah - music by Leonard Cohen, arranged by Gregory Harrington Available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and all streaming services. https://apple.co/2uAIXu1 https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/gregoryha... Director & Editor: Michael Robayo AD + Cinematographer: Stanley Rojas Production: Site B Studios Studio: 9 & Smith Audio by The Cutting Room, Mastered at the Bakery LA. Produced by Chris Montgomery ; Mixed by Steve Genewick Styling: Christo Fifth Avenue Makeup: Alexia Christo for Christo Fifth Avenue Simon Mulligan (piano), Leon Boykins (bass) Matt Scarano (drums)
See Below:
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Oblivion
Oblivion - music by Astor Piazzolla, arranged by Gregory Harrington Director & Editor: Michael Robayo AD + Cinematographer: Stanley Rojas Production: Site B Studios Studio: Triskelion Arts Center Audio by The Cutting Room, Mastered at the Bakery LA. Produced by Chris Montgomery ; Mixed by Steve Genewick Video: Simon Mulligan (piano), Leon Boykins (bass) Sean Mullins (drums) Styling: Christo Fifth Avenue Makeup: Keila Rivera - @Keilamakeup Audio: Simon Mulligan (piano), Leon Boykins (bass) Matt Scarano (drums)
See Below:
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For more info:
https://gregoryharrington.com
