Marisa Robles

Who is Marisa Robles?

Marisa Robles is a Spanish harpist.

She was born in Spain, where she studied the harp with Luisa Menarguez, and studied music at the Madrid Conservatory, graduating at the age of sixteen in 1953. She made her concert debut at seventeen, performing with flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal.

The Concerto for Flute and Harp by Mozart which they performed together was to become the piece for which she is best known. She has recorded and performed it with James Galway and with her husband 1968 - 1985 Christopher Hyde-Smith, among others. In 1963 she premiered Sones en la Giralda on the BBC, a wedding present written for her by Joaquín Rodrigo.

In 1958 she married, and in 1960 she came to live permanently in the UK. In 1971 she became a teacher at the Royal College of Music.