Two great violinists of the world, Gil Shaham and Maxim Vengerov, delight the audiences in Romania with their talent and their Stradivarii
The Rotterdam Philharmonic and their amazing conductor Lahav Shani, for the first time at the Enescu Festival
Two of the world’s greatest violinists, Gil Shaham and Maxim Vengerov, take to the stages of the Enescu Festival today with their Stradivarius violins, three centuries old and worth over one million euros each, to present an exceptional musical program in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca respectively.
Gil Shaham will perform with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, under the baton of the young but very talented conductor Lahav Shani, at their first Enescu Festival participation. The concert will take place at the Grand Palace Hall, from 7:30 PM, and will occasion the Romanian premiere of Johannes Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major Op. 77 with the cadenza by composer George Enescu. Considered one of the greatest violin pieces, Brahms’ Concerto was composed in 1878 and dedicated to Joseph Joachim, an excellent violinist of the 19th century and good friend of the composer. The Violin Concerto is a musical masterpiece full of expressive substance and emotional charge. Joseph Joachim, who premiered the concerto in 1879, said it was one of the four great concertos of German Romanticism, alongside the violin concertos by Beethoven, Bruch, and Mendelssohn. Soloist Gil Shaham will play the “Comtesse de Polignac,” a Stradivarius violin made in 1699.
In the second part of the evening, the Rotterdam Philharmonic will perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64. Tchaikovsky, a hypersensitive personality in a constant struggle with destiny, expressed his inner conflicts in his creations. He dedicated this work to German musician and teacher Theodor Avé-Lallemant and explained the meaning of the music as resignation to the force of fate: accepting fate as predestined and impossible to change.
Considered the successor of Zubin Mehta, young conductor Lahav Shani distinguishes himself through his astonishing maturity and natural, instinctive musicality. Critics believe he will become one of the world’s great conductors.
At the Romanian Athenaeum, from 4:30 PM, the Münchener Bach-Chor and the Münchener Bach-Orchester will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion BWV 245, led by Hansjörg Albrecht. The Passion is a sacred oratorio first performed in 1724. Considered a masterpiece of Baroque music, the oratorio illustrates biblical teachings from the New Testament.
In Cluj-Napoca, from 7:00 PM, at the Auditorium Maximum Hall, the great violinist Maxim Vengerov will give a recital alongside pianist Polina Osetinskaya. The diverse and enchanting program opens with Mozart’s Sonata No. 32 in B flat major for violin and piano K. 454, a work emblematic of Mozart’s spirit. It is complemented by George Enescu’s Sonata in F minor, a superb masterpiece written in three parts, influenced by traditional music and refined in the French compositional style, a demanding and versatile work. Enescu’s piece is in turn followed by Richard Strauss’s Sonata in E flat major for violin and piano Op. 18, an important landmark of violin writing. The recital concludes with Ravel’s Tzigane, a virtuosic, colourful work belonging to the Impressionist movement. An exceptional violinist and teacher, Maxim Vengerov plays the “Kreutzer” Stradivarius (1727).
DAILY AGENDA
SERIES: ENESCU AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES
TIME: 10:30 AM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 10:00 AM
VENUE: AUDITORIUM HALL of the National Museum of Arts
CLARA HASKIL TRIO
NINA REDDIG violin / KAJANA PAČKO cello / FIL LIOTIS piano
Guests: ÄNEAS HUMM baritone / JUDIT POLGAR piano
Program:
Bartók Sonata for Solo Violin, Tempo di ciaccona
Bartók A tömlöcben, Régi keserves, Párosító, Panasz, Bordal from Twenty Hungarian Folksongs for voice and piano Sz 92
Enescu Piano Trio in A minor
Enescu 7 Chansons de Clément Marot for voice and piano
Ravel Piano Trio
The name of the Clara Haskil Trio comes from an inspiring woman, who managed to create a whole world in just one note. The three passionate musicians – Nina Reddig (violin), Kajana Pačko (cello), and Fil Liotis (piano) – love intense musical moments and bring their audience together with them on a musical adventure. Their performances on international stages are described as lively and deeply emotional. Always highly appreciated by the critics, the trio performs at renowned festivals on the international scene.
SERIES: MUSIC OF THE 21ST CENTURY
TIME: 1:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 1:00 PM
VENUE: RADIO HALL
BANATUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF TIMISOARA
RUMON GAMBA conductor
PETER JABLONSKI piano
Program: In Memoriam Remus Georgescu
Remus Georgescu Triads Symphony
Patrick Hawes Piano Concerto
Tim Benjamin Symphony
British conductor Rumon Gamba held the positions of Principal Conductor and Music Director of NorrlandsOperan between 2008 and 2015 and Chief Conductor of the Aalborg Symfoniorkester between 2011 and 2015. He was also Chief Conductor and Music Director of Iceland Symphony Orchestra between 2002 and 2010. He regularly leads the BBC orchestras and has appeared at the BBC Proms on a number of occasions. A champion of new music, Gamba has given several high profile premieres including the world premieres of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys at the English National Opera, Brett Dean’s Viola Concerto with the composer and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
Peter Jablonski is an award-winning internationally acclaimed Swedish pianist. Discovered by Abbado and Ashkenazy and signed by Decca in his seventeenth year, he went on to perform, collaborate, and record with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, which include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Kirov (now Mariinsky), La Scala Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zürich, Orchestre Nationale de France, NHK Tokyo, DSO Berlin, Warsaw Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Harding, Kurt Sanderling, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, and Myung-Whun Chung.
COMPOSERS’ FORUM
TIME: 4:30 PM
VENUE: AUDITORIUM HALL of the National Museum of Arts
International Composers’ Forum
Moderator: Dan Dediu
4:30-5:00 PM Ars Poetica Conference: Patrick Hawes and Peter Jablonski
5:00-5:30 PM Ars Poetica Conference: Tim Benjamin
5:30-5:50 PM Coffee Break
5:50-6:30 PM Round-table with Patrick Hawes, Peter Jablonski, Tim Benjamin
SERIES: CONCERTS AND RECITALS
TIME: 4:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 4:00 PM
VENUE: ROMANIAN ATHENAEUM
MÜNCHENER BACH-CHOR and MÜNCHENER BACH-ORCHESTER
HANSJÖRG ALBRECHT conductor & harpsichord
REGULA MÜHLEMANN soprano
WIEBKE LEHMKUHL alto
PATRICK GRAHL tenor (arias)
DANIEL JOHANNSEN tenor (Evangelist)
MICHAEL VOLLE bass (arias)
CHRISTIAN IMMLER bass (Jesus)
Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach Johannes-Passion
Hansjörg Albrecht is one of the few artists who are regularly present internationally both as conductor and concert organist. He is regarded as a musical border crosser without fear of contact – entirely in the spirit of the Anglo-American conductor, concert organist, arranger and sound magician Leopold Stokowski. As a conductor, Albrecht consistently goes his own way – between archive and new creation and with an extensive repertoire from Bach to Messiaen – and with his organ transcriptions he established himself as a specialist among the virtuosos of his instrument. He is Artistic Director of the Munich Bach Choir & Bach Orchestra.
SERIES: GREAT ORCHESTRAS OF THE WORLD
TIME: 7:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 7:00 PM
VENUE: GRAND PALACE HALL
ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
LAHAV SHANI conductor
GIL SHAHAM violin
Program:
Brahms Violin Concerto in D major Op. 77
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra distinguishes itself with its intensely energetic performances, its acclaimed recordings, and its innovative audience approach. Founded in 1918, it has claimed its own position among Europe’s foremost orchestras. Since 2010, the Rotterdam Philharmonic has been resident orchestra of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. With performances from the local venues to concert halls worldwide, educational performances, and community projects, the orchestra reaches an annual audience of 150,000 to 200,000, among which a considerable number of young people.
In the 18/19 season, Lahav Shani took over from Yannick Nézet-Séguin as Chief Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Starting with the 20/21 season he is the Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, taking over from Zubin Mehta, who held the appointment for 50 years. From the 17/18 season until the summer of 2020 Shani was also Principal Guest Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. In June 2016 Shani debuted with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as conductor and solo pianist. No more than two months later, his appointment as Chief Conductor was announced and he became the youngest conductor to hold the position in the orchestra’s history. During his first season in the role, Shani led the orchestra in concerts across Europe, China, and Taiwan. The Rotterdam Philharmonic alongside Shani have an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics.
Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time; his flawless technique combined with his inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has consolidated his renown as an American master. The Grammy Award-winner, also named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year,” is sought-after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, and regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s greatest concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals. Highlights of recent years include the acclaimed recording and performances of J.S. Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas for solo violin. In the coming seasons, in addition to championing these solo works, he will join pianist Akira Eguchi, his longtime duo partner, in recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
SERIES: Enescu in Other Cities
TIME: 7:00 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 6:30 PM
VENUE: AUDITORIUM MAXIMUM HALL CLUJ-NAPOCA
Recital MAXIM VENGEROV violin & POLINA OSETINSKAYA piano
Program:
Mozart Violin Sonata No. 32 in B flat major K. 454
Enescu Violin Sonata No. 2 in F minor Op. 6
Strauss Violin Sonata in E flat major Op. 18
Ravel Tzigane
Universally hailed as one of the world’s finest musicians and often referred to as the greatest living string player in the world today, Grammy Award winner Maxim Vengerov also enjoys international acclaim as a conductor and is one of the most in-demand soloists. Born in 1974, he began his career as a solo violinist at the age of five, won the Wieniawski and Carl Flesch international competitions at ages 10 and 15 respectively, studied with Galina Tourchaninova and Zakhar Bron, made his first recording at the age of 10, and went on to record extensively for high-profile labels including Melodia, Teldec, and EMI, earning among others Grammy and Gramophone Artist of the Year awards.
Internationally acclaimed pianist Polina Osetinskaya began her career at the age of five and was soon acclaimed as a wunderkind in the former Soviet Union. She gave her first concert at the age of six and entered the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory at the age of seven. Ms. Osetinskaya continued her studies at the Leningrad Conservatory with Marina Wolf and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Vera Gornostaeva.
CREATIVE BUCHAREST
- Exhibition of photographs and unpublished documents about George Enescu and the Enescu Festival titled “Enescu. Genius and Festival. Face(t)s of Love” from September 1 to 26, 2021, at the Athenaeum and the Palace Hall. The exhibition is a joint project of the Enescu Festival, together with its official photographers Andrada Pavel, Catalina Filip, Andrei Gandac, and Alex Damian, the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Enescu Museum.
- 7-episode film dedicated to the 2021 George Enescu International Festival, broadcast by TVR.
- 7-installment film titled Constantin Silvestri – Avant-gardist, master improviser, homme passionné, a 2021 UK production by Anda Anastasescu and Nicolas Gaster; installments: Prelude, Lead Soldiers, The Little Shepherd, Fireworks, Pictures at an Exhibition, Nocturne; program: Saturday, August 28 – Sunday, September 26, 2021.
FURTHER INFORMATION
PROGRAM, ARTISTS, NEWS: https://www.festivalenescu.ro/en/
DAILY AGENDA with interview, reviews, and additional information: https://bit.ly/3jneKsC
PRESS ACCESS: Concert access of accredited members of the press will be according to the accreditation forms. Accreditation is not required for any other events.
TVR VIDEOGRAPHY: Televisions may broadcast video excerpts from the link below, always citing the source (TVR), during their newsreels. It is not allowed to upload the excerpts to Facebook.
- ftp://newftp.tvr.ro/; username: enescu.tvr; password: b@sBx4Ui (please use FileZilla to open the files)
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY: All media may use photo and video images provided by the Enescu Festival via the following link: https://bit.ly/3DoPoCI. Kindly keep the credits visible for all photos.
