DAILY AGENDA – SEPTEMBER 13

Two Grammy Award winners, conductor Cristian Macelaru and violinist Maxim Vengerov, on the same stage at the Enescu Festival

 

Grammy Award-winning conductor Cristian Macelaru and violinist Maxim Vengerov will take to the stage of the Enescu Festival tonight at 7:30 PM, at the Grand Palace Hall, in a concert by the Orchestre National de France, with a program of music from the 20th century.

 

The first work, Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 in A minor for violin and orchestra Op. 77, will be performed by renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov on his Stradivarius ex-Kreutzer (1727). Shostakovich completed the concerto in 1948, during severe censorship from the Communist regime, and the work was not published until 1953, after Stalin’s death. Shostakovich’s music is distinguished by its unmistakable originality. His style is eccentric, full of strangeness, irony, bold harmonies, melancholy, and pathos. The Violin Concerto No. 1, a work almost symphonic in its breadth, demands from the soloist the entire arsenal of the violin technique, as well as mental and emotional stamina. It was dedicated to the legendary violinist David Oistrakh, who premiered it in 1955, admiring the work for the “depth of its artistic content.”

 

The program continues with Mystère de l’instant for string orchestra, cimbalom, and percussion (1989) by Dutilleux, a contemporary French composer. It then concludes with Ravel’s Suite No.2 from the Daphnis et Chloé ballet. The ballet Daphnis and Chloe, a masterpiece of musical Impressionism, was written in 1909 and inspired by an ancient Greek novel about a pastoral love story. Its large orchestration, with chorus, owes to the composer’s idea of creating a choreographic symphony, as he originally called it. Suite No. 2 is a further exploration of the love story between the two characters and contains the most popular themes of the ballet.

 

At the Romanian Athenaeum, from 4:30 PM, the German Chamber Philharmonic of Bremen will perform a concert with a varied program, conducted by Cristian Lupes. The opening will feature the Concertino in Classical Style for Piano and Chamber Orchestra Op. 3 by Dinu Lipatti, performed by pianist Julien Libeer. The concerto was written in 1936. A remarkable pianist and composer, Dinu Lipatti, pupil of George Enescu, left precious compositions and recordings that serve as a reference point for current generations of musicians.

 

Next, violinist Arabella Steinbacher will perform Bruch’s Concerto No. 1 in G minor for violin and orchestra. This year marks the 100th commemoration of the death of composer Max Bruch. The performance of his concerto, one of the most popular and best-loved in the violin repertoire, pays tribute to the composer.

 

The program at the Athenaeum continues with Anton Webern’s Passacaglia Op. 1, a Modern work composed in 1908, during the First World War. The work illustrates tragedy and uncertainty, but also has sections reminiscent of late Romanticism. The Passacaglia was the composer’s first published work and also the last piece written during his years of study under Schonberg. As a genre, the passacaglia is a slow dance popular in Baroque music. It is structured on a recurring theme in the lower register, to which variations are added, following this tonal pillar throughout the work.

 

The final work on the program is Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring orchestral suite, with its expressive, evocative, and charming music. Composed in 8 sections in 1944, it was originally written as a ballet at the request of dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. The title comes from The Dance, a poem from Hart Crane’s book The Bridge.

 

 

DAILY AGENDA

 

SERIES: CONCERTS AND RECITALS

 

TIME: 4:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 4:00 PM
VENUE: ROMANIAN ATHENAEUM

 

THE DEUTSCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE BREMEN
CRISTIAN LUPES conductor

 

Program:

Dinu Lipatti Concertino en style classique for Piano and Chamber Orchestra Op. 3
   JULIEN LIBEER piano
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 26
   ARABELLA STEINBACHER violin
Webern Passacaglia Op. 1
Copland Appalachian Spring

 

Conductor Cristian Lupes, a great cultural and multi-disciplinary personality, is known for his restless and ever renewing activity, as a musician and creator & manager of cultural projects. He is considered to be the most surprising Romanian conductor nowadays, due to his highly personal interpretations and brave choices of repertoire.

 

Born in 1987 near Brussels, Belgium, Julien Libeer’s earliest musical memory was the famous documentary on the recording of West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. The piano, which he took up at age six, quickly became the faithful companion for expressing a love of music that thrives as much on opera, orchestra, and chamber music as on the piano repertoire.

 

Celebrated worldwide as one of today’s leading soloists, Arabella Steinbacher is known for her extraordinarily varied repertoire, which comprises pinnacles of the Classical and Romantic eras, alongside Modernist concerto works of Bartók, Berg, Britten, Glazunov, Gubaidulina, Hartmann, Hindemith, Khachaturian, Milhaud, Prokofiev, Schnittke, Shostakovich, and Szymanowski. Born into a family of musicians, she has played the violin since the age of three and studied with Ana Chumachenco at the Munich University of Music and Theatre since the age of eight. Arabella Steinbacher currently plays a violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1718, known as the “ex-Benno Walter,” generously provided by a private Swiss foundation.

 

 

SERIES: GREAT ORCHESTRAS OF THE WORLD

 

TIME: 7:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 7:00 PM
VENUE: GRAND PALACE HALL

 

ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DE FRANCE
CHOIR OF THE GEORGE ENESCU PHILHARMONIC
CRISTIAN MACELARU conductor
IOSIF ION PRUNNER conductor of the choir
MAXIM VENGEROV violin

 

Program:

Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor Op. 77
Dutilleux Mystère de l’instant for string orchestra, cimbalom, & percussion
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2

 

The Orchestre National de France is both an established authority and a dynamic force in the interpretation of French music. Its international tours have made it a flagship for French culture across the world, while its presence throughout France, reinforced by vibrant educational programs, has cemented its relationship with a diversity of national audiences. A Radio France ensemble, the Orchestre National de France was founded in 1934 as the country’s first full-time symphony orchestra. Its mission to serve the symphonic repertoire was furthered by radio broadcasts of its concerts, and it soon achieved an enviable reputation.

 

Currently in his second season as Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester, Cristian Macelaru is one of the fast-rising stars of the conducting world. Appointed Music Director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris from September 2021, one of Europe’s leading orchestras, he actually started this position a year earlier, effectively on September 1, 2020. In January 2020, Macelaru received his first-ever GRAMMY® Award for conducting the Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

 

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.

 

 

SERIES: ENESCU IN OTHER CITIES

 

TIME: 7:00 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 6:30 PM
VENUE: LAHOVARI HALL RAMNICU VALCEA

 

ION DUMITRESCU PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF RAMNICU VALCEA
CONSTANTIN ADRIAN GRIGORE conductor
STEFAN CAZACU cello

 

Program:

Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33, for cello and orchestra
Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B flat major Op. 60

 

During his studies in Romania and then in Poland, at the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music, conductor Constantin Grigore benefited from the guidance of renowned maestros of the conductor’s art: Petru Andriesei, Horia Andreescu, Ilarion Ionescu-Galati, and Marek Pijarowski. He has participated in various dedicated masterclasses, such as the Malaga Philharmonic Masterclass (Malaga 2017, Prof. Manuel Hernandez Silva), Weimar Meisterkurse (Weimar 2016, Prof. Nicolas Pasquet), International Masterclass for Orchestral Conducting and Phenomenology of Music (Craiova 2012, Prof. Konrad von Abel), Wiener Meisterkurse (Vienna 2008, Prof. Salvador Mas Conde), The Roads of Romanticism (Warsaw 2006, Prof. Marek Pijarowski), and also masterclasses by Jin Wang, Jorma Panula, and Mark Stringer.

 

Young cellist Stefan Cazacu (25) enjoys already a CV that is the basis of a successful career: a complex education received early on, growing up in a famous family of musicians, university music studies in Bucharest and Vienna, numerous awards at various national and international competitions, appearances as a soloist with all the symphony orchestras in Romania, but also recitals in Holland, Israel, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. His talent has been rewarded by numerous prizes received in various national and international competitions, such as the First Prize at the International Competition in Liezen, Austria (2008), Second Prize at the Antonio Janigro Competition in Croatia (2008), Grand Prize in the national Eurovision Young Musicians’ Competition (2010, Bucharest); his most recent achievement is the Third Prize at the George Enescu International Competition 2020/21.

 

CREATIVE BUCHAREST

 

  • Teodora Enache-Brody launches her CD Unifying Worlds at the Carturesti Verona bookstore, at 2:00 PM.

 

  • 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.