DAILY AGENDA – SEPTEMBER 15

Conductor Cristian Macelaru to record the complete works by Enescu

Yuja Wang returns to the Festival stage * Romanian premiere of the opera Der Zwerg

 

Conductor Cristian Macelaru will record the complete works of Enescu for Deutsche Grammophon, as part of a project estimated to take 10 years. The recording will be made with the Orchestre National de France, with the participation of the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir and soloists from Romania. This will be the first Deutsche Grammophon recording of George Enescu’s works.

 

Cristian Macelaru briefly presented this initiative during a meeting he had yesterday with President Klaus Iohannis, after his concert with the National Orchestra of France at the Grand Palace Hall. President Iohannis congratulated him for the exceptional performance. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Culture Bogdan Gheorghiu, Minister of Education Sorin Campeanu, Clément Beaune, Secretary of State for European Affairs in the French Government, French Ambassador to Bucharest Laurence Auer, and Iulia Matei, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Today, the program of the Enescu Festival continues in force with the premiere of Zemlinsky’s opera Der Zwerg (‘The Dwarf’) and a concert by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with famous pianist Yuja Wang.

 

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the remarkable pianist Yuja Wang will perform at the Romanian Athenaeum from 4:30 PM. Together with concertmaster Matthew Truscott, the artists of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra will perform a diverse program of works by Haydn, Janáček, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich. The first work, Haydn’s Symphony No. 31 in D Major, was composed in 1765 when Haydn was a court musician in the service of Prince Esterházy. Joseph Haydn is regarded in music history as the creator of the symphony, writing 108 symphonies, 30 of which were composed during his time at the Esterházy Princely Court. Symphony No. 31 is dubbed the ‘Hornsignal’ due to the importance the horns take, which is also the reason why it can be considered a concertante. The musical themes in the horns and the response effect in the strings give the work a ceremonial character, illustrative of the image of 18th century royal courts.

 

The program continues with pianist Yuja Wang performing Janáček’s Capriccio for left hand and wind ensemble, an original piece, emblematic of the Czech composer’s style. Janáček began work on this piece inspired by pianist Otakar Hollmann’s desire to perform with his left hand only. Hollmann had lost his right hand in World War I and Janáček’s work gave him the chance to return to the stage. Although he did not dedicate the work to the pianist, Hollmann premiered it in 1928, at Prague’s Smetana Hall alongside members of the Philharmonic, under the baton of Jaroslav Řídký.

 

Igor Stravinsky’s Wind Octet brings the freshness and vitality of Modernism to the stage. Completed in 1923, with a large diversity of themes and characters, the Octet is one of the first Neoclassical works in Stravinsky’s creation. It was first performed at the Paris Opera House, the first premiere of a work of his own that Stravinsky conducted himself. It was also the composer’s first recorded work. 2021 marks the 50th commemoration of Stravinsky’s death and the Enescu Festival celebrates his memory by performing his works.

 

The program concludes with a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 102 in F Major. Shostakovich composed the concerto in 1957 for his son Maxim, who premiered it at his graduation concert from the conservatory. Piano Concerto No. 2 is one of the composer’s most popular works, written in an unusually serene character in his creation.

 

At the Grand Palace Hall, from 7:30 PM, the National Radio Orchestra and Academic Choir will perform Alexander von Zemlinsky’s opera Der Zwerg, conducted by Oleg Caetani and Ciprian Tutu. The opera Der Zwerg (‘The Dwarf’) was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s short story The Birthday of the Infanta and is written in one act, on a libretto by Georg C. Klaren. It presents the love story between the Infanta and a dwarf who doesn’t realize he is a dwarf. It premiered in Cologne in 1922 under the baton of conductor Otto Klemperer. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the opera’s composition.

 

 

DAILY AGENDA

 

SERIES: CONCERTS AND RECITALS

 

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

 

MAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
YUJA WANG piano
MATTHEW TRUSCOTT concertmaster & leader

 

Program:

Haydn Symphony No. 31 in D major, Hornsignal
Janáček Capriccio for Piano Left-Hand and Chamber Ensemble, Vzdor (Defiance)
Stravinsky Octet for Winds
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Op. 102

 

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) was founded in 1997 based on the shared vision of being a free and international ensemble, dedicated to creating and sharing exceptional experiences in classical music. With 45 members spanning 20 different countries at its core, the MCO works as a nomadic collective of passionate musicians uniting for specific tours in Europe and across the world. The orchestra is constantly on the move: it has, to date, performed in over 40 countries across five continents. It is governed collectively by its management team and orchestra board; decisions are made democratically with the participation of all musicians. The MCO’s sound is characterized by the chamber music style of ensemble playing among its alert and independent musical personalities. Its core repertoire, ranging from the Viennese classical and early Romantic periods to contemporary works and world premieres, reflects the MCO’s agility in crossing musical boundaries.

 

Critical superlatives and audience ovations have continuously followed Yuja Wang’s dazzling career. The Beijing-born pianist, celebrated for her charismatic artistry and captivating stage presence, has achieved new heights during the 2019/20 season, which featured recitals, concert series, as well as season residencies, and extensive tours with some of the world’s most venerated ensembles and conductors.

 

Yuja received advanced training in Canada and at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music under Gary Graffman. Her international breakthrough came in 2007 when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She later signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has since established her place among the world’s leading artists, with a succession of critically acclaimed performances and recordings. Yuja was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year in 2017.

 

SERIES: GREAT ORCHESTRAS OF THE WORLD

 

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

 

RADIO ROMANIA NATIONAL ORCHESTRA
RADIO ROMANIA ACADEMIC CHOIR
OLEG CAETANI conductor
CIPRIAN TUTU conductor of the choir
CARMEN LIDIA VIDU multimedia director

 

Program:

Zemlinsky Der Zwerg

 

LUCIA CESARONI The Infanta (soprano)
EMILY MAGEE Ghita (soprano)
KRISTINN SIGMUNDSSON The Chamberlain (bass)
RODRICK DIXON The Dwarf (tenor)
ALISA JORDHEIM First Maid (soprano)
HAGAR SHARVIT Second Maid (soprano)
MARGARET PLUMMER Third Maid (alto)

 

The profile, repertoire, and history of the National Radio Orchestra are defined by almost a century of national culture in terms of creation, performance, and dissemination of music in Romania. With the launch of the public radio station in 1928, the Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded on the initiative and under the direction of composer Mihail Jora, and has been performing in public concerts since 1932.

 

A particularly complex issue is the configuration of the repertoire, bound by the requirement to include representative musical genres of all eras, from Baroque music to contemporary works. At the same time, more than any other symphonic orchestra, the National Radio Orchestra is more than apt to fulfill the honorable mission of performing and publicizing national composition. In this regard, the orchestra is the ensemble with the largest number of first performances of works by Romanian composers, promoting their creation in the concert halls, on the airwaves, through special recordings, with some performances programmed through the European Broadcasting Union. On a par with the most important orchestras belonging to European broadcasters, the recording output of this elite ensemble has also been honored with important national and international distinctions: Charles Cros, France; Puerta del Sol, Uruguay; Koussevitzky, USA.

 

Oleg Caetani, one of the greatest conductors of his generation, moves freely between symphonic and opera repertoire. Caetani has conducted all over the world including: La Scala in Milan, the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg, the Royal Opera House in London, the Opera House in San Francisco, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Suntory Hall in Japan, the Sydney Opera House, the Accademia of Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Munich Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchester in Salzburg, the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Yomiuri Orchestra in Tokyo, the Sydney Symphony, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with the greatest soloists in our day including: Marta Argerich, Sviatoslav Richter, Daniil Trifonov, Vadim Repin, Misha Maisky, Gautier Capuçon, Viktoria Mullova, and Emmanuel Pahud. Caetani considers Nadia Boulanger to be the driving inspiration of his career. She discovered his talent, initiated him into music, and gave him the philosophical approach to life linked to Montaigne, which he still has today.

 

Winner of the competition for the position of conductor of the Radio Romania Academic Choir, Ciprian Tutu is one of the most talented choral conductors of the young generation, with an intense activity on the local music scene and beyond. The presence of Ciprian Tutu at the conductor’s desk of the Academic Choir marks a rich artistic activity of the band, consisting in supporting vocal-symphonic and a cappella concerts in various formats.

 

 

SERIES: ENESCU IN OTHER CITIES

 

TIME: 3:30 PM
PRESS ARRIVAL: 3:00 PM
VENUE: SIGISMUND TODUTA COLLEGE OF MUSIC CLUJ-NAPOCA

 

Discussion with music students and pupils of the College on the topic Romanian Jazz between East and West ­

 

RAMONA HORVATH piano

NICOLAS RAGEAU double bass

 

From September 14 to 22, 2021, the Association for Music, Art, and Culture, in partnership with Radio Romania Cluj, Sigismund Toduta College of Music Cluj-Napoca, Vibrate Festival Brasov, the Multicultural Centre of Transilvania University Brasov, the Paul Constantinescu Cultural Association Ploiesti, Libris Brasov, Classic for Teens Festival Focsani, Hubart Agency Focsani, Maj. Gh. Pastia People’s Athenaeum Focsani, ABCDown Association Focsani, Bucharest City Museum, and Dinu Lipatti National College of Arts Bucharest, organize the national tour “Impressions de voyage en jazz: Enescu, Ellington, Ravel,” by jazz pianist Ramona HORVATH and French double bassist Nicolas RAGEAU. The national tour is under the patronage of the George Enescu International Festival and co-financed by AFCN – Administration of the National Cultural Fund.

 

The event will be subject to the health regulations in place.

 

 

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.