Following the October 4th meeting with Minister of Culture Bogdan Gheorghiu and Presidential Advisor on Culture Issues Sergiu Nistor, regarding the future of the George Enescu International Festival, current Executive Director of the Enescu Festival Mihai Constantinescu has released the following press statement:
“The nomination of conductor Cristian Macelaru as Artistic Director of the Enescu Festival is auspicious for preserving this event in the top 5 classical music festivals worldwide. I am confident that Cristian Macelaru has the talent and the ability to contribute to the further development of the Festival, capitalizing on what has been built well so far and finding new artistic directions to enrich the offer to the public. I am happy that conductor Cristian Macelaru, whose candidacy for Artistic Director I supported, has accepted this challenge.
Nevertheless, I publicly emphasize what I have maintained throughout all my discussions with institutional decision-makers: the appointment of a good Artistic Director does not guarantee the successful continuation of the Enescu Festival. A key role in this regard is played by the Executive Director, who must have a certain professional profile, and by the organizational architecture that underpins the Festival, which needs to be consolidated and modernized in order to face the international competition on the market of high profile events.
During yesterday’s discussion, I also accepted the proposal to act as an advisor to Cristian Macelaru in his role as Artistic Director, as long as the position of Executive Director is occupied by a true professional who will continue to develop the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, preserving its and thereby Romania’s anchorage in high-level international culture.
As for me, this autumn I will retire. Until then, as I have done for the past 30 years, I will continue to work for the Enescu Festival. Part of this work will be developing a set of strategic proposals for the consolidation of this event, so well-loved both at home and abroad, and outlining the professional profile for its future executive director.
The ability of the George Enescu International Festival to survive the present double change of its leadership, at the executive and artistic levels, is a test of maturity for the event that I have served for the past 30 years. I want the Festival to pass this test of maturity and I will do everything I can to contribute to its success.
I want to publicly thank Maestro Vladimir Jurowski for the complex contribution he has made to the flourishing of the Festival over the past 6 years. He is an example of what it means to be an artistic director who serves with vision and loyalty the cultural project whose guidance he had accepted. I also thank Maestro Zubin Mehta for being Honorary President of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition for 6 years now, acting as guarantor of their artistic quality on the international level.”
