Registrations for the 2022 George Enescu International Competition have opened

Young musicians are invited to submit their applications for the 4 sections of the Competition: cello, violin, piano and composition

As a result of the successful experience with the hybrid edition from 2020/2021, the organizers changed the structure of the George Enescu International Competition. Thus, the 18th edition will have one online stage in May 2022 and the semifinals and finals will take place at the Romanian Athenaeum, between September 4-18, 2022.

Young musicians can register on www.festivalenescu.ro/en (Registration section) for one of the four categories (violin, cello, piano and composition). The deadline for registration is April 15, 2022.

The registration for the Competition is done by filling in a form. The selection process for the first stage of the Competition takes place online through analyzing the videos submitted by the contestants. This takes place between May 1-20, 2022. For the first time in the history of the Competition, the competitors registered for violin, cello and piano who will pass the online stage, will directly enter the semifinal.

All video recordings will be available for free on www.festivalenescu.ro/en to be watched by music lovers.

The 2022 edition of the Enescu Competition enjoys the presence of outstanding musicians in the specialized juries of the four sections. They are formed by renowned professors, who are joined for the first time by four specialists from the famous Juilliard University in the United States of America.

Novelties of the 18th Edition 

The 2022 Edition will open with a Gala Concert on September 4, on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, performed by the George Enescu Philharmonic, conducted by maestro Peter Ruzicka, with an international premiere, An Axe for the Frozen Sea by Karlo Margetic, the winning work of the Composition section of the previous edition. The program also presents the Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by the three winners of the 2021 edition.

The programme of this edition includes 19 recitals and concerts, representing both Competition stages and recitals offered by renowned musicians, members of the international juries invited this year. Furthermore, the three winners of the previous edition will return to the Athenaeum stage as soloists.

The Competition’s Finals  will be conducted by internationally renowned musicians. Wilson Hermanto, Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Cameristi della Scala, returns to the Enescu Competition for the final of the violin section. Tito Muñoz, Musical Director of the Phoenix Symphony, will participate for the first time in the Enescu Competition for the final of the cello section, while the conductor for the piano final is yet to be confirmed.

The total value of the prizes is 120.000 EUR, and most importantly, there are prizes destined to encourage the international promotion of the most talented competitors. Winning the first place at the 2022 Enescu Competition represents the access ticket for the stage of the 2023 George Enescu International Festival – the most talented contestants will have the opportunity to perform in the next edition of the Festival with some of the largest orchestras in the world.

Reinventing the Enescu Competition during the pandemic

In 2020, the George Enescu International Competition offered more than music and competition. The message of the edition was Beauty in Life and, in the context of the pandemic, the Enescu Competition aimed to show that we all have the power to reinvent ourselves, to choose both life and beauty.

The Competition was reinvented online with a premiere in the world of international classical music – the first two stages of the sections were organized online, this change was necessary in order for the competition to unfold during the pandemic. Thus, 205 young artists were able to follow their dream and participate in the online Competition, between August 29 and September 20, 2020.

The semifinals and the finals were organized in Bucharest, at the Romanian Athenaeum, between May 12 and 23, 2021, with the audience in the concert hall. 21 young musicians from 11 countries took part in the second phase of the George Enescu International Competition, in a one-of-a-kind edition, for which the organizers have spared no efforts in the pandemic context and its effects on the international artistic world.

The great winners of the three instrument sections are 15-year-old cellist Jaemin Han, from South Korea, the youngest winner in the history of the Enescu Competition; 31-year-old violinist Valentin Serban, from Romania; and 31-year-old pianist Yeon-Min Park, from South Korea. The three laureates were part of the program of the jubilee edition of the George Enescu International Festival in 2021, Jaemin Han and Valentin Șerban performing together with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, and Yeon-Min Park with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. 

About the Enescu Competition

George Enescu Competition is an international platform for promoting future world-class musicians and for promoting the compositions of the great Romanian composer to the new generation of artists from all over the world. It is thus a natural extension of the George Enescu Festival, the most important cultural event organized in Romania. 

Since 2002, the Enescu Competition has been a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, being the only classical music competition in Romania organized in accordance with the standards and statute of the Federation.

The producer of the Competition is the Government of Romania, through the Ministry of Culture. The organizer is ARTEXIM, an institution subordinated to the Ministry of Culture. The George Enescu International Competition takes place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania. The organization of each edition is supported by partners and sponsors from the private, artistic and academic environment.