On the street, in the George Enescu Square and the one front of the Odeon Theatre, in theatres, libraries, gas stations, supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, and cafés; in clinics, on digital platforms, on several TV and radio channels – George Enescu’s Ballade could be heard today in a simultaneous broadcast meant to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Maestro’s birth.
The unique event, organized for the first time at the George Enescu Festival initiative, aimed to celebrate the birth of the Maestro without empty rhetoric, but instead with his most cherished legacy and what he loved most: music. The project was titled The Sound of Love (#SunetulIubirii) precisely because for George Enescu “to create is to love – for music is love or nothing at all.”
The Ballad went viral organically, having been shared by famous violinist David Garrett; the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis; embassies and audiences at home and abroad. By 7:00 PM EEST, around 3,500 people had listened to the Ballade on the Festival website and another 2,100 on Facebook. There were also over 90,700 views and 3,400 interactions on the social media platform mentioned.
Seeing the positive feedback received, the organizers decided to keep David Garrett’s performance of the Ballad with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic available for the public on the Festival’s channels, just as it had been broadcast in the Sound of Love project. Enescu’s Ballade can be watched on the Festival’s website and Facebook page.
Nearly 50 media organizations, institutions, and private companies have notified the Enescu Festival of their involvement in the project.
In Bucharest, the Ballade was heard at the Bucharest City Hall, co-producer of the Enescu Festival; the Bucharest Metropolitan Library (in all 28 libraries and at its headquarters); the National Museum of Romanian Literature; ARCUB – Gabroveni Inn (Great Hall and Passage) and Coltea Park; Tandarica Animation Theatre; Ion Creanga Theatre; Odeon Theatre; Museum of Bucharest – Sutu Palace and Filipescu-Cesianu House (Museum of Ages); Metropolitan Circus Bucharest, including in the circus tent at the Izvor Park.
The Ballad was also heard in the George Enescu Square, courtesy of CREART (the Center for Creation, Arts, and Tradition Bucharest), and in the park in front of the Odeon Theatre.
Several media channels have brought George Enescu’s music to diverse audiences across the country, changing their daily program to honor the great composer. Enescu’s Ballade was heard on the channels of the Enescu Festival co-producers – TVR 1, TVR 3, and the national radio broadcaster (Radio Romania Actualitati, Radio Romania Muzical, Radio Romania Cultural); in the programs and on the websites of the main media partners of the Festival: RFI Romania, Europa FM, PRIMA TV, and Deutsche Welle Romania; on platforms of media partners Antena 3, urban.ro, and romaniapozitiva.ro; on the Metropolis website, on Radio Trinitas, as well as on several TV and radio stations in Sibiu and Cluj.
The Ballad was also broadcast on Raiffeisen Bank’s internal and external digital channels, in Rompetrol stations, in SANADOR Clinics, CORA stores in Bucharest and across the country (Ploiesti, Constanta, Bacau, Cluj-Napoca, Drobeta-Turnu Severin); in Sibiu: Promenada Mall, Shopping City Sibiu, Habermann Markt, CineGold, Romgaz (internal radio), Eveniment FM & TV, Sweet FM & TV, Radio Ring, Hochmeister, Atrium Cafe, Kulinarium, Einstein Cafe; in Cluj-Napoca: Iulius Mall, Radio Romania Cluj, restaurant chain Marty (Marty Westside, Marty City, Marty Museum Square, Marty Plaza).
Further Information
The 2021 George Enescu International Festival is scheduled to take place between August 28 and September 26, 2021, with an exceptional musical program, sustained by over 3,500 international and Romanian artists for a record duration of 4 weeks, with measures in place to reduce potential health risks for audiences, artists, organizers, and journalists.
The full Program can be found on the festivalenescu.ro website.
Information on the purchase procedure and conditions of access is available on the Festival website, under the Tickets section. It is still possible that changes are made to the Program due to the pandemic. Access to the concert halls will only be allowed if sanitary conditions are observed; face masks will be mandatory indoors at all times.
