Maestro Gheorghe Zamfir had, on Friday evening, at the start of the International Pan Flute Festival in Gaesti, an emotional moment in which he spoke about his mentor, Fanica Luca.

"He spoke through his pan flute, he turned it into a verb. Not even Enescu turned the violin into a verb. The Romanian verb is the hardest verb on the planet, because it is unpronounceable (...). So Fanica Luca was for me, not my biological father, he was the one who gave me the word and the verb that I carried all over the planet. For me Fanica Luca was everything, he gave me life, after my father gave it to me by birth, he gave it to me through the pan flute".

Gheorghe Zamfir was the one who conquered the applause of the entire planet with an instrument almost forgotten decades ago.

"A few decades ago, the pan flute was known only in pubs. Eh, this difficult instrument that came from millennia and millennia and millennia, hundreds of thousands of years, because it was born with the appearance of the One who made us all. It was an instrument that accompanied God from the first days of Genesis," said Gheorghe Zamfir.

The Gheorghe Zamfir International Pan Flute Festival takes place in the maestro's hometown, Gaesti, Dambovita County, from August 18 to 20. A press conference was held on Friday to open the event.

"Maestro Gheorghe Zamfir, as always, has distinguished guests, renowned artists and there will certainly be three special festival evenings. Maestro Gheorghe Zamfir, on behalf of the citizens of our town, I would like to thank you for all your activity," said the mayor of Gaesti, Gheorghe Grigore.

Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan was also present at the press conference and said that Gheorghe Zamfir was a paragon in her musical training. Turcan also spoke about the current lack of interest in true values and the importance of promoting the cultural act.

"Throughout my development as a human being, I have been passionate about music and, at the same time, when I was a child and trying to master the piano, I had a few models of talent, dedication, professionalism and one of the paragon I had in my musical training was maestro Gheorghe Zamfir (...). As Minister of Culture, when I took office, one of the objectives I assumed as Minister was to increase access to culture. And a festival of this kind, beyond the fact that it is designed around the personality of Gheorghe Zamfir, born in Gaesti, also brings music and artistic performance closer to the people. In a country where we are often marked by inequalities, by a lack of interest in true values, the coalescing of these qualities from which we sometimes stray too abruptly can only bring much good and contribute positively. In this event, the International Pan Flute Festival, we find talent, dedication, uniqueness, liveliness, unity," said minister Raluca Turcan.

She added that she is at a loss for words when it comes to desrcibing what Gheorghe Zamfir has done for Romania with his pan flute.

"Maestro Gheorghe Zamfir, words are too few to express appreciation for what you have created for our identity as a nation and, at the same time, they are too few to try to multiply the example you have set for generations and generations of young people," said Raluca Turcan.

Among the international artists invited at the Gheorghe Zamfir International Pan Flute Festival are: Vasile Iovu - People's Artist (Republic of Moldova), Aydin Yavas (Turkey), Kim Juhyeong (South Korea) and Jean-Luc Faraux (France).

Tenor Alin Stoica, Mihail Dogotari, Rodica Gabriela Anghelescu, Marta Claudia Baceanu Tudor, Stelu Enache, Fratii Cazanoi, Radu Nechifor, Gelu Voicu, Madalina Bourceanu, Claudia Diaconu Iordache, Felix Goldbach, Ruxandra Pitulice, Gheorghe Rizea, Flavius Tinica, Vasile Raducu, Cristina Gheorghiu, Mirel Bria, Daniela Ghita and Maria Madalina Lupu will also take the stage at the festival. The presenter will be Iuliana Tudor.

The invited artists will be accompanied by the "Lautarii" Folkloric Orchestra from Chisinau, conducted by Nicolae Botgros and the Muntenia Symphonic Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Jinga, together with the Transylvania National Ensemble.

Access to the public in the Central Park of Gaesti for the events on August 19 and 20 will be free of charge.

The cultural project is funded by the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the City Hall of Gaesti, the Dambovita County Council and the Dambovita County Centre for Culture. AGERPRES (RO - Cornelia Dumitru, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - editor: Simona Iacob)