The 21st edition of the ProEtnica Intercultural Festival, held over five days in Sighisoara, concluded Sunday evening in a torrential downpour with a performance by the State Jewish Theatre, 'Di Naye Yiddishe Melodies', featuring German composer and violinist Mark Kovnatskiy as soloist.

'Di Naye Yiddishe Melodies', translated as 'The New Yiddish Melodies,' is described by its creators as a creative and contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Jewish music.

'This vision is highlighted by the presence of German composer and violinist Mark Kovnatskiy, who created the entire program and performs it himself (violin, voice, compositions, arrangements). The artistic process blends multiple styles - from traditional klezmer and Hasidic music to influences from jazz, rock, classical, and even modern elements - as noted in the festival's official description. The program is entirely composed of Kovnatskiy's original works, inspired by Yiddish, Moldovan, Ukrainian, and Oriental traditions. Romanian artists performed alongside him, completing the orchestra with violins, percussion, accordion, piano, cello, and trumpet - a rich ensemble capable of delivering the music with authenticity and depth,' shows the ProEtnica website.

According to the festival organizers, the ensemble's presence at ProEtnica reflects the continuity and vitality of Yiddish culture today. Contrary to stereotypes that view Jewish heritage as merely historical, Di Naye Yiddishe Melodies shows that Yiddish music not only survives but reinvents itself dynamically. The performance aligns with the historic mission of the State Jewish Theater, the world's oldest active Yiddish-language theater, promoting language, theater, and culture. The Sighisoara concert was celebrated for its energy, emotion, and originality, offering the audience a multisensory, communal experience, and inviting participation in the joy of music and tradition, informs the same source.

The organizers believe that this performance is a link between communities, a way to rediscover a regional heritage that is constantly evolving.

'The presence of the State Jewish Theater at ProEtnica 2025, through the performance-concert Di Naye Yiddishe Melodies, represented a living heritage, conveyed with contemporary force. The dialogue between tradition and modernity — between Yiddish roots and German-Romanian multicultural resources — offered the audience a current Yiddish music, dynamic, authentic, and full of personality. On a day dedicated to cultural diversity, under the skies of Sighisoara, this concert was — both metaphorically and literally — a bridge between eras, communities, and emotions. A moment of living culture, presented with elegance by an institution that remains a beacon of Yiddish art in Romania and beyond,' the source further mentions.

Before the final concert, which closed the 21st edition of the ProEtnica Intercultural Festival in Sighisoara, Volker Reiter, director of the Interethnic Educational Cultural Center (ibz) in Sighisoara and organizer of the event, thanked the law enforcement forces — Gendarmerie, Police, Local Police, and the 'Horea'' County Emergency Situations Inspectorate of Mures — along with the festival's partners and media supporters.

He noted that the 21st edition of the ProEtnica Festival was funded by the Romanian Government's Department for Interethnic Relations and the Ministry of Culture, and took place in collaboration with the Mures County Council, with support from the Municipality of Sighisoara, the National Agency for Roma, and the Romano-Kher National Center for Roma Culture.

The event took place from August 27 to 31 and was attended by over a thousand representatives of Romania's 20 officially recognized national minorities.

Volker Reiter noted that, for the third time in its history, ProEtnica received the High Patronage of the President of Romania.

'The main goal of the ProEtnica Festival is to strengthen social cohesion in a democratic and pluralistic society by promoting meetings and interactions among people of different ethnic backgrounds. An intercultural event unique in Romania, the festival serves as an agora for interethnic and intercultural dialogue with positive reverberations across Europe, acting as a tool to consolidate interethnic peace and support a pluralistic and democratic Romania,' concluded Volker Reiter. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Dorina Matis; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)