Balance was the word that defined my concept for this year's edition, because I wanted the public, the one used to classical music, but also the one not used to listening to an opera, to be able to understand what is transmitted through the music, Cristian Macelaru, the artistic director of the George Enescu Festival said Saturday.

"The word that defined my concept for this year is a balance, a perfect balance, because it is necessary for the festival to open its doors to a very wide audience and it is necessary for the festival to continue a tradition - to present in Romania works that were not done, works that have never been performed. If you look in the programme for this year you will discover this balance. I also don't want it to be a festival that eliminates the possibility of including in the concert hall those who are not used to listening to an opera that has not been performed before or that is not known, and that is why I wanted to bring a balance in which we have a full spectrum of what is presented. As you can see, the operas that are presented in the concert, which have never been made in Romania, they are works that are very, very difficult to produce. First of all, I am thinking of Ligeti (Gyorgy Ligeti, ed. n.) 'Le grand macabre', which is such an incredible opera, but such a difficult opera to produce and something that I very much want to continue in the tradition of operas in Romania - to be incorporated into what is being done more and more often. The purpose of the festival is to give a direction, not to be the only entity that produces this kind of operas", Cristian Macelaru told a press conference preceding the opening of the George Enescu Festival.

He also mentioned the idea of concerts for families and was surprised by how popular they are.

"As it was said about the concerts for families, which became some concerts that were talked about a lot, to be honest I did not know that they would be so popular and so discussed, but this idea seemed to me an essential idea, to introduce classical music, the beautiful music to a very young generation. It is very important to create these rituals about creating a culture. Culture does not come from nothing, it is necessary to grow, to support it and the festival has always had the responsibility to create beautiful initiatives in the cultural life in Romania, and I really wanted to use this platform to push forward the idea of creating a deeper culture for everyone, which starts with children. That's why this series of four concerts that will be presented every Sunday of the festival, there are concerts that I designed for orchestras from Romania, with young conductors who will baton these concerts and each concert has a story told through music in which those who will come to the concert will be able to learn a little about the orchestra, to discover contemporary music for children and to find the beauty in classical music," said the artistic director of the festival.

The minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, stated that she would like the motto of this year's edition of the festival, "Generosity through music", to characterize not only the performance of the festival at a grandiose level, but also "to characterize the interaction between us and the participation in civic life".

Turcan offered the former executive director of ARTEXIM, Mihai Constantinescu, the Distinction of Excellence and the Trophy of the Ministry of Culture, made by the artist Ioan Nemtoi, for the activity carried out within the George Enescu Festival.

The Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, stated that the Enescu Festival "puts Bucharest and Romania on the global map".

"We live in a society where there is a confusion of values and a search for values and the Enescu Festival imposes a standard," he appreciated.

Asked when Bucharest will have a suitable concert hall for large concerts, the mayor replied that the municipality is currently developing a new general urban plan that will establish a balance in the development of the city and a balance in public functions, for example where the hall should be multipurpose and a location for a large concert hall is one of our concerns to identify the exact location," the mayor of Bucharest added.

The XXVIth edition of the George Enescu International Festival kicks off Sunday, at the Palace Hall in Bucharest.

For 29 days, more than 3,500 guest artists will perform on the stages of the Palace Hall, the Romanian Athenaeum, the Radio Hall, the Auditorium Hall and the Odeon Theatre, in 90 concerts, according to a press release issued by the organisers.

"The theme of this year's edition, 'Generosity through Music,' expresses the fundamental values of composer George Enescu, takes us back to the George Enescu National Prize, initiated in 1913 by the Romanian composer, and describes the new approaches in the field of social involvement, education, training, inclusion and contribution to the community, specific to this impressive artistic event," the press release reads.

This year's official programme includes six series of concerts, each with a different theme, built for the specifics of each venue and its audience.

The "Great Orchestras of the World" series brings 13 international orchestras and three Romanian orchestras to the stage of the Palace Hall, in a musical marathon of 29 concerts in 29 consecutive days.

The concerts at the Romanian Athenaeum give the public the opportunity to listen to the world's best known symphony and chamber orchestras at the Romanian Athenaeum. The series offers the public the opportunity to enjoy spectacular encounters with works by well-known classical and contemporary composers.

The midnight concerts gather 11 proposals for recitals not to be missed, also on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, this time with a programme that goes from Renaissance and Baroque music to traditional Georgian folklore and improvisation moments.

The "Enescu and Contemporaries" series captures the relationship that the great George Enescu had with other great composers in a series of concerts held on weekend mornings at the Auditorium Hall.

The "Romanian Orchestras" series offers a varied programme, including romantic and modern composers, but also contemporary music. Ten representative ensembles from Bucharest and five other cities in the country will be in the programme.

A new series this year is "Concerts for families and children." An initiative of maestro Cristian Macelaru, the series gathers four thematic concerts, which will take place in a space included for the first time in the festival - the Majestic Hall of the Odeon Theatre.

This year's edition is the first with a new leadership, both artistic and executive. Maestro Cristian Macelaru officially begins his mandate as artistic director of the "Enescu" Festival, and Cristina Uruc, interim Artexim manager, coordinates the executive team.

Among the important orchestras that will participate in this year's edition are the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the National Orchestra of France, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Also, leading international conductors will take the stage during the festival - Cristian Macelaru, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Wilson Hermanto, Paavo Jarvi, Delyana Lazarova, Lawrence Foster, Vladimir Jurowski.

Among the soloists who will accompany the orchestras there are Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gautier Capucon, Yuja Wang, Klaus Makela, Daniel Hope, Olga Peretyatko, Fazil Say, Avi Avital, Kate Lindsey, Cameron Carpenter, Xavier de Maistre, Jose Cura, David Grimal, Daniel Muller-Schott, Benjamin Kruithof, Maria Marica, Alexandra Segal.

More than 60 concerts will be streamed live on the Enescu Festival website. The full list is available at www.festivalenescu.ro

Another important section in this year's programme is the Festival Square which returns after a break of several years, from September 17 to 24, with a series of free concerts in the George Enescu Square.

Also new for this edition is the Enescu Festival Blog, which will contain daily information about the activities of the event, as well as a series of editorials signed by writer Radu Paraschivescu under the title "Festival Diary."

The George Enescu International Festival, organised by ARTEXIM, takes place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.AGERPRES(RO - author: Petronius Craiu, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - editors: Adina Panaitescu, Maria Voican)