Enescu Festival: 27 concerts featuring 16 prestigious orchestras from Romania and worldwide, at Palace Hall
The Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival, Maestro Cristian Macelaru, has proposed a series of 27 concerts at the Palace Hall, featuring 16 prestigious orchestras from Romania and around the world. This edition will mark 70 years since the passing of the great Romanian composer and musician George Enescu, according to an Artexim press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.
The 27th edition of the George Enescu International Festival will take place from August 24 to September 21.
In Bucharest, some of the world's most important orchestras will perform, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Tonhalle Orchestra from Zurich, the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra from London, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden State Chapel, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra from Cologne. Additionally, prestigious orchestras from Bucharest, including the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Romanian Youth Orchestra, and the Radio National Orchestra, will perform, as well as the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, conducted by some of the world's most important conductors: Cristian Macelaru, Paavo Järvi, Vasily Petrenko, Klaus Mäkelä, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Petr Popelka, Manfred Honeck, Christian Reif, Ivan Fischer, Alain Altinoglu, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Giancarlo Guerrero and conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson.
Pianists Martha Argerich and Alexandra Dariescu, pianists Kirill Gerstein, Rudolf Buchbinder, Alexandre Kantorow, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simon Trpceski, Bruce Liu, violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alexandra Conunova, Renaud Capuçon, Nemanja Radulovic, Julian Rachlin, cellists Alisa Weilerstein, Gautier Capuçon, Kian Soltani, Andrei Ionita (winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015), Yo Kitamura (winner of the cello section of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition), sopranos Magdalena Kožená, Rachel Willis-Sorensen, Jennifer Holloway, baritone Iain Paterson, bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas are among the international artists who will perform in the Grand Hall of the Palace.
Alongside numerous works by Enescu, the programme will also feature famous compositions by Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Bruckner, Dvorák, Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Bartók and others, including world first auditions.
Among the Enescu compositions included in the programme at the Grand Hall of the Palace are 'Romanian Poem', Op. 1, at the opening concert, conducted by Cristian Macelaru with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra (August 24, 8:00 PM), 'Fantasy - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra', performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra from London, conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with pianist Alexandra Dariescu (August 28, 8:00 PM), 'Pastoral Fantasy', with the National Academy Santa Cecilia Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding (August 31, 7:30 PM), 'Prelude to the Opera Oedipe', conducted by the great Paavo Järvi with the Tonhalle Orchestra from Zurich (September 2, 8:00 PM), 'Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor', Op. 8, conducted by Manfred Honeck with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, featuring Yo Kitamura (September 7, 7:30 PM), 'Suite No. 2 in C Major', Op. 20, conducted by Alain Altinoglu with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (September 9, 8:00 PM), 'Overture for Concert on Romanian Folk Themes', Op. 32, performed by the Dresden State Chapel, conducted by Daniele Gatti (September 11, 8:00 PM), 'Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 13', performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Vasily Petrenko on September 12 at 7:30 PM, 'Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 in D Major, Op. 11', conducted by Maestro Cristian Macelaru, with the Orchestre National de France on September 18 at 7:30 PM, Enescu's final work, 'Symphony No. 4 in E minor', completed posthumously by Pascal Bentoiu, performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Petr Popelka on September 4 at 8:00 PM, 'Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Op. 11', performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by the beloved Maestro Klaus Mäkelä, on September 21 at 7:30 PM, closing this year's festival edition.
Contemporary dance will also return to the festival programme: the famous Hungarian dance company Eva Duda will present, alongside the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer, two famous works by Béla Bartók: the ballet 'The Miraculous Mandarin' Sz. 73 and the opera 'Bluebeard's Castle' Sz. 48, on September 17 at 8:00 PM.
Special moments will be marked by concerts by the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra on August 25 and 26 at 8:00 PM, conducted by Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, who founded the ensemble in 2022 immediately after the Russian invasion to defend Ukraine's cultural heritage. The members of the orchestra are Ukrainian musicians from all over the world, who have joined the initiative to symbolically support the country. This project is the result of a collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Polish National Opera, and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
Multimedia projections will accompany five events this year: the opening concert of the Enescu Festival on August 24, Richard Strauss's 'Salome' Op. 54 (September 1), Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' Op. 29 (September 14), the concert by the Budapest Festival Opera conducted by Ivan Fischer, alongside the Eva Duda Dance Company (September 17), and the second concert by the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Cristian Macelaru (September 19), with works by Carmen Lidia Vidu, Nona Ciobanu and Peter Kosir.
Tickets are available for sale on the Eventim platform: https://www.cts.eventim.ro/artist/festivalul-george-enescu
The George Enescu International Festival is held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu, editing by: Mihai Simionescu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)
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