Artistic director of the George Enescu International Music Competition and Festival Cristian Macelaru said on Saturday in Timisoara that this publicly sponsored classical music event is the most beautiful in the world, surpassing similar events in Lucerne and Salzburg.

At the same time, maestro Macelaru underlined the importance of a wider audience getting access to classical music, including those with fewer material possibilities.

'The George Enescu Festival is in first place, I'd say, because the other two are financed from private funds. At the Salzburg festival, in order to listen to the same orchestra in Vienna, for example, with the same conductor and with the same repertoire, a ticket costs EUR 500, while in Bucharest or Timisoara, the price is EUR 20. That is why it is important for the government of a country to take care of giving access to classical music to absolutely everyone, not just to those who can afford to pay EUR 500 for a ticket,' Macelaru told a news conference.

In another development, the artistic director of the George Enescu Festival said that the ongoing 27th edition of the musical event also marks the 70th death anniversary of the composer who gave the name to the festival and also brings to Timisoara the most concerts outside Bucharest.

'We thought about how to honour all his memory and the work that Enescu did and we considered that we could create, in the spirit in which Enescu created, first of all, then to do and fulfil the mission of the festival that began in 1958, that of presenting George Enescu's music to the whole world. We have already become accustomed in previous editions to bring to Romania a lot of artists from abroad, to bring the best of classical music on the globe.To me it was very important to change the idea that the George Enescu Festival happens only in Bucharest. (...) That's why we decided to bring these concerts to Timisoara as well. (...) The festival goes beyond Romania's borders and carries out this cultural diplomacy mission in the Republic of Moldova. An extraordinary thing and I hope that concerts of this type will continue in the future. We will listen to George Enescu five times in Timisoara,' said Macelaru.

Over 400 artists will stop in Timisoara during the festival, August 29 - September 17, and the Banat Philharmonic Orchestra invites the music-loving public to a celebration of classical and contemporary music, including seven impressive concerts performed by internationally renowned artists and ensembles.

The festival began on Friday evening with a duel of quartets (August 29), in an evening dedicated to chamber music, in which the Belcea Quartet and the Leonkoro Quartet performed exquisite works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Enescu.

On Saturday evening, the Cologne Radio Broadcasting Orchestra (WDR), conducted by maestro Cristian Macelaru, will delight the audience with an impressive selection of works: Romanian Rhapsody no. 2 by Enescu, the Concerto for violin and orchestra by Bartok, performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, concluding with Symphony No. 2 by Rachmaninov.

On Sunday, August 31, the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, under the direction of conductor James Gaffigan, will bring a varied program that includes the symphonic poem Don Juan by Strauss, the Poem about Love and the Sea by Chausson, Summer Nights Op. 7 by Berlioz and the Burlesque Overture by A. Stroe, with tenor Benjamin Bernheim as soloist.

The evening of September 4 will be dedicated to Romanian values. The Symphony Orchestra of the Banat Philharmonic Orchestra of Timisoara conducted by Sascha Goetzel will present an exclusively Romanian playbill: 'Voix de la nature' by Enescu, 'Concertino' in classical style and 'Romanian Dances' for piano and orchestra by Dinu Lipatti, with pianist Tatiana Dorokhova assoloist, concluding with Symphony no. 1 by Calin Ioachimescu.

Pierre Boulez's birth centenary will be honoured with contemporary music on September 8, when the Ensemble Intercontemporain will stage a chamber concert dedicated to the moment. The playbill will feature representative works by Pierre Boulez, including: Anthemes 2 for violin and live electronics, 12 Notations for piano, Incises for piano, Dialogue de l'ombre double for clarinet and live electronics.

The evening of September 15 will be one of mastery and passion, with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, who will enchant the audience with the Ballad for violin and orchestra by Enescu, Concerto no. 2 for violin by Prokofiev, with the renowned Augustin Hadelich as soloist, and Symphony no. 2 by Schumann.

The festival will end with a first and exceptional classical music, on September 17, when the last concert of the festival in Timisoara brings conductor Cristian Macelaru together with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra on the stage of the Capitol Hall. The show will begin with the first ever performance of the Romanian Dance Suites, composed especially for the festival by composer Toma Verly; it will continue with Violin Concerto in G minor Op. 80 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, soloist Ioana Cristina Goicea, and will end with the 'Scottish' Symphony by Mendelssohn. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Otilia Halunga; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)