The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) marks the National Culture Day, celebrated annually on January 15, all over the world, with concerts, poetry readings, shows, conferences, film screenings, exhibitions and publishing events.

Thus, ICR celebrates the important day in Bucharest by organising a concert at the National Opera Hall featuring the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by Daniel Jinga and famous musicians such as Stefan Pop, Ramona Zaharia, Raluca Stirbat, Damian Draghici and Alexandru Tomescu.

The Warsaw branch of the ICR will present, on the same occasion, the book 'Carpathians. The Story of A Mountain Chain' by Professor Maciej Janowski, published by the Krakow International Cultural Centre in the prestigious series Biblioteka Europy Srodka/Central Europe Library. The event will take place on January 15 and it will present the author of the book, Professor Maciej Janowski, and Professor Jacek Purchla, in dialogue.

ICR Vienna, in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy in Austria and ORF Rundfunkhaus, hosts a piano recital performed by Adela Liculescu, in the Great Hall of the Austrian National Radio Company. The artist will perform two works by George Enescu: Suite opus 10 for piano and Romanian Rhapsody no. 1, plus works by Paul Constantinescu, Carl Filtsch - a wonder kid born in Sebes in 1830, Tudor Dumitrescu - another wonder kid who tragically died at the age of 19, in the 1977 earthquake, and Nicolae Kirculescu, a Romanian composer who is mostly known for his film music and pop music creations.

Adela Liculescu will also perform on January 19 in the Hallwyl Museum Hall in Stockholm, the event being organised by ICR Stockholm and the Romanian Embassy in Sweden.

In Lisbon, the ICR will present a graphics exhibition, with works by Horatiu Malaele, and also two of the artist's books, 'Poezii si vorbe-n vant'/'Poems and Other Words' and 'Tristetea ploilor'/'The Sadness of Rain', both published by Bookzone. The varnishing will take place in the presence of the artist and author and curator Diana Silvia Stancu. On the same occasion, the title of 'Amicus Romaniae' will be granted this year to university professor Eduardo Duarte, PhD, the cultural adviser at the Santa Maria Maior Town Hall, Rute Reimao, and colonel (retired) Francisco Faria Paulino (a military historian). The trophies (in the form of engravings) are made by artist Roland Pangrati.

The ICR in Venice organises the conference 'Cum îl mai citim pe Eminescu azi? Provocari literare, filtre ideologice'/'How Do We Read Eminescu today? Literary Challenges and Ideological Filters' of university professor Bogdan Cretu, PhD, and a poetry recital. The event will take place at the 'Beato Pellegrino' Complex of the University of Padoa.

ICR Madrid presents, on January 15, the exhibition 'Romania's Treasures in the UNESCO World Heritage', with photographs signed by Tudorel Ilie, at the Bendirom Town Hall. Also on January 15, the Libreria del Centro, a prestigious cultural space in Madrid, will host the launch of the book 'Tristan Tzara and Vicente Huidobro: Corespondence (1918-1927)', a facsimile edition published in Spanish, in 2005.

On January 16, ICR Madrid organises the conference 'Brancusi and the Romanian Avant-garde - Itineraries, Forms and Future' at the Quintanar Palace in Segovia, closing thus a larger exhibition dedicated to the Romanian contemporary architecture called 'Romania. the Manifestations of Form. Fragments for the Future'.

The Brussels-based ICR organises four screenings of 'The Yellow Tie' film by Serge Celebidachi, in collaboration with the production company Oblique Media Film, and with the support of the Romanian Embassy in Belgium and PPC Energy, at the Cinema Vendome. The screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the director of the film and playwright James Olivier.

The ICR in Budapest and its Seghedin branch mark January 15 through an interdisciplinary project called 'EFEMER_NON EFEMER: Intre literatura si teatru'/'EPHEMERAL_NOT EPHEMERAL: Between Literature and the Theatre', with actors Balazs Attila and Ana Maria Ursu performing a poetry recital.

The Beijing ICR organises two concerts performed by pianist Matei Rogoz, over January 15-18, and two exhibitions. The first event will take place at the Cloud House within the Choi Centre in Beijing on January 15, and it will include a concert by Matei Rogoz and the varnishing of the photography exhibition '15 Mari Personalitati ale Culturii Romane'/'15 Great Personalities of the Romanian Culture'. On January 17, ICR Beijing will host the second concert by Matei Rogoz and the exhibition 'Eminescu - Geniul în manuscris'/'Eminescu-The Genius in Manuscripts', with photocopies of rare facsimiles from the collection of the 'Mihai Eminescu' Central University Library in Iasi and the Romanian Academy Library.

On the same occasion of the National Culture Day, on January 16, ICR New York organises an event dedicated to Gabor Tompa - a prestigious stage director, and a mentor and professor for many generations of artists.

The 'Mihai Eminescu' ICR in Chisinau, in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau, organises the concert 'Violoncel si acordeon - calatorie intre folclorul romanesc si muzica universala'/'Cell and Accordion - a Journey Between the Romanian Folklore and Universal Music', performed by cellist Andrei Ionita and accordionist Radu Ratoi. The event will take place in the famed Organ Hall in Chisinau, on January 17.

ICR London will present the show 'Aplauze pentru Poet'/'Applause for the Poet', on January 17, at its London headquarters, with actors Emilia Popescu and Andras Demeter, and piano player Catalin Raducanu.

The Paris ICR, in partnership with the Romanian Embassy in France, hosts the reading marathon 'Dada-Lecture: Un Marathon du Hasard Poetique'/'Dada-Recital: A Marathon of Poetic Hazard', in marking both the National Culture Day and 'Les Nuits de la lecture' in France. The visitors of the Behague Palace will be both the protagonists and the audience of this show, which will take place on January 22, being organised with the support of the Centre National du Livre. The audience will read, in Romanian and French, poems by avant-garde artists Tristan Tzara, Celine Arnauld, Ion Vinea, Ilarie Voronca, Benjamin Fondane, Geo Bogza, Gherasim Luca or Sasa Pana.

The Romanian Cultural Institute in Prague, in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy in the Czech Republic, is organising the event 'The Piano with a Soul of Poetry', with actress Daniela Nane and pianist Madalina Pasol, on January 22, at the Stone Salon of the Embassy. Daniela Nane will recite poems in Romanian and English by Mihai Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, George Cosbuc, Nichita Stanescu, Magda Isanos, Ana Blandiana, Victor Eftimiu and Costache Ioanid. The pianist's repertoire includes works by Dinu Lipatti, George Enescu, Leos Janaceck, Carmen Petra Basacopol, Eugen Doga, Bedrich Smetana and Paul Constantinescu.

The 'Titu Maiorescu' ICR in Berlin, in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the 'Ion Voicu' Cultural Association, is organising, on January 23, the project 'Titu Maiorescu and Romanian Modernity', at the headquarters of the Romanian Embassy. The musical programme will be performed by Simina Croitoru (violin) and Madalin Voicu Jr. (piano), who have chosen works by G. Enescu, D. Scarlatti, S. Rachmaninoff, M. Chiriac, F. Kreisler, C. Porumbescu, S. Dinicu.

The Romanian Cultural Institute in Tokyo is organising, on January 23, at the headquarters of the Romanian Embassy in Japan, the screening of the documentary film 'Eminescu - Veronica - Creanga' (1914), directed by Octav Minar, and a chamber music recital by Mohri Fumika (violin) and Kaneshige Toshihiro (piano), who have chosen to perform works by George Enescu.

The 'Dimitrie Cantemir' ICR in Istanbul is organising a classical music recital by violinist Maria Marica and pianist Alexandra Segal, on January 24, at the Sureyya Opera. The repertoire will include representative works from Romanian and European creation: Claude Debussy, George Enescu, Cesar Franck and Astor Piazzolla.

January 15 became the National Culture Day of Romania in 2011. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu, EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)