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"George Enescu" International Festival Midnight Concerts series to begin on Friday
The series of Midnight Concerts of the "George Enescu" International Festival, hosted by the Romanian Athenaeum, begins on Friday with the recital of soprano Olga Peretyatko, together with tenor Marius Vlad Budoiu, accompanied by pianists Matthias Samuil and Horea Haplea.
The programme includes arias by Brahms, Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Puccini, plus an original duet of the two soloists on music by Franz Lehar, ARTEXIM said in a press release sent to AGERPRES.
The series of concerts at the Athenaeum continues on Friday, from 4.30 pm, with Ensemble Intercontemporain from Paris.
The concert will be conducted by Pierre Bleuse, and the repertoire will consist exclusively of works by one of the most avant-garde composers of the 20th century, Gyorgy Ligeti.
Tickets are available here: https://www.eventim.ro/ro/bilete/concertele-de-la-ateneu-bucuresti-ateneul-roman-1326840/performance.html.
Also on Friday, the Great Orchestras of the World Series brings to the Palace Hall the first concert by the Orchestra of the Capitole Theatre in Toulouse, conducted by Christian Badea. The orchestra will be joined by the Academic Radio Choir, conducted by Ciprian Tutu, and the soloist will be Renaud Capucon (violin). The programme will include works by George Enescu and Camille Saint-Saens.
Tickets are available at https://www.eventim.ro/ro/bilete/mari-orchestre-ale-lumii-bucuresti-sala-palatului-1326885/performance.html and https://www.eventim.ro/ro/bilete/concertele-de-la-miezul-noptii-bucuresti-ateneul-roman-1318464/performance.html.
In the same series of Midnight Concerts, Ensemble Zefiro, the famous Italian wind ensemble specialising in Baroque music, will take to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum on September 2. The concert will be conducted by the ensemble's founder, oboist Alfredo Bernardini, and the programme will include Serenade No. 10 in B flat major for wind instruments by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, known as the Gran Partita.
* A recital by Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Sayva will take place on September 3, featuring works by Claude Debussy (5 preludes from Book I and Clair de lune), Ludwig van Beethoven (Sonata No. 23 in F minor op. 57, Appassionata) and Johann Sebastian Bach (Prelude and fugue in A minor for organ BWV 543), as well as a moment of improvisation.
* On September 7 there will be an extraordinary recital with works from the Italian and German Renaissance, Romanian and South American compositions, performed by the National Chamber Choir "Madrigal - Marin Constantin," conducted by Anna Ungureanu. The programme includes works by Claudio Monteverdi (Cantate Domino), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Missa Brevis), Hans Leo Hassler (Cantate Domino), Corneliu Cezar (Flames and Wheels - fragments) and Ariel Ramirez (Misa Criolla).
* On September 8, music lovers will meet one of the world's best-known mandolin players, Israeli Avi Avital, together with the Between Worlds Ensemble and the Rustavi Choir, a musical project founded by the performer himself, which explores different musical genres and cultures, demonstrating the close connection between the classical genre and folklore. The programme will include works from Georgian folklore and Nikoloz Rachveli's "Dance of Freedom."
* The series continues on September 9, when Plattform K+K Vienna, an independent chamber music ensemble of young musicians who are members of the Vienna Philharmonic, will perform works such as Richard Strauss's Suite from The Knight of Roses, Astor Piazzolla's Seasons of Buenos Aires and George Gershwin's Summertime. The event will be joined by soprano Valentina Nafornita (Republic of Moldova).
* On Friday September 15, there will be a concert by the Munich Jewish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Grossmann. Israeli-born soprano Chen Reiss, artist-in-residence at the Vienna State Opera, and the young violinist Tassilo Probst, winner of the George Enescu International Competition 2020/2021, will perform. The programme will include lieder and concertos by the Mendelssohn brothers: Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Hensel.
* Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey comes to the Romanian Athenaeum on September 16, accompanied by pianist Baptiste Trotignon, with a programme that will include works by Kurt Weill (Nanna's Lied, Buddy on the Nightshift - Berlin im Licht, Thousands of Miles), Alexander von Zemlinsky (Selige Stunde, Und hat der Tag all seine Qual), Alma Mahler (Die stille Stadt) and Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Schneeglockchen).
* Organist Cameron Carpenter's recital will take place on September 17, the first part of his recital will be dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach (Fantasy and Fugue in C minor BWV 537, Prelude and Fugue in C major BWV 870, The Well-Tempered Harpsichord - Book II, Prelude and Fugue in F major BWV 880, The Well-Tempered Harpsichord - Book II, Fantasia super - Komm, heiliger Geist BWV 651, O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde gross BWV 622 and Prelude and Fugue in E flat major BWV 552). In the second part, Cameron Carpenter will perform a series of his own improvisations.
* On September 22, French harpist Xavier de Maistre is scheduled to give a harp recital. The programme will include works by Jan Ladislav Dussek (Sonata in C major), Gabriel Faure (Impromptu), George Enescu (Allegro de concert for chromatic harp), Andre Caplet (Divertissement a l'Espagnole; Divertissement a la Francaise), Bedrich Smetana (Moldau), Claude Debussy (Clair de lune) and Henriette Renie (Legende).
* The Midnight Concert Series concludes on September 23 with a special event, in which the work of Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino comes to life in a recital by tenor and conductor Jose Cura, accompanied by the Radio Chamber Orchestra. Jose Cura returns to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum after composing a work dedicated to the Jubilee edition of the Enescu Festival in 2021.
The 26th edition of the George Enescu International Festival, organised since 1958, takes place from August 27 to September 24, and the theme of the edition is "Generosity through Music." The programme includes more than 3,500 of the world's most renowned artists, over 40 orchestras from 16 countries, opera premieres and educational concerts for children.
A project funded by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Culture, organised by ARTEXIM, the Enescu Festival is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.
