Building a new concert hall in Bucharest will become a priority for the new Government, according to Vlad Alexandrescu (picture, left), Romania's recently appointed minister of culture.

“We must do our best to help the festival (e.n. the George Enescu Festival) move from a congress hall to a philharmonic one. In a hall built in the heart of Bucharest, with a new architectural project and a special acoustic, in one of the buildings that will become a landmark in Bucharest,” the Minister said during a press conference organised by the 2017 George Enescu Festival’s artistic director Vladimir Jurowski, reports local Agerpres.

Vladimir Jurovski presented his view for the 2017 George Enescu International Festival, which he will coordinate. He wants to promote more Romanian contemporary music and young artists in the festival's agenda. "I think that had Enescu been alive he would have been the first to cheer promoting young Romanian music. In my view, every nation must promote its national culture by investing in making new art rather that just in conserving the existing one. Otherwise, we risk turning into museum guards," the non-conformist Russian conductor said, according to Digi 24 news station.

A total of 35 pieces by Romanian composer George Enescu will be played at the 2017 edition of the festival. The first international artists who have already confirmed their presence at the event are baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Thomas Hampson, violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter,  Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin, Nikolai Znaider, Leonidas Kavakos, Renaud Capucon, Michael Barenboim, David Garrett, Peter Frank Zimmermann, cellists Misha Maisky and Gautier Capucon, and pianists Martha Argerich, Nikolai Lugansky, and Boris Berezovski. Moreover, some of the world’s greatest conductors will be present at the festival, such as Richardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, and Michail Pletnev.

Jurovski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra will open the festival with George Enescu's opera "Oedip"

Vladimir Jurowski (picture, center), the artistic director of the George Enescu Festival’s 2017 edition, is the main conductor and artistic advisor of London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the artistic director of State Academic Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny Svetlanov”. Starting 2017, he will be the artistic director and the main conductor of Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Zubin Mehta will be honorary chairman of the 2017 George Enescu Festival

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com