The 2016 edition of the George Enescu International Competition takes place between September 3 and 25 and it brings to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum some of the most promising young artists of the moment, as well as established musicians, laureates of the Competition, who are now important international figures, who will give a series of extraordinary recitals.

The George Enescu International Competition (3-25 September) is organized this year with a new concept, which will bring to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, along competing young artists, acclaimed figures of the world music and winners of previous editions, who have made an international career, as well as winners of the 2014 competition, both for the three instruments and for composition.

The Romanian Athenaeum will thus host 19 concerts and recitals, among which: a gala concert, that will open the Competition, on September 3, 2016, which will be performed by: Anna Țifu (violin), winner of the Enescu Competition 2007, Valentin Răduțiu (cello), winner of the Enescu Competition 2011 and Mihai Ritivoiu (piano), winner of the Enescu Competition 2011, along with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Horia Andreescu. The program of the evening will include: the Triple Concerto for piano, violin and cello in C major, Op. 56 by Beethoven, the premiere of the composition “Tektonum” by Sebastian Androne, who won the First Prize of the Composition Section of the “George Enescu” Competition 2014 edition, as well as Respighi’s Symphonic Poem “Pini di Roma”.

Three extraordinary recitals given by acclaimed musicians, members of the juries of each section of instruments will also enchant the public: David Geringas (cello) – with Ian Fountain at the piano, on September 7, Florin Croitoru (violin) – with Verona Maier at the piano, on September 16, and Peter Donohoe (piano), on September 22. The winners of the previous edition of the Enescu Competition will give three extraordinary recitals as well: Ștefan Tarara (violin), withLora Evelin Vakova-Tarara, Eun-Sun Hong (cello), with Thomas Hoppe (piano), as well as Josu de Solaun (piano).

174 young artists from all over the world competing

This year, the specialized jury of the Enescu Competition has selected 174 young artists to enter the competition. The young artists have been selected from a total number of 317 applications for the Competition, 40% more than at the 2014 edition. They will compete for their dream of becoming great musicians of the world on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum. The selected young artists come from countries such as Germany, South Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Argentina, Czech Republic, China, Thailand, USA, Canada, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan. 12 young artists come from Romania.

The specialized jury of the 2016 edition of the Enescu Competition consists of musicians and top international professors, among which we mention the violinists Pierre Amoyal and Silvia Marcovici, the cellists Natalia Gutman, David Geringas and Arto Noras and the pianists Peter Donohoe, Dana Borșan and Andrei Pisarev.

The stages of the competition are open to the public at large, being organized thus: stage I (organized at the National University of Music Bucharest); stage II, stage III – semifinal for each of the three competition categories and the three finals, the concert with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra will take place on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum. A novelty of this edition is the fact that, from stage II onwards, competitors will perform at the Athenaeum.

The conductors of the three finals are: Alex Bloch (cello), Christoph Poppen (violin), John Axelrod (piano).

Celebrating the power of following our dreams

An event per se, the Enescu Competition has become over the years a platform for the promotion of young talents on the international stage, opening the way for international careers to young artists and bringing the audience the chance to listen to an entire music journey over 22 days.

The topic of the 2016 Competition is the power to give life to our dreams, a power that animates young competitors to prepare, to work and to perform on stage, in front of the jury and of the audience.

“Give life to your dream!” is the challenge of the 2016 Enescu Competition, not just for artists, but for the audience as well.

We are the sum of our dreams, as individuals and as a society.

Generosity; creativity; discipline and will; dedication – these are the values in which believed George Enescu. He wished to be a composer above all and he did not abandon his lifetime dream for a second. He dreamed of helping young artists assert themselves. And he did both. The Enescu Competition invites you to acknowledge and celebrate the dreams that take us further.

Tickets and subscriptions for the Enescu Competition are available in the Eventim network. Ticket prices vary from 50 to 400 lei. The program of the Competition is available here.

Romania-Insider.com is a media partner of this event.

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