More than 200 contestants from 5 continents have joined the 14th Edition of the George Enescu International Competition (Bucharest, September 6-27). The majority of competitors registered to take part in the Piano Section - a total of 85, while in the Violin Section participate 70 competitors and in the Cello Section, 37. The rest of the applicants registered for the Composition Section. Matching up to its 2011 Edition, the Competition has seen a significant 20% increase in participation.

The contestants registered for this edition of the George Enescu International Competition, which takes place between 6 and 27 September in Bucharest (Romania) and opens doors for artists from all over the world, are from 36 countries: Romania (28 contestants), Russia (25), South Korea (21), Japan (17), USA (9), France (8), Ukraine (7), Germany (6), China (4), Canada (4), Greece (4), Great Britain (3), Italy (3), Estonia (3), Poland (2), Taiwan (2), Republic of Moldova (2), Latvia (2), Belarus (2), Bulgaria (2), and Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, Norway, Georgia, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Austria (with one entrant each).

41 musical works have been submitted in the Composition Section.

Thes applications received so far for this edition of the Enescu Competition represent a 20% increase from the 2011 edition of the Competition (with 183 competitors).

„Romania matters on the international classical music market! This is proven yet again by the Enescu Competition as well - an event that offers young artists the opportunity to launch musical careers of international prestige. With a tradition of getting underway artists who are great names in the classical music world today, the Enescu Competition - along with the Enescu Festival - reinforces Romania’s prominence in the international cultural arena. Furthermore, the high number of applicants validates Enescu Competition’s worth as a distinct, stand-alone event, this being the first time when the Competition is organized apart from the Enescu Festival”, states Mihai Constantinescu, Executive Director of the Enescu Competition and Festival.

Application deadline was July 1st. There is still a possibility to see more registrations in the following days, as the international mail postmarked July 1st arrives.

The Competition uses The Romanian Athenaeum and The National Music University as the performance venues for the preliminary stages, whereas the gala finals will be performed at The Romanian Athenaeum, with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra.
For the first time in the Enescu Competition’s history, aside from the total prizes worth of over 100.000 Euro, the laureates of the Competition have the opportunity to take a Master Class with internationally renowned musicians at the prestigious International Academy of Vienna, as well as the possibility to perform on the most prestigious Romanian stages, together with the philharmonic orchestras from all over the country.

Intended as a natural extension of the George Enescu Festival, the most important international cultural event organized by Romania and a true national cultural brand, George Enescu International Competition brings back into the limelight the values George Enescu himself, the only Romanian composer whose music belongs to the universal cultural heritage, believed in - creativity, originality and generosity.

In the spirit of George Enescu's personal dedication to the encouragement of young musicians - as the Honorary Director of the Romanian Musical Association, he made substantial donations to pay for musicians’ scholarships, and in 1912 he took a tour through Romania and raised over a thousand sterling pounds in order to launch a national composition award - the George Enescu Competition recognizes, supports and promotes young talents worldwide, endorsing in this way the future golden generations of the universal classical music.

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