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George Enescu Festival announces program of 2021 edition
Artistic director of the George Enescu Festival Vladimir Jurowski voiced his conviction that during these tough pandemic times, people need beauty, music and culture.
People need, as such, the Enescu Festival. We need public, artists and the support of the authorities and all the sponsors. I urge you to consider the importance of this festival, particularly this year, both in terms of its illustrious history and especially in terms of the future of culture in this world, Jurowski said on Tuesday in a video message presented at the press conference announcing the 2021 Enescu Festival.
The highly acclaimed conductor informed that the programme of this edition would gather the most Enescu performances, "almost all orchestra pieces and a lot of chamber compositions."
Another topic of this edition is Igor Stravinski's music, this year marking 50 years since his death. Jurowski mentioned that he found it "essential" to include in the programme as many compositions of Stravinski, including works that had not been broadcast in Romania before, one of them going to be performed by four Romanian pianists in collaboration with drummers of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Russian and Romanian performers.
He said participating in the festival would be a series of extraordinary orchestras from Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and a few great British orchestras, as British music is regarded as part of the pan-European culture.
We hope that, from the cultural point of view, the dialogue with the British culture will continue and this festival will mark a new beginning in the relations between the UK and Europe, Jurowski also said.
At the same time, he mentioned the presence of contemporary music in the Festival, as well as of some worldwide performers, such as Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sir Simon Rattle and others, and including in the programme opera music, unseen pieces so far in Romania, such as Strigoii (Ghosts) by George Enescu, being included in this year's programme.
Culture Minister Bogdan Gheorghiu said on Tuesday that the George Enescu Festival is a symbolic event for the international world of music and stressed that the 2021 edition must be "truly memorable."
"This year, the George Enescu International Festival celebrates 140 years since the birth of the great composer, which is why the 2021 edition must be truly memorable. As you know, Romania's Government is the producer of the festival and the George Enescu international contest, through the Culture Ministry and its organiser, ARTEXIM," Gheorghiu told the press conference devoted to announcing the event.
Gheorghiu gave guarantees that the festival would have ensure the necessary funds for organising it "at the highest standards" and brought to mind that the Culture Ministry allotted 5.82 percent from the 2021 budget, namely 52 million lei, to organising this edition of the George Enescu International Festival.
Gheorghiu also said that the event could not take place last year due to the pandemic restrictions.
"Nonetheless, between March 18 and July 1, the public had access online, on the official website where there was created another kind of George Enescu International Festival, because it provided free access to all to quality classical music. A number of 29 concerts could be accessed both by Romanians and the international public. We must be aware that the organisation of this Great Festival, a true country brand for Romania, depends on the epidemiological development and the population's vaccination rate. In context, I hail the participation in the conference of Mr. Presidential Adviser Sergiu Nistor and Mr. Col. Dr. Valeriu Gheorghita. Their presence sends a strong message about the interinstitutional collaboration which the Enescu Festival needs to unfold in safety conditions. It is a message for all institutions which, one way or another, will be called to contribute to this year's edition," Bogdan Gheorghiu said.