Over 2.500 foreign artists and 500 national artists are expected on the 2015 edition of George Enescu Festival, which will take place between August 30 and September 20, at Palace Hall and Romanian Athenaeum, gathering 58 concerts. On this edition, 20 works signed by George Enescu will be staged during the festival.
Although the subscriptions are sold out, you can still find tickets for some of the concerts for prices from RON 60 to RON 170, as follows:
Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) is one of the very best orchestras in the world, being ranked in top 10, which has come several times to Enescu Festival. Over the years, critics have lauded its unique sound, which clearly stands out among thousands of others. Although sound is difficult to describe in words, the RCO’s string section has been called ‘velvety’, the sound of the brass ‘golden’, the timbre of the woodwinds ‘distinctly personal’ and the percussion have an international reputation.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is made up of 120 players hailing from over twenty countries, while Romanian Liviu Prunaru is the orchestra’s concertmaster. Despite its size, the orchestra actually functions more like a chamber orchestra in terms of the sensitivity with which its members listen to, and work in tandem with, one another. Indeed, this requires both a high individual calibre and a great sense of mutual trust and confidence.
Tickets available: Sunday, September 20, conductor Andris Nelsons, Grand Palace Hall.
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the festival’s scene under the wand of Zubin Mehta, the one who conducted last year’s New Year’s Eve concert in Vienna.
Tickets available: Tuesday, September 1, conductor Zubin Mehta, Grand Palace Hall.
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony sets the highest possible standard for excellence in musical performance at home and around the world, explains the festival’s organizers on their official website.
Tickets available: Sunday, September 6, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Grand Palace Hall.
Tickets available: Monday, September 7, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Grand Palace Hall.
London Symphony Orchestra
For this edition, Romanian conductor Ion Marin will have under his wand the London Symphony Orchestra, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading orchestras.
Tickets available: Wednesday, September 9, conductor Ion Marin, Grand Palace Hall.
The Romanian chapter
This year’s edition will open with a concert performed by the Romanian Youth Orchestra together with the well-known violinist Sarah Chang, being recognized as one of the world’s great violinists.
Tickets available: Sunday, August 30, conductor Kristjan Järvi, Grand Palace Hall.
On September 12, at the Romanian Athenaeum, the public will have a Mozart night, everything under the wand of the conductor Madalin Voicu. Also, the violinist Stefan Tarara, the Romanian who won the 2014 Enescu Contest, will perform together with French violinist Pierre Amoyal.
Tickets available: Saturday, September 12, conductor Madalin Voicu, the Romanian Athenaeum.