George Enescu International Festival: 16 prestigious orchestras taking the stage this year

The Great Orchestras of the World Series at the George Enescu International Festival brings exceptional concerts to the stage of the Palace Hall, by some of the most prestigious orchestras in the world. Thirteen foreign orchestras and three Romanian orchestras will present a total of 29 concerts in this Series, from August 27 to September 24, 2023. Business Review takes a closer look at the festival’s program.

The George Enescu International Festival is one of the most important classical music events in the world, organized since 1958. The 26th edition of the festival will take place between August 27 and September 24, with the theme “Generosity through Music.” The festival program includes over 3,500 of the world’s most renowned artists, more than 40 orchestras from 16 countries, opera premieres, and educational concerts for children. The entire program is available here.

The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra will perform twice, on August 27 and September 12. The concert on August 27 will mark the opening of the 26th edition of the Festival. The Bucharest Philharmonic will be conducted by Cristian Macelaru, with French cellist Gautier Capuçon as a soloist. The program will include works by Antonín Dvořák, George Enescu, and Richard Strauss. On September 12, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra will perform alongside the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir, prepared by Iosif Ion Prunner, in an innovative programme: Benjamin Britten’s opera Billy Budd, presented in concert form, under the baton of conductor Hannu Lintu. Carmen Lidia Vidu has prepared multimedia support to enhance the musical discourse through new technologies.

The Maggio Musicale Orchestra and Choir will perform twice, on August 28 and 29. In the first concert, the audience will have the opportunity to listen to a concert version of Verdi’s opera Otello, conducted by Zubin Mehta, Honorary President of the Enescu Festival. During the second concert, under the baton of Maestro Mehta, the audience will listen to the Prelude to the opera Oedipe by George Enescu and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor.

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The London Symphony Orchestra will present two programmes for the audience, both led by conductor Sir Simon Rattle: the first concert will take place on August 30, at the Palace Hall, with a programme that will include Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, the last one he managed to complete. The second concert will take place on August 31 and will feature works by George Enescu (Voix de la nature) and Olivier Messiaen (Turangalîla Symphony). Peter Donohoe (piano) and Cynthia Millar (ondes martenot) will be the evening’s soloists, surprising the audience with unique and extraordinary sounds.

The Capitole Theatre Orchestra from Toulouse will hold two concerts at the Palace Hall on September 1 and 2, conducted by Maestro Christian Badea. In the concert on September 1, the orchestra will be accompanied by the Romanian Radio Academic Choir, prepared by conductor Ciprian Tutu, and the soloist will be Renaud Capuçon (violin). The programme will include works by George Enescu and Camille Saint-Saëns. The second concert will take place on September 2, under the baton of conductor Josep Pons, featuring Lambert Wilson (narrator), Mathias Vidal (tenor), and Vincent Le Textier (baritone). The programme will include two works by Hector Berlioz: the rarely performed work Lélio ou le Retour à la Vie, Op. 14b, and the Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, both with multimedia support by Nona Ciobanu.

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The Romanian Youth Orchestra will take the stage at the Palace Hall on Sunday, September 3. The concert will be conducted by Stefan Asbury, featuring pianist Jan Lisiecki as the soloist. Additionally, the Romanian Youth Orchestra will also participate in the concert of the National Orchestra of France on September 22, in a formative side-by-side project conceived by Maestro Cristian Macelaru, which will give young Romanian musicians the opportunity to perform alongside established performers.

The Tonhalle Orchestra from Zurich will perform twice during the George Enescu International Festival, on September 4 and 5. The first concert will be conducted by Paavo Järvi. Romanian cellist Andrei Ionita will perform Enescu’s Cello Concertante in B minor, Op. 8, alongside works by composers Arthur Honegger and Antonín Dvořák. The second concert will also be conducted by Paavo Järvi, featuring Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will come to Bucharest on September 6 and 7, performing under the baton of Lahav Shani. The concert on Wednesday, September 6, will feature Gil Shaham as the soloist (violin), while the second concert will be held by pianist Alexandre Kantorow as the soloist. The programme will include works by George Enescu, Sergei Prokofiev, and Johannes Brahms.

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will hold two concerts, one where the conductor will be Gustavo Gimeno and the soloist will be Alena Baeva (violin), while the second concert will be conducted by Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, featuring Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes as the soloist.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will perform on September 10-11, with conductor Jakub Hrůša. On Sunday, September 10, the concert features Igor Levit on the piano. The second concert will take place under the same conductor. The programme will include works by George Enescu, Leoš Janáček, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The Bavarian State Opera Orchestra will perform two concerts led by conductor Vladimir Jurowski, who was the artistic director of the Enescu Festival between 2017 and 2021. The September 13 concert features pianist Yefim Bronfman as the soloist. The programme will include works by Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, and Gustav Mahler, featuring soprano Louise Alder. The second concert will take place on the next day, under the same conductor, with Vilde Frang as the violin soloist.

The National Academy of Santa Cecilia Orchestra from Rome will perform twice, led by conductor Tugan Sokhiev.

The National Radio Orchestra will be conducted by Tan Dun, featuring harpist Xavier De Maistre as the soloist and multimedia director Carmen Livia Vidu, who will illustrate the musical programme with video projections. The audience will have the opportunity to witness a premiere of Romanian work by conductor Tan Dun (“Nu Shu”) and the well-known “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky in Ravel’s orchestration.

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Hungary will perform two concerts: one will be conducted by Charles Dutoit, with legendary pianist Martha Argerich performing Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major. The programme will also include works by George Enescu and Hector Berlioz. The second concert will take place on September 19 and will be conducted by Cristian Mandeal, featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason as the cello soloist.

French ensemble Le Balcon, together with the National Opera Orchestra of Bucharest, the National Opera Choir, and the Radio Academic Choir, will perform on September 20, conducted by Maxime Pascal. The choirs will be prepared by conductors Daniel Jinga (National Opera Choir) and Ciprian Tutu (Radio Academic Choir). The orchestras and choirs will perform Olivier Messiaen’s opera “Saint Francis of Assisi,” in its absolute premiere in Romania.

The National Orchestra of France, conducted by Cristian Macelaru, will perform two concerts as part of the George Enescu International Festival, on September 21-22. The first concert will feature Augustin Hadelich as the soloist on violin, while the second will be accompanied by members of the Romanian Youth Orchestra and the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir. George Enescu’s monumental Symphony No. 3 will be performed in a unique and emotional interpretation. In the same concert, another Enescu masterpiece, the Romanian Rhapsody in A major, Op. 11 No. 1, will be presented by pianist Kirill Gerstein, who will perform the long-awaited Concerto No. 2 in C minor for piano and orchestra, Op. 19, by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will conclude the Great Orchestras series as well as the George Enescu Festival, as tradition goes, on September 23-24, with both concerts conducted by the young Klaus Mäkelä, the newly appointed musical director of the Amsterdam-based orchestra.

Tickets are available in five price categories, from RON 100-250 per concert. Some concerts are sold out.