A traveller who knows Bucharest only from the classic tourist brochures surely has one image engraved in his mind: the Romanian Atheneum, a symbol of the city as far back as its 1888 inauguration.
THE BIRTH OF THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
The first concert of the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra took place on March 5, 1889, under the Atheneum's dome. Between the two Wars, the hall was embellished with a superb fresco, and at George Enescu's suggestion, was endowed with an organ.
Founded in 1868, at the initiative of a group of musicians, in order to cultivate the taste of the public for symphonic music, the Romanian Philharmonic Society offered classical and romantic masterpiece concerts. As Western philharmonic programs evolved, the Bucharest Philharmonic also included works by a variety of modern composers, such as Ravel, Stravinski, Richard Strauss, Bela Bartok, Enescu, and Shostakovich, some of whom performed in Bucharest in person. The repertoire later also included works by contemporary Romanian composers, including Anatol Vieru, Tiberiu Olah, Stefan Niculescu, and Pascal Bentoiu, but current concert programs are still mostly classical and romantic, the role of promoting new musical creations being left to the Radio orchestra, as is the case in other parts of Europe.
TODAY'S PHILHARMONIC
The "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra of today has once again become one of Europe's leading Sympony Orchestras, and has two weekly concerts, on Thursdays and Fridays, at 7 p.m., from September to June, except when it is on tour.
The Orchestra toured Japan and Germany in the Fall 2002. During its absence, the institution's programs include the Choir of the Academy, chamber groups, and foreign guest musicians. These perform recitals in the Large Hall or the "Studio Hall" of the Romanian Atheneum almost every day at 7 p.m., and at the end of the week even at 11 a.m. The Romanian Atheneum hosts some 400 concerts and recitals during a season.
The "George Enescu" Philharmonic has been directed for the past 10 years by Cristian Mandeal, who is also its Chief Conductor. With many international performances, Cristian Mandeal is Guest of Permanent Conductor and Artistic Director of a variety of orchestras around the world. He has also been Director of the International "George Enescu" Festival in 2001 and 2003. Under his direction, restauration work on the Atheneum began in 1991, and that same year saw the birth of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Sergiu Celibidache became Honorary Director of the institution in that period. The Philharmonic presently has a permanent Conductor, Horia Andreescu, a Principal Guest Conductor, Sergiu Comissiona, and concert soloists, Valentin Gheorghiu and Marin Cazacu. Among the instrumental soloists, we recognize such names as Nicolae Licaret, Aurelian-Octav Popa, Virgil Francu and Ion Ivan Roncea.
MUSICIANS REPORTED BY THE PRESS
While favorable reports of Bucharest Philharmonic concerts abound, to give you an idea, we will cite only one from the daily "El Pais", after a Madrid concert: "The Romanian ensemble possesses highest-level brilliance and lyric vibration, characteristic of Latin ensembles, while being at the same time a solid and flexible instrument, capable of producing the richest nuances and contrasts." The late music critic, Iosif Sava claimed after its 1998 tour: "There are few such Philharmonic Orchestras in Germany, and I know of no disc which so perfectly renders Prokofiev's captivating "Romeo and Juliet" suite, under the magical direction of Mandeal."
If you have a few days to spend in Bucharest, be sure to begin with an evening under the dome of the Romanian Atheneum, to "delight" in a symphonic concert...
The Entrance
The Large Hall of the Romanian Atheneum
Concert Maestro Anda Petrovici
and pianist Valentin Gheorghiu
Sergiu Comissiona
Aurelian Octav Popa
Silvia Marcovici
Cristian Mandeal
