The agenda of the second day of the
22nd ‘George Enescu’ International Festival included two events,
both held in Bucharest. Under the heading ‘Chamber recitals and concerts’, the
Romanian Athenaeum hosted the Tharice Virtuosi string ensemble, made up of
exceptional soloists of various nationalities, all of them driven by an
unquenched passion for music. Their rich chamber music repertoire ranges from
trios or octets to symphonies for strings and covers periods from baroque and
classicism to romanticism and contemporary music.
Moreover, Tharice Virtuosi
perform works that are totally unconventional, in which each and every member
has his or her personal touch and performs in a very original way. This type of
musical work is quite unique and gives musicians numberless opportunities.
Tharice Virtuosi includes three Romanian violinists: Liviu Prunaru, who built
his musical education in Romania, Switzerland and the US, winner of many
prestigious international competitions and who is also the first-concert master
of the famous orchestra Royal Concertgebow of Amsterdam and plays on a
Stradivarius violin made in 1694.
Another Romanian member of the ensemble is
Bogdan Zvoristeanu, who has a 1761 Nicolaus Gagliano violin. He too furthered
his musical education in Switzerland, and he is the first concert-master of the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande of Geneva. The third Romanian musician in
Tharice Virtuosi is Vlad Stanculeasa, a graduate of the National Music
University in Bucharest, who, since 2009, has been the guest concert-master of
the Gothenburg symphony orchestra. He plays on a 1793 Sanctus Serafin violin,
which belonged to George Enescu and which was kept by Yehudi Menuhin until his
death in 1999. On Monday in Bucharest, the Tharice Virtuosi string ensemble
performed works by Bruch, Barriere and Ysaye, and at the encore they performed
two opuses signed by Paganini and Scarlatescu.
The
second day of the most prestigious musical event in Romania ended with the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the biggest orchestras of the world,
whose musical director for 40 years has been the celebrated conductor Zubin
Mehta, a constant presence at the ‘George Enescu’ Festival. On Monday night
Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic performed two symphonies, by Schonberg
and Bruckner respectively. They are back on stage on Tuesday as well, this time
alongside the ‘George Enescu’ Philharmonic Choir, with another grandiose
program: the ‘Vox Maris’ symphonic poem by George Enescu and Symphony no.9 by
Gustav Mahler. Also on Tuesday, the Belcea quartet gives a recital at the
Romanian Atheneum, alongside the Romanian cellist Valentin Erben.