On Wednesday evening,
the Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Academic Choir and the Radio Children’s
Choir gathered on the Palace Hall’s stage in Bucharest to perform the 8th
Symphony by Gustav Mahler, alongside the ‘George Enescu’ Philharmonic Choir and
under the baton of the German conductor Cornelius Meister. Mahler’s symphony is
a very complex work, that is why it is also known as the symphony of a 1000.
The event was, therefore, quite special, and the standing ovations at the end
of the concert were evidence that the audience fully enjoyed the performance of
the many artists gathered on stage. At the end, the director of the ‘George
Enescu’ Festival, Ioan Holender, said:
An
impressive cast, an exceptional conductor and my congratulations to the other
choir, to the orchestra, because this is not something that our orchestras
usually perform and I believe it is extremely important that our festival has
opened up for such performances.
The soloists who
participated in this monumental performance of Gustav Mahler’s 8th
symphony were sopranos Erika Sunnegardh, Cellia Costea and Aurelia Florian,
altos Michaela Selinger and Liliana Ciuca, baritone Serban Vasile, bass Sorin
Coliban and tenor Stefan Vinke. At the end of the performance Stefan Vinke
said:
I was
so excited and so inspired by the orchestra, the choirs and mostly by the
Children’s Choir, which was excellent. Also, my full respect for the other two
choirs. I’ve performed this piece many times and it is quite rare to see such a
homogeneous ensemble, with a performance that is so clean and harmonized. I am
really happy and I would like to warmly congratulate the orchestra and the
choir. It’s been a wonderful concert.
The 22nd ‘George Enescu’ International Festival is underway in Bucharest and other cities
across Romania, and it will last until the 20th of September. Its
agenda includes performances by four of the best orchestras in the world: Royal
Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, the latter performing under the baton
of the Romanian conductor Ion Marin. At this edition of the festival, which
marks 134 years since the birth of the great composer and 60 years since his
death, enjoys the participation of 2,500 foreign and 500 Romanian artists. The
program includes over 70 indoor and outdoor concerts, as well as other events.