The international classical music festival George Enescu kicked off Sunday in Romania, marking 50 years since the death of the Romanian composer.
The festival features five Romanian orchestras and six other international orchestras — the Orchestre national de France, the Kirov Orchestra (of the Mariinsky Theater) from Russia, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Dresden Staatskapelle from Germany.
The program also included two ballet performances by the Eifman Theater from St. Petersburg, Russia, and concerts by the Lausanne and the Basel Chamber Orchestras from Switzerland.
Other performers include American-born opera singer Barbara Hendricks, the Magnus Quartet Jazz Project and British-based The King’s Consort, one of Europe’s leading period-instrument orchestras.
The festival, which is organized by the Romanian government under the patronage of President Traian Basescu, opened on the evening of 4th September with a concert by the Bucharest-based George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra.
The program included international contests in violin, piano and composition.
Performances will took place mainly in Bucharest, but some concerts have also been presented in the cities of Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara and Brasov. The festival lasts until September 20.