Classic Unlimited: Piano tour marks 10 years since first concert, kicks off 2026 edition

The piano tour Classic Unlimited returns this autumn with a new musical journey across Romania as pianist Bogdan Vaida will deliver 13 concerts across nine counties, in venues including castles, churches, museums, cultural centers, a synagogue, an artists’ colony, and a space dedicated to motorcycles.

The project began in 2017 in Iași, to take classical music beyond traditional concert halls and bring it closer to people. Since then, it has travelled to more than 70 venues across Romania. After a decade of travelling around the country, the 2026 tour will conclude where it all began, namely in Iași.

This year’s theme is The Sound of Poetry, an “experience in which music, poetry, and visual art come together in a sensitive, contemporary dialogue,” the organizers explain.

The program features eight works inspired by poetry: four pieces from the classical repertoire and four contemporary compositions by Romanian composers Alexandru Murariu, Cristian Bence-Muk, Ciprian Gabriel Pop, and Șerban Marcu. The music is complemented by stories and reflections on composers, poetry, and the sources of musical inspiration.

“This year, we started from the idea that poetry and music have more in common than might initially appear: both can express things that ordinary words sometimes cannot. We selected eight poems that inspired the works in the program and invited four contemporary composers to join this dialogue. For me, The Sound of Poetry is also a natural continuation of what we have been doing for ten years: presenting music in a direct, accessible way that brings it closer to people, in places where you would not expect to find a concert piano,” pianist Bogdan Vaida, the founder of the Classic Unlimited project, explains.

This year, the project is adding, for the first time, a visual component. The exhibition Classic Unlimited x Poster x Poem, created in partnership with Glitch Association, brings together works by eight contemporary illustrators who have translated the eight poems and their musical worlds into images.

Another new feature of the project in 2026 is its educational program for students at music and arts high schools. Classic Unlimited will organize four masterclasses at high schools in Zalău, Bistrița, Deva, and Baia Mare, exclusively for students at these institutions.

The 2026 tour comprises 13 concerts across nine Romanian counties: Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Hunedoara, Satu Mare, Maramureș, Sălaj, Botoșani, Suceava, and Iași.

The program is as follows:

• October 1: Bistrița — Bistrița Synagogue Multicultural Centre