George Enescu Competition kicks off this weekend in Bucharest

The offline part of the 18th edition of the George Enescu International Competition starts this weekend, on September 4, in Bucharest.

The event, which runs until September 18, will open with a gala concert delivered by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ainars Rubikis. The orchestra will perform Karlo Margetic’s An Axe for the Frozen Sea, the winning piece in the composition section of the competition’s previous edition. The program also includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with previous editions’ winners Valentin Șerban (violin), Jaemin Han (cello) and Yeon-Min Park (piano) performing.

A series of extraordinary recitals will begin on September 7, when David Grimal (violin) and Itamar Golan (piano) will perform works by Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc, Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky.

On September 9, Frank Huang, a member of the competition’s jury this year and concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, will perform on the stage of the Athenaeum, alongside cellist Marcel Johannes Kits, a winner of the competition, and pianist Angela Drăghicescu.

On September 12, the public can enjoy The Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Dmitry Sitkovetskyi, the president of the violin jury, alongside David Geringas (cello) and Alexander Gordon (viola).

Daria Parkhomenko, a 2018 winner of the competition, will deliver a piano recital on September 14, with a program encompassing works by César Franck, Robert Schumann, George Enescu and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The last recital of this edition is scheduled for September 17, when pianist Nelson Goerner will perform a program of works by Chopin and Iberia by Isaac Albéniz.

Eleven young musicians have made it to the semi-final stage of the cello section of the competition, which takes place on September 5 and 6. The final of the cello section is scheduled for September 8. Twelve candidates will compete in the semi-final of the violin section, scheduled for September 10 and 11. The final takes place on September 13. The piano semi-final will see 11 candidates compete on September 15 and 16, with the final scheduled for September 18.

At the same time, 22 works will compete in the composition section, with the winner announced on September 18.

This year’s edition of the event will also grant an Originality Prize.

The total value of the competition prizes is EUR 120,000. The winners will perform at the 2023 edition of the George Enescu Festival.