George Enescu Festival 2021: Highlights of an anniversary edition

George Enescu Festival kicked off this past weekend, marking an anniversary, 25th edition and celebrating 140 years since the birth of the Romanian musician. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the festival returned with a program that includes numerous local premieres, from works by Enescu to operas in concert and contemporary music. We outline below some of the highlights of this year's edition.

This year's edition, spanning four weeks, is the longest so far. Events take place in Bucharest and several cities in the country: Sibiu, Timișoara, Cluj, Iași, Pitești, Ploiești, Bacău, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Constanța, Satu Mare. A total of 32 orchestras from 14 countries will perform, while top Romanian orchestras are present in the Music of 21st Century series. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will carry on the tradition of delivering the festival's end concert. This year, the orchestra will perform conducted by Daniel Harding, in the country for the first time.