Romania’s 2015 George Enescu Festival brings 22 days of classical music, thousands of artists

Romania’s George Enescu Festival, one of the most important cultural international events in the world of classical music, will kick off this Sunday, August 30. The event, which will end on September 20, is one of the most important cultural events of Romania. Each edition brings some 20,000 tourists to Romania. This year's edition is the 22nd and will last 22 days. Some 3,000 foreign and local artists will come to this year’s edition of the event, with concerts scheduled to take place at the Romanian Athenaeum and the Grand Palace Hall in Bucharest, as well as other locations. Classical music concerts will also be organized in other cities across the country, namely Timisoara, Brasov, Bacau, and Ploiesti (check the list here). Prestigious names in international classical music will participate at this year’s edition of the event. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at the Grand Palace Hall on September 3, under the baton of legendary Sir Simon Rattle. Famous conductor Zubin Mehta will also return to the festival this year, with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, for two concerts scheduled on August 31 and September 1. Both concerts will take place at the Grand Palace Hall. Vienna Philharmonic (September 15-16, Grand Palace Hall), Bayerische Staatsoper (September 13, Grand Palace Hall), Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Christian Thielemann (September 4-5, Grand Palace Hall), London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ion Marin (September 8-9, Grand Palace Hall), and Sankt Petersburg Orchestra (September 10-11, Grand Palace Hall), are also part of the event’s program. The Romanian Youth Orchestra will open the festival on August 30 while the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir will also perform at the Grand Palace Hall on September 14. Some 20 works by Romanian composer George Enescu will be interpreted in the 2015 edition of the festival. Find the entire program of the event here. Tickets for the Great Orchestras of the World concerts to be organized at the Grand Palace Hall cost between RON 70 and RON 160 while those for the Recitals and Chamber Music, and By Midnight series are on sale for RON 130 and RON 160 (these concerts will take place at the Romanian Athenaeum). Tickets for the Morning Concerts series cost RON 40 and RON 50. Find more information here. However, there are other ways of enjoying the festival’s experience. Some of the most important concerts of the festival will also be broadcasted live in Bucharest’s Grand Cinema & More and five other local cinemas across the country (Cityplex Constanta, Cortina Digiplex in Oradea, Trivale Cinema in Pitesti, Victoria Cinema in Cluj-Napoca, and the Eugen Tudoran Academic Library Hall in Timisoara). Moreover, the Romanian Television recently launched