Central Romania: Jazz at Bran Castle festival returns with a new edition in August

The eighth edition of the Jazz at Bran Castle festival will take place this summer in the inner courtyard of the famous Bran Castle and at the Rasnov Evangelical Church in central Romania. The event is scheduled for August 27-29.

This year’s edition of the festival will bring lesser-known projects to the public’s attention, the organizers said. One of them is the project of violinist Iskandar Widjaja with Israeli pianist Itamar Golan, known for his recordings with Maxim Vangerov, Mischa Maisky, Barbra Hendricks, and the Berlin Philarmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta.

The program also includes a concert of Klaus Falschlunger, sitar and konnakol, and Luciano Biondini, an Italian accordion player who is returning to Bran after his first performance with Rabih Abou-Khalil. The duo will perform the album “Once in a Blue Moon,” an interesting mix of Indian music with folk and pop, full of poetry and fine humour.

Meanwhile, the Trio of Alexi Tuomarila, a Finish composer and pianist, winner of the Emma Prize with “Sphere,” will present the album at the festival in the second evening, together with the trumpeter Kalevi Louhivuor. Hakon Kornstadt will also be present at the event, where he will perform in a trio with the famous ECM artists Mats Eilersten and Frode Haltli.

In the last evening of the festival, French accordion player Jean-Louis Matinier will return to Bran Castle with an original project, ”Rivages,” together with guitarist Kevin Seddiki. The festival will end with a concert by the Scandinavian supergroup Rymden, a strong presence in the jazz world of recent years, who will present their latest album.

Alexi Tuomarila, Iskandar Widjaja and Itamar Golan will perform in the baroque ambiance of the Rasnov Evangelical Church.

The concerts will take place in the inner courtyard of Bran Castle on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting at 19:00, and on Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 at the Rasnov Evangelical Church. Further details here.

(Photo source: the organizers)