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Summary Foreword
Staff
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Anniversaries & Artists & Events
Professor PhD Bujor Prelipcean General Director Șerban Mereuță Artistic Director Corneliu Șipoteanu Executive Director
Voces 40. Memories with Professor Bujor Prelipcean
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The 60th Anniversary of the Iaşi Philharmonic Academic Choir
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Ad libitum String Quartet New beginning
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Romanian Music Festival Iași, 1973 – 2014
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History
Financial Department: Dana Apostu, director Gabriela Geger, economist Loredana Țilică, economist Roxana Sofronie, payroll reviewer Artistic Planning Department: Anca Ciobanu, music secretary Cristina Ungureanu, artistic adviser Bogdan Grigore, librarian
REVIVO MUSICA Listen more. Live more. Return to Music!
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"I practiced music even before I was born...!" Interview with Professor Mihail Cozmei, The First Music Secretary of the "Moldova" Philharmonic of Iași
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Puzzle
Law & PR: Dumitru Popa, chief department Mihaela Spînu, PR secretary Cristian Ciureanu, administrator Steluța Maluș, human resources counsellor Andrei Popovici, sound operator Editing Printing IT Department: Silvia Matei Ticket Agency: Liliana Zglobiu
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How do our artists do in their spare time?
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An American in… Iași ! Journey notes (excerpts)
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Artistic Ensembles
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The Symphonic Orchestra
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The Academic Choir
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Ad libitum String Quartet
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Foreword
In November 2011 Iași Philharmonic Society – through General Director Professor PhD Bujor Prelipcean – initiated a music magazine with the aim of including the main musical events in Iași, Romania and abroad. The publishing team of five are working part-time for the magazine, also co-ordinating the artistic planning activity of the Philharmonic: Anca Ciobanu – music secretary and Cristina Ungureanu – artistic adviser, Silvia Matei – editor and Andrei Popovici – cameraman. Furthermore, senior editor of the magazine Carmen Chelaru is currently Professor of Music history at the George Enescu University of Arts in Iași. By October 2015, Filarmonica Magazin had already been published in 12 issues. It features the following sections: Anniversaries & Artists & Events, History, Puzzle, Artistic Ensembles. Since the Philharmonic of Iaşi has fruitful collaborations with artists from across the globe, we have decided to dedicate the 13th issue to them, by selecting significant editorials from the 12 previous issues, translated in English, in order to create an opportunity for foreign readers to better know our musical life.
Carmen Chelaru Senior Editor
Anca Ciobanu Music Secretary Cristina Ungureanu Artistic Adviser
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Anniversaries & Artists & Events
Voces 40 Memories with Professor Bujor Prelipcean
Bujor Prelipcean – first violinist and founder of Voces String Quartet, Professor PhD at George Enescu University of Arts, Iași and general manager of Moldova Iași Philharmonic Society – completed his musical studies first in Galaţi, then in Iași at George Enescu Conservatory, with the eminent pedagogue Gheorghe Sârbu. Gifted with an exceptional talent and an enormous power of work, Bujor Prelipcean has fully proved that the advices of George Enescu permanently given to youngsters were true – "Self-knowledge, work and self-control shall constitute fundamental principles in art, as in life". As a result, today, due to the success he has accumulated in his academic and artistic career, Bujor Prelipcean can be nominated as one of the most outstanding musical personalities in Romania. Even from his student years, Bujor Prelipcean has participated as a solo violinist to numerous recitals and concerts in Romania and abroad. In the spring of 1973 he founded Voces String Quartet, attending numerous concerts and chamber music international competitions. Voces Quartet participated at many courses in Romania and abroad, working under the coordination of prestigious musicians as Wilhelm Georg Berger, Friederich von Hausegger, Uzi Wiesel, Vilmos Tatray, Amedeo Baldovino and the members of Amadeus Quartet. During over 40 years of artistic career he collaborated with important personalities of the international music, such as: Martin Lovett, Mstislav Rostropovich, Wolfgang Laufer, Radu Aldulescu, Valentin Gheorghiu, Ştefan Metz, Luz Leskowitz, Fine Arts Quartet (USA), Grigori Zislin, Menahem Pressler, Karl Leister, Walther Seyfarth, Jeremy Menuhin, etc. Bujor Prelipcean also possesses a rich pedagogical history: Professor at the George Enescu University of Arts from Iaşi, honorary professor at the Musical Academy Gh. Dima from Cluj-Napoca and honorary professor at the musical Academy from Würzburg, Germany. He led also masterclasses at the Royal Dutch Academy of Quartet from Amsterdam. He is managing the Iași Philharmonic Society for over twenty years now.
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In February 2013, on the occasion of Voces Quartet 40th Anniversary, Professor Bujor Prelipcean gave an interview we quote bellow excerpts from.
Professor B. Prelipcean working Beethoven with Ad libitum String Quartet, in 2009
Rep: Do yo u believe in chance? BP: I do no t b elieve in ch ance! Neither in k ar ma, nor fate ... I believe in the Romanian saying ‘God gives you (opportunity), but He does not jam it into your bag’! For me, ‘chance’ means work; fate gives you talent, but if you do not work, fate will not fight for you. So, work, work, work ... plus the talent to ennoble it and a bit of luck!
Under such circumstances, it takes time and space to settle, think, and reflect.
Voces Quartet in 1978
Rep: W hat qualities an d vir tues should a m usician be endowed with in order to become a member of a string quartet? BP: In o r d er to be par t o f su ch an ens em ble, you need common sense and a good breeding, first of all. This is the reason why many music groups dissolve, apparently without reason, although they could work together for years. Not only is common sense required, but a lot of tolerance, also. Then a great attachment to the mutual interest of the ensemble; strength to get over those issues which should not be solved on the spot, on the same day; in other words, having the diplomacy to give up bothering your partners with issues which they either did not understand or could not solve at one time.
CD cassette with Beethoven’s complete Quartets, live recording
Rep: Talking about th e four perso n alities, is it imperative that they be equally strong in temperament or somewhat complementary? BP: As th e finger s in one h and ar e not alik e, I have not met four people with the same temperamental, cultural, educational identity. As for me, I prefer the less gifted people endowed with common sense, education and tolerance, to the very talented but arrogant ones, convinced that they have all the answers. Rep: I do not thin k it is sim ply ar r ogance w e are talking about here. For example, why did no viable quartets appear in George Enescu's lee (who was far from being arrogant)? BP: Y es, r eally, in this case ther e can be no ar rogance. Yet a man of genius, who spread huge spiritual power around, made people feel small and insignificant, wishing to break free from the fascinating Maestro's influence. The same with Sergiu Celibidache! He spoke bluntly, in a highly caustic, straight manner; he had his own philosophy of life and art and never hesitated to tell the truth to one's face. However, he was less endowed in terms of diplomacy or teaching.
... in Würzburg (Germany), Toscana Hall, 1998
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Voces and Ad libitum Quartets, Octet Concert, in 2008
Let’s take the famous Beaux Arts Trio – pianist Menahem Pressler (whom we have played with), violinist Isidore Cohen and cellist Bernard Greenhouse. Isidore Cohen used to be the second violinist of the Juilliard Quartet. Yet he could not endure too long beside Robert Mann, the first violinist. In a moment of maximum distress he quit Juilliard Quartet and joined Beaux Arts Trio. Voces Quartet members have not always been best friends. At first, it is true, we had enough moments outside rehearsals; I quite often used to play chess with Toni [Anton Diaconu, Voces second violinist from 1975 to 2009]... There were moments in the beginning, which later on disappeared in the fever of work; there remained the need for perfection and concentration for better and better concerts in order to win international awards - without which no one is taken into consideration. Without all of this you are not visible, you cannot find your place in this extremely tough musical world. Rep: W h at ar e the featur es of an instr u m entalist who has been a member of a string quartet for over 20 years? BP: … wisdom and tolerance towards your colleagues, a desire to perform music for the sake of music! I believe that the presence of Dan and I – as brothers – has been an opportunity for Voces, although the two brothers had infinitely more disputes than the rest of the members. Therefore, this roller-coaster has been meant as a fight
for perfection in a battle which sometimes threatened to destroy feelings and friendships. Even after twenty years a lot of things can happen in a quartet. Rep: Is th er e a par ticular r o ute th at a str in g quartet is supposed to go through in order to attain the age of 40? BP: Ther e is no pr ecise ‘itinerary’ from my point of view. There is no Voces ‘recipe’! Each group under such G. Enescu International Festival, Bucharest 2007, Ateneul Român
circumstances represents a unique, inimitable issue. Rep: W h at h ave you lear n ed fr om th e co m posers? BP: It's ver y im por tant to w or k w ith a com poser – I mean with living composers, of course. Concerning the others, Beethoven, for example, it's good to have someone – as Norbert Brainin from Amadeus Quartet has been to us – to explain music styles. Years ago Voces recorded George Enescu’s complete chamber works at Electrecord as a world premiere. The recordings are now available, since Electrecord sold them to Olympia Recording House. Returning to composers, I have learned many things from the living, some of whom were friends with us and dedicated works to us. I could begin with Wilhelm Berger – he was a great musician, he dedicated works to us and was one of our early professors – I cannot forget him. Then Dumitru Bughici, from whom we learned quite a lot, as he helped us a great deal at the start of our career. Once, he told us: "I haven’t even thought that my
Voces rehearsal room. Working Schubert’s Octet (2004)
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Santa Cecilia in Rome; in Scandinavia: Uppsala, Oslo, Copenhagen – wonderful audiences...! Rep: Ar tistic par tn er s...? BP: Y es, w e h ad a few extr aor din ar y par tn er s in the course of time! I remember, for instance, Tchaikovsky’s sextet Souvenir de Florence. We worked with violist Vlady Mendelsohn and with the principal cellist of The Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen, Ingemar Brantelid. Without them, the music would have seemed a parody to me; they proposed this work and made me cherish it. We had great success with these excellent artists on a concert tour in Belgium. Also, we played Enescu’s Piano Quartets and Piano Quintet with Valentin Gheorghiu – true masterpieces! In fact, everything we played with Valentin Gheorghiu – Brahms, Schumann, Schubert – turned him into one of my favorites by far! Valentin can make you love music! Then clarinet players Karl Leister – soloist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – and Walter Boeykens... Rep: Is th er e anyth in g you left unfinished, which can be accomplished further? BP: ... I do not know ... God know s - He will show us the way...! Rep: Going b ack to chance...? BP: For m e, God is not ch an ce! Ch ance is something that remains unknown. In the mean time, God does exist - He gave us talent, the power to work, hope in terrible moments; if we fell down, it was Him who picked us up...! CC: An old pr oject, still unfinished: a ch am ber orchestra...? BP: Y es, I still have this in m ind, but an extremely important aspect is preventing it: before the Philharmonic of Iaşi has a home, we will not be able to do anything about it. May God give me the strength to witness the birth of the new Philharmonic headquarters …!
Rehearsal with the cellist Martin Lovett, from Amadeus Quartet
music could sound so well!" The same for composers from Iași: Vasile Spătărelu, Sabin Pautza, Cristian Misievici, Viorel Munteanu, Anton Zeman... All of them were our friends, and all composed music for us. Pascal Bentoiu wrote three quartets for Voces; Anatol Vieru, as well, then Mihai Moldovan, Dumitru Capoianu, Nicolae Beloiu... Rep: W h at w as th e r elationsh ip b etw een Vo ces and other artists; also, between Voces and audiences? BP: W e lear n ed a lot fr om oth er ar tists: wh at we should do, as well as what we should not do! As for audiences, we met warm people, but we also met cold, even hostile audiences. However, when audiences are faced with genuine value, they become warmer – I mean Germans, especially. A music critic from Würzburg wrote after our Beethoven series in 1998: "I intended not to go to the concerts, because I wanted to keep the Beethoven version with Amadeus Quartet at Herkulessaal in Munich in my memory. But after the first two concerts, upon finding the great impressions left by Voces Quartet, curiosity pushed me on. I entered the hall for the third concert and I was deeply impressed!"... and so forth. After that series of six concerts with Beethoven’s sixteen quartets, the audience burst into applause and, on their insistence, we offered them the Great Fugue as an encore. We have a very special audience for chamber music in Iaşi. It is an audience that has been growing up together with Voces since 8 April 1973 – the date of our very first concert. It is the audience that I shall love for my entire life. We were greeted with cheers in Wigmore Hall (London), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Germany, Switzerland, in the Italian cities of Turin, Milan, in
Iaşi, February 2013
Voces rehearsal room
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The 60th Anniversary of the Iaşi Philharmonic Academic Choir
In 2013, the Academic Choir of the Iași Philharmonic marked its 60th anniversary. It was in 1953, after I.V. Stalin’s death, that the people of Eastern Europe breathed a sigh of relief as hope dawned again. Musicologist and Professor George Pascu (1912-1996) and composer Achim Stoia (1910-1973) used this opportunity to employ a number of singers and found the Philharmonic Choir of Iaşi. The first vocal-symphonic concert took place in June 1954, with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. In the next few years, the repertoire improved with Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Seasons, together with à cappella concerts performed in Iași and the region of Moldova. In 1957, on the occasion of the 15 th anniversary the Iași Philharmonic, the Choir and the Orchestra performed concerts in Bucharest. In 1959 Ion Pavalache (1927-2007) became resident conductor of the Gavriil Musicescu Academic Choir, a position he held until 1990. At the beginning, Choir singers had different levels of
musical studies, most being amateurs. Gradually, more became professional by graduating the Conservatory of Iaşi. Nowadays all Choir members are music graduates. After 1960 the choral and vocal-symphonic repertoire improved spectacularly with Romanian and international works, from Renaissance to contemporary music. There were not only concerts, but also radio and TV recordings, festival participations, tours in Romania and abroad. Together with the Opera Choir, the Philharmonic Choir took part in major artistic events of the 1960s, such as Verdi’s Requiem and Aida, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, culminating in George Enescu's opera-in-concert Oedipe (1975). In 1981, Iași Philharmonic Academic Choir performed Bartok’s Cantata profana together with the Radio Orchestra and Choir conducted by Iosif Conta in the George Enescu International Festival of Bucharest. In 1981 and 1985, the Choir had concert tours in Italy and Poland (Bydgoszcz Sacred Music Festival).
The Choir in 1954 In the middle (from left to right): conductor Radu Botez, Achim Stoia (Director of the Philharmonic) and Professor George Pascu
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CD recording, G. Musicescu’s Orthodox Liturgy
CD recording, Enescu’s Symphony No. 3
In 1990 Doru Morariu became resident conductor. He worked hard to promote the Choir, to enlarge the repertoire and to permanently hire younger singers. At present, Iași Philharmonic Academic Choir is among the best professional ensembles in Romania, with international concerts in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, etc. Several CDs have been recorded, with Gavriil Musicescu’s Orthodox Liturgy, à cappella music by Romanian contemporary composers, music for Christmas, etc. Choir master Doru Morariu initiated a concert cycle named Choral Music Masters, where he celebrated Romanian and foreign composers, among others: Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, Gavriil Musicescu, Gheorghe Cucu, Sabin Drăgoi, Achim Stoia, Vasile Spătărelu, Sabin Păutza. Nowadays, Gavriil Musicescu Academic Choir of Iași performs varied musical genres, from Middle Age to 21 st century, à cappella and vocal-symphonic, religious and secular, academic and traditional. Doru Morariu created a communication path between the Philharmonic and the University of Arts in order to tempt the best students to collaborate as singers in the Choir. As a result, young musicians gain experience, are learning various musical styles, are enlarging the repertoire. At the same time, the choir remains permanently young and keeps its ability to quickly gather new and difficult works.
The main artistic events in the activity of Iași Philharmonic Academic Choir
Concert in the Iași Metropolitan Cathedral October 2014
25 May 1953: Choir foundation, with Professor George Pascu as a conductor. 5 Dec 1953: The Choir adopts Romanian composer Gavriil Musicescu's name. 4 June 1954: First audition in Iași of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. 27 May 1955: First audition in Iași of Mozart’s Requiem 26 April 1957: First audition in Iași of Haydn’s Seasons 27-29 Dec 1957: concerts in Bucharest – Ateneul Român
The Academic Choir in Palas Mall, Iași 2015
1958: Ion Pavalache replaces Professor Pascu as choir master. 17 Febr 1961: First audition in Iași of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem 19 Jan 1962: First audition in Iași of Carl Orff''s Carmina burana 7 June 1963: First audition in Iași of Arthur Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher 10 April 1964: First audition in Iași of Enescu’s Choral Symphony No. 3 9
9 March 2001: First audition in Iași of Bach's Mass in B
3 March 1967: First audition in Iași of Händel's Samson oratorio
4 May 2001: First audition in Iași of Bach’s Johannes Passion
3 Febr. 1968: First audition in Iași of Händel’s Alexanderfest
30 Aug. 2001: Verdi's concert-opera La Traviata at the Haricleea Darclée Festival of Brăila (Romania)
17 May 1968: First audition in Iași of K. Szymanowsky's Stabat Mater
Dec. 2001: Tour in Germany – concerts in Frankfurt-am -Mein, Leipzig and Stuttgart
1 Nov 1968: First audition in Iași of Brahms's German Requiem
14 June 2002: First audition in Iași of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust
31 Jan 1969: Beethoven's concert-opera Fidelio
May 2003: The choir’s 50th anniversary
1 Oct 1970: First audition in Iași of Enescu's poem Vox Maris
6 June 2003: Rossini's concert-opera Il barbiere di Siviglia
22 May 1975: First audition in Iași of Enescu's concertopera Oedipe
Nov.-Dec. 2003: Concert tour in the Netherlands
2 March 1979: First audition in Iași of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis
18 June 2004: Donizetti's concert-opera L’Elisir d’amore
July 1981: The Choir performs the Cherubini's opera Medea in Italy
18 Sept. 2004: First audition in Iași of Dvořák’s Stabat Mater
7 Nov 1982: First audition in Iași of Mozart's concertopera Cosi fan tutte
2004: Concert tour in the Netherlands March 2005: Concert tour in Spain
11 June 1983: First audition in Iași of Mascagni's concert-opera Cavalleria rusticana
27 April 2005: Paul Constantinescu's Byzantine Easter Oratorio
Sept. 1983: Recording of Pascal Bentoiu’s opera Amorul Doctor
April 2006: Concert tour in Spain
16 Dec 1985: First audition in Iași of Händel’s Messiah
Oct. 2006: Choral concert in the Sergiu Celibidache Festival of Iași
Nov.1990: Doru Morariu becomes resident conductor of the Choir.
15 Nov. 2006: First audition in Iași of Orff’s Catulli carmina
1991: The Orchestra and Choir mark Mozart anniversary by performing several concerts
April 2007: Concert tour in Spain
Nov. 1991: Concert tour to Chişinău (Republic of Moldova)
Dec. 2007: Concert tour in Germany and Austria
Dec. 2008: Concert tour in the Netherlands – Christmas program
20 Dec.1991: First audition in Iași of Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium
12 June 2009: Haydn Anniversary – Die Schöpfung oratorio
1992: Conductor Alexandru Lascae together with the orchestra and choir of the Iași Philharmonic record symphonic and vocal-symphonic music by Enescu, for Ottavo Recordings (Netherlands).
Dec. 2010: Concert tour in the Netherlands – Christmas program Dec. 2011: Concert tour in the Netherlands – Christmas program
July-August 1993: concert tour in Italy 29 Sept.1993: the Choir’s 40th anniversary
May 2013: 2 Concerts in Ukraine
17 Dec.1993: First audition in Iași of Paul Constantinescu's Byzantine Christmas Oratorio May 1995: concert tour in Poland – Gaude Mater Sacred Music Festival
Vocal-symphonic concert in the Romanian Music Festival Iași, 25 October 2013
17 Sept. 1995: The Choir and the Orchestra of Iași Philharmonic perform Debussy's concert-opera Pelléas et Mélisande in the George Enescu Festival of Bucharest. Conductor, Frédéric Chaslin. 7 Feb. 1997: First audition in Iași of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony 13 Nov. 1998: First audition in Iași of Berlioz's complete Symphony Romeo and Juliet Dec. 1998: Concert tour in Italy Nov. - Dec. 1999: Tour in the Netherlands, with concerts at Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and De Doolen (Rotterdam) 10
Ad libitum String Quartet New beginning
"The news of Adrian Berescu's passing (8 August 1969 – 18 August 2011) [1] struck the music world of Iaşi like lightning. His disappearance is heart-rending and marks the end of an era in which the Ad libitum Quartet offered the public of Iaşi, the country and most European capitals its amazing concerts, which changed the works performed into something different from what had been heard before, gave them a new breath of warmth, passion, sensitivity and absolute logic, born out of a personal reading of well-known scores... The interpreting style of the years and decades to come was already pulsating in Ad libitum..." [Daniela Vlad, Regional Public Radio Iaşi] Who are the members of the Ad libitum Quartet? Alexandru Tomescu, first violin – born in Bucharest in 1976; studies: Liceul de Muzică George Enescu (George Enescu Music Highschool) and the Conservatory in Bucharest – class of Ştefan Gheorghiu; Southern Methodist University of Dallas, Texas; École Superieure de Musique, Sion, Switzerland – Professor Tibor Varga. He replaced violinist Adrian Berescu beginning with 2012. Şerban Mereuţă, second violin – born in Ploieşti, in 1968; studies at the G. Enescu Highschool in Bucharest. Bogdan Bişoc, viola – born in Iaşi, in 1968; studies at the O. Băncilă Arts Highschool of Iaşi. Filip Papa, cello – born in Timişoara in 1968; studies at the Music Highschool in Cluj-Napoca. The three founding members – Şerban Mereuţă,
Bogdan Bişoc and Filip Papa – met in the Conservatory of Iaşi and studied under the guidance of the Voces Quartet. Why Ad libitum? According to their own testimony, they chose their name in the first months after constitution, from several criteria: belonging to the sphere of music; conferring the guarantee of originality; representing a symbol for the freedom of spirit and expression – in music, the expression of ad libitum signifies freely, according to will. A decisive success in the career of the Iaşi ensemble was constituted by their participation in the Evian Contest (France) in May 1997, where they won the most important international prize for a string quartet, a total of three distinctions, rarely awarded to the same ensemble: The Grand Prize, The Press Prize and the Disc Award. An ensemble with over two decades of artistic experience, with the international prestige acquired through thousands of rehearsal hours, recordings, memorable concerts – among which the Complete Works of Beethoven (2009) and Bartók (2010) – and especially through the most significant international quartet awards – Ad libitum returns! This was natural to happen, especially out of two reasons: Ad libitum had already become a cultural good of Iaşi, which was appreciated and anticipated by music lovers. At the same time, the memory of musician and exceptional human being Adrian Berescu could not be maintained unless his artistic gesture were perpetuated!
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In January 2012 the members of the Voces and Ad libitum quartets made the most beautiful gesture possible in such a situation: a concert. A two-and-a-half-hour programme, most fittingly chosen: virtuosity and profoundness; purity and tension; serenity and tragedy; staggering introspection and outbursts of childish joy – in short, a veritable dramma giocoso in chamber style: Mozart's First Quartet (K 80), Quintet K 516 (composed in the year Don Giovanni had its premiere) and, the climax of the evening, Schubert's ample Quintet with two cellos, which the author did not have a chance to listen to during his life-time. The players: a more harmonious collaboration could not have taken place: three Voces and three Ad libitum! Above all, however, the First Violin of Bujor Prelipcean, who found himself in the most difficult and, at the same time, most significant posture of artist, leader and mentor. Finally, the audience, who loved music, quartets, Voces, Ad libitum and, last but not least, Berescu. The fact that tentative applause took place after almost every piece of music should not be ascribed to a lack of culture, but to a certain emotional togetherness. As proof stands the spontaneous reaction, akin to a veritable outburst of feeling, which came naturally after the masterful performance of the slow, funerary Adagio from Schubert's Quintet. Voces and then Ad libitum have always performed this score unmistakably: away from the quotidian, as if time had stood still. The astoning concert of 25 January 2012 seemed to represent the Full Stop. The concert of 14 February (of the same year) was a new beginning. All musicians and quartet lovers wonder: A new Ad libitum? An inevitable question, especially if we consider that however close we were to Adrian, all of us, without an exception, were attached to his music and his pure soul. So it was that the entire musical population of Iaşi asked themselves who would be brave enough to play in Adi's place. Violinist Alexandru Tomescu commented on his position as member of the public in an interview for the daily Adevărul: Reporter: Do you have the patience, as a musician, to witness other concerts? Alexandru Tomescu: I m ust confess th at active as I am in this field, I get anxious sitting in a chair for too long. But I remember having promised some friends of mine who were performing [the concert of the Ad libitum Quartet of 16 November 2006] to witness a
quartet concert in Iaşi. I was prepared to get bored for an hour or two. However, the first bars were enough to relieve my anxiety and inertia and took me to a different world.[2] So: A new Ad libitum? Alexandru Tomescu: Y es, because th is is a completely new experience for me, along which I have discovered areas of musical expressiveness that I hadn't even surmised. And not least because keeping continuity in the development of the quartet is very important to the four of us, walking further down the road that Ad libitum started on 24 years ago. This journey has not been effortless: the sustained daily work has led to success on the world's most significant stages. Apart from this – as I was saying – it is not easy for me to play in place of Adrian in the quartet, because we were good friends and I miss him everytime I come to Iaşi. Adrian's spirit will always be with us in the quartet, I can always feel that. The first rehearsal was the most difficult. It was difficult for all of us, not only for me. No one can take Adrian's place, undoubtedly! I will try to play as best I can so that Ad libitum goes on. I am aware that I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, it is an honour and a challenge that I will try to meet (30 January 2012). Şerban Mereuţă: A ne w Ad libitum ? No. Sim ply Ad libitum. Furthermore, the memory and gratefulness for a person who loved us and whom we loved! (1 February 2012) Filip Papa: Ad libitu m has alw ays tr ied to br ing something new through programming, performance and attitude towards music. Now God has ordained Ad libitum to be new. All that remains to us, in order to keep the sensitiveness of his artistic gesture, is to pay hommage to Adrian (27 January 2012). Notes: [1] Adrian Berescu, first violinist of the Ad libitum Quartet, concertmaster of the Iaşi Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2008, died in a tragic motorcycle accident in August 2011. [2] An interview entitled Schimbaţi-vă programarea mentală (Change your mental programming), signed George Rădulescu on 4 February 2010.
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Romanian Music Festival Iași, 1973 – 2014 Cluj (1978, 1980), Timișoara Symphonic Orchestra (1982), etc. The Romanian Music Festival also meant selfassertion. Many Romanian artists and ensembles from Iași and the country began their artistic career in the festival or they participated in most editions, with Voces String Quartet at the top (founded in 1973). After the 10th edition, The Romanian Music Festival was interrupted in May 1988, although it had become well-known in Romania and abroad and had been included in international encyclopaedias. A large audience was gained over the ten editions and numerous composers dedicated their works to the festival. In December 1989 came the great ‘change’. As it often happens, many ideas, achievements, initiatives, people, institutions and so on were denied, forgotten, cancelled or destroyed… – among them, the Romanian Music Festival. Twenty years passed and the idea of reviving the festival aroused the interest of both the University of Arts and the Iași Philharmonic. However, the situation was different: fewer budgets – substantially increased costs; many more cultural temptations for the audience than Romanian music programmes. All these made restarting and above all maintaining the Romanian Music Festival difficult. The year 2007 has been an important moment in recent Romanian history: EU integration and Sibiu European Capital of Culture, therefore an opportunity to start a new series of the festival. The main organisers – George Enescu University of Arts and the Iași Philharmonic – had Romanian musical diversity in mind: classical and modern, religious and secular, traditional and academic. For the first time, Romanian artists from abroad were invited. From 2007 to 2014, the festival took place in the autumn of every year. The repertoire included acknowledged music and first auditions at the same time, all sort of styles and genres – symphonic, vocalsymphonic, choral, chamber, opera, etc. The performers
In May 1973 a genuine event took place in Iași for the first time: the Romanian Music Festival. At the beginning it was held annually, then twice a year, representing a platform for national music of different sorts. Among others, George Enescu's concert-opera Oedipe – from May 1975 – represented a unique performance in the entire history of the festival, as well as of Enescu’s masterpiece. Conductor Ion Baciu, an important musician of the time in Iași, achieved a compressed version of the drama, keeping both the essence of the music and the philosophical ideas. The Romanian Music Festival meant confirmations. The main concert hall in Iași hosted international ensembles such as: the Madrigal Chamber Choir (1974, 1982, 1986), the Ars Nova ensemble (1973, 1980), the Symphonic Orchestra and the Academic Choir (1974, 1975) – all from Cluj; Bucharest Radio Orchestra (1975, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1988), Cappella Transylvanica from
Voces and Ad libitum Quartets playing Enescu's Octet Iași, 23 October 2007
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Concert-opera Preţioasele ridicole (after Molière's The Affected Young Ladies) by Vasile Spătărelu, 26 October 2007 Iași Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, conductor Alexandru Lăscae
were well-known artists and ensembles, as well as débutants from Romania and abroad. The festival brought together composers and performers of the main Romanian cultural regions – Moldova, Transylvania and Walachia. In spite of the difficulties of the first new edition, the festival took place again in 2008. It was composer Sigismund Toduță's centenary.
brated: Roman Vlad and Richard Oschanitzky. The 2011 edition too k place am idst a w or se financial situation. At the same time, a new concert hall for chamber music was opened in a historical building where Franz Liszt had performed for an aristocratic family of Iaşi in 1847. An interesting event of that edition was the traditional 19th century music performed by the Trei Parale ensemble of Bucharest. The archaic songs and dances by Anton Pann, Grigore Ucenescu and François Rouschitzki were performed by the four artists on oriental instruments like cobza (a sort of luth), fluiere and caval (traditional types of flutes), dairea (tamburine), and darbuka (a sort of tom-tom). During the same edition of the festival, the Philharmonic Wind Ensemble and conductor Cristian Lupeș presented one of the most difficult and representative of Enescu’s works – Dixtuor op. 14. 2012 Edition Six days, eleven concerts, Romanian music from various periods, spaces and styles, ten ensembles, several conductors and soloists from Iași, Romania at large and abroad. This time the local media – newspapers, the online press, TV and radio – were better connected. The University of Arts scheduled student ensembles, teachers' recitals and the gala concert of the students' composition competition in the main music academies in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. A symposium took place, a daily journal was published, where musicologists – students and professors – wrote chronicles, while the festival website was initiated. The Philharmonic presented its elite ensembles, the Symphonic Orchestra, the Academic Choir, the Ad libitum String Quartet (with Alexandru Tomescu as first violinist), and the Nova Musica Viva wind ensemble. For the first time, a Festival Journal was published, including chronicles and interviews. It was also a great opportunity for student-journalists to gain experience. As a result, the audience and the interest for Romanian music did grow.
Trei Parale Ensemble, Iași, 22nd November 2011
"I find Iași musicians' initiative, perseverance and devotion to reviving the annual week dedicated to Romanian music simply amazing and rather singular in the ambience of our rather incongruous contemporary culture." – wrote composer Pascal Bentoiu, then President of the Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists. During the next editions (2009, 2010) the effects of the crisis began to be felt. However, the organisers managed to maintain the quality of the events. The excellent choral ensemble Capella Transylvanica and conductor Cornel Groza from Cluj performed a programme of local composers' music; conducted by Doru Morariu, the Academic Choir of the Iași Philharmonic held a concert in the Orthodox Cathedral of Iași, an ideal space for religious choral music. Two other composers were cele14
2013 Edition "It seems almost unbelievable, even miraculous that in our days, among crises and contradictions, in times of selfishness and a lack of scruples, somewhere in Romania a music festival is being held in earnest! It is because of passionate people who understand to support art without expecting rewards. (…) I sincerely hope this miracle does not disappear over night, on the contrary, that it should be growing." (Corneliu Dan Georgescu, Romanian composer and musicologist resident in Germany)
The 18th edition of the Festival was unusually long, but as varied as the previous one: thirteen concerts in twelve days. The highlight of the festival was rock opera The One Born from a Tear by the young composer Dan Spînu from the University of Arts in Iaşi. It was performed by students – orchestra, choir and soloists –, as the first show of its kind ever to be presented in Iaşi. And so, eight new editions of the Romanian Music Festival were held in as many years, from 2007 to 2014. After that, for financial reasons, the main organisers decided to change the frequency for every two years. Therefore, the 19th edition should take place in 2016. * *
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Festival Calendar 1st edition, 9-16 May 1973 2nd edition, 3-10 May 1974
The Philharmonic Academic Choir concert on 19th October 2014
3rd edition, 15-23 May 1975 George Enescu Commemoration (concert-opera Oedipe, first audition)
At the 2013 edition of the 17th Romanian Music Festival, composers Violeta Dinescu and Corneliu Dan Georgescu from Germany were our honoured guests. The audience of Iași had the chance to listen to their music and to watch their lectures on contemporary music. Another event was the first audition of Marțian Negrea’s Requiem for soloists, choir and orchestra op. 25, composed in 1957.
4th edition, 5-12 May 1976 Commemorating Mihail Jora 5th edition, 5-12 May 1978 6th edition, 9-17 May 1980 7th edition, 7-14 May 1982 8th edition, 11-18 May 1984 9th edition, 23-30 May 1986
2014 Edition
10th edition, 20-27 May 1988 11th edition, 21-26 October 2007 12th edition, 3–10 Octomber 2008 Commemorating Sigismund Toduță 13th edition, 11–16 Octomber 2009 Celebration of composers Roman Vlad and Richard Oschanitzky 14th edition, 15–19 November 2010, Anniversaries of the Society of Romanian Composers (90 years) and 150 years of Romanian artistic education
15th edition, 21–26 November 2011 16th edition, 29 October–3 November 2012 17th edition, 21-27 October 2013, Celebration of composers Corneliu Dan Georgescu and Violeta Dinescu 18th edition, 17-28 October 2014, Celebration of composers Cornel Țăranu and Viorel Munteanu
The first Opera-Rock performance in Iași, 28th October 2014
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History
REVIVO MUSICA Re-listen. Relive. Return! At the end of last season, in June 2014, the Moldova Philharmonic launched the DVD REVIVO MUSICA, an album conceived to represent the institution artistically, which includes a series of collector's recordings from various concerts held by the Philharmonic ensemble across time. The initiative belongs to Univ. professor Bujor Prelipcean, Ph.D., general manager of the Philharmonic. Carefully chosen by the Music Secretary Office, the eleven moments are performed by some of the best known and most appreciated conductors hosted by the Philhamonic, together with the Symphony Orchestra and the Gavriil Musicescu Academic Choir. The DVD REVIVO MUSICA represents a premiere for the citizens of Iaşi, aiming to render musical performances more accessible by distributing the musical works performed in concert on an audio-visual format. The (hopefully!) professional level observes the musical rigour in the European cultural space, where the Philharmonic of Iaşi has always felt at home and where it has been considered an important member of the continental musical family. Beside the nearly 100 annual concerts at its headquarters, the Symphony Orchestra and the Gavriil Musicescu academic choir made tens of LP and CD recordings (of Romantic and contemporary, Romanian or international classical music) and numerous tours in the country or abroad (Europe, Asia, North America). Built on the structure of different musical moments, the DVD REVIVO MUSICA represents the project of reminding music-lovers of some of the most prestigious moments in the history of the Moldova Philharmonic of Iaşi:
2009, 24 February, Iași. Ad libitum Quartet: Beethoven, 1st movement Allegro con brio from Quartet op. 18 No. 1. 2005, 8 April, Iași. The conductor Ilarion IonescuGalaţi: Ar am K h ach atu r ian, W altz fr om Maskerade Suite. 2004, 13 February, Iași. Conductor Alexandru Lăscae: Joseph Haydn, excerpt from Oratorio the Seasons. 2002, 28 October, Amsterdam – Concertgebouw. Conductor Alexandru Lăscae: Otto Nicolai - Merry Wives of Windsor.
2002, 28 October, Iași Orchestra & Choir in Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Conductor Alexandru Lăscae. Carl Orff, O, Fortuna.
2008, 8 April, Iași, Voces 35th Anniversary. Voces and Ad libitum Quartets: Felix M endelssoh n Scherzo from Octet op. 20.
1995, 9 March, München, Gasteig Concert Hall. Memorable meeting of Iași Orchestra and maestro Sergiu Celibidache.
1991, 22 September, Ateneul Român Bucharest. Conductor Horia Andreescu: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5 – excerpt. TV recording from the George Enescu International Festival, 12th edition.
2005, 2 December, Iași. The young conductor Tiberiu Soare w ith B eethoven ’s Symphony No. 3, 1st movement.
2002, 28 October, Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Conductor Alexandru Lăscae: Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture by M.I. Glinka.
2005, 11 February, Iași. The Russian conductor Misha Katz (Fr ance): Jean Sibelius, Sym ph o ny No. 1 - Scherzo: Allegro, Lento ma non troppo, Allegro.
The recordings on this DVD are part of the archive of the Moldova Philharmonic and have been made over the course of time by: Mihai Cantea (Iași Philharmonic), Radio Iaşi, TVR Iaşi, TVR Bucharest, Concertgebouw Amsterdam. 16
"I practiced music even before I was born...!" Interview with Professor Mihail Cozmei The First Music Secretary of The "Moldova" Philharmonic of Iași
Professor Mihail Cozmei – a personality of the music life in Iași – was born in Huși (a town in Eastern Romania, 84 km South of Iași) in 1931. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Bucharest with some of the best professors of his time. He graduated doctoral studies in 1979 at the Music Academy of Cluj. He also participated in workshops in Moscow (1964-1965) and Rome (1971). From 1956 to 1962, Mihail Cozmei was the first music secretary of the Iași Philharmonic. The institution had been founded in 1942, while until 1956 the management had been provided by Professors Radu Constantinescu and George Pascu and by composer Achim Stoia. Beginning with 1961, Mihail Cozmei became an assistant lecturer, assistant Professor and finally Professor PhD at the George Enescu Conservatory of Iași. From 1973 to 1984 Mihail Cozmei was rector of the George Enescu University of Arts. In 1972, he initiated and managed (till 1984) the festival Vacanţe muzicale la Piatra Neamţ (Musical Holidays in Piatra Neamţ) – dedicated mainly to students of academic music institutions in Romania, including summer courses, concerts and recitals. He was also a founding member of the Romanian Music Festival (since 1973). The Dictionary of Musical Personalities is one of the most important books he has published. In May 2012, Filarmonica Magazin initiated an interview with Professor Cozmei regarding the music life of 1960s and the collaboration between the University of Arts and the Philharmonic.
MC: I am now co nvinced th at th e real reasons for this closure were political and not professional. Iași is too close to Chişinău, where there was another important Conservatory. Rep: In w h at cir cum stances did th e Conser vatory in Iaşi reopen? MC: In th e 1960s Iași already had two music institutions: the Moldova Philharmonic and the Opera House. Both of them desperately needed musicians in the orchestras and choirs. Professor Ioan Goia, manager of the Opera, had all sort of political connections and he insisted that the musical ensembles in Iași had to regenerate through younger and professional artists. Rep: As r egar ds th e m usic secr etar y position , what was your main activity at the time? MC: Th e Ph ilh ar m o nic of Iaşi inclu ded thr ee ensembles: a symphonic orchestra, an academic choir and the traditional music band. My job was to organize the weekly schedule of rehearsals and concerts, to write and publish the programme booklets and posters, to coordinate the concerts for young people. At that time, the presentations for audiences were given by Professor George Pascu – who had a special attraction for the younger public. In 1959, resident conductor George Vintilă became manager of the Philharmonic. Since he was on tour most of the time, I exercised my management skills by leading the Philharmonic. In an institution such the Philharmonic, the music secretary is the ‛heart’ of the entire activity. Professor Cozmei and the musicologist George Pascu founder and first conductor of the Philharmonic Choir
Reporter: W h en did you becom e a citizen of Iaşi, Professor Cozmei? Mihail Cozmei: So m any year s have passed by that I feel like I was born in Iași! I intended to live in Iași from the outset in order to be nearer to my family. So in the summer of 1956, composer Achim Stoia, director of the Philharmonic at the time, heard about my intention and created the position of music secretary especially for me. Everything was settled in about 5 minutes and I was employed. Rep: B egin ning w ith 1950, th e Conser vator y of Iaşi was closed for ten years!... 17
conduct the students’ orchestra of the Conservatory. We had the best collaboration ever: that was the foundation period for Baciu’s ‛Super Orchestra’, with the best musicians of both institutions: most of the winds, brass and percussion were from the Philharmonic, while the best of the strings came from the Conservatory. That orchestra was named 'Baciu’s Stradivari'! The same period was extremely productive for the Conservatory since Achim Stoia – rector – employed a few young and very talented composers to teach harmony, counterpoint, musical forms, etc. A composition class was founded at that time. Lots of concerts and recitals were performed in Iași in museums and other unconventional spaces, as well as in Bucharest. Beside the Super-Orchestra and conductor Ion Baciu, the Conservatory of Iași had brilliant ensembles like the Animosi Chamber Choir, Musica Viva contemporary ensemble, string quartets etc.
(from left to right) Romanian composer Sabin Pautza, Professor Mihail Cozmei, composers Vasile Spătărelu and Wilhelm Berger
Rep: How did you m an age w ith th e com m u nist censorship of the time? MC: For tu nately, m usic is m usic, yo u know ! Communist censors had two main obsessions: religious music and the avant-garde trends. Actually, the repertoire lists for the seasons and for all music institutions in Romania were usually approved in Bucharest by the Ministry of Culture. Rep: I ask ed b ecause I w as a m usic secr etary in 1987 and had issues with censorship: there were three signatures on each page of a programme booklet: the Philharmonic manager's, the Iași Cultural Council President's and the Communist Propaganda Head's! What special memories do you have as a music lover? MC: I r em em b er the chu r ch choir in Huși, where my mother used to sing; then the famous George Georgescu conducting in Ateneul Român of Bucharest. In Iași I had unforgettable moments during Sviatoslav Richter’s recital at the National Theatre (15 June 1963), Enescu's Oedipe as a concert-opera conducted by Ion Baciu (1981) or Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (1970s) and so on. Rep: W hat m em o r able per io ds do you r em em ber in the relationship between the Philharmonic and the Conservatory? MC: Th e best per iod fr om th is point of view was 1965 to 1985. I was dean of the Conservatory, while my friend and colleague Ion Baciu was resident conductor and manager of the Philharmonic. He also came to
Sergiu Celibidache and Bucharest Philharmonic rehearsal in the Iași National Theatre Hall, January 1979
My scholarship in Rome and in Siena (Italy, 1971) changed my life. There I learned a lot about music management, and upon returning to Iași I drafted the project of a student festival in Piatra Neamț – a beautiful mountain city, 130 km North-West of Iași – in order to provide students with the opportunity to practice, to perform, to gain artistic experience. Even the name of the festival was copied from an Italian one: Musical Holidays in Piatra Neamț after the same in Venice! Rep: Y ou 've alr eady in dicated som e of the best years of the relationship between the Philharmonic and Conservatory, 1965 to 1985. MC: Y es, it is th e b est p er io d I r em em b er . Rep: Th e city of Piatr a Neam ț used to b e act like a magnet for good cultural events - they had a valuable Theatre…! Even the communist authorities of the city were more cooperating, more open and less frustrated. That’s why those projects were realised and
The conductor Ion Baciu Professor’s Cozmei close friend
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above all they endured for many long years. MC: Tha t’s right, they provided the best conditions for concerts and master classes. Rep: Th e fir st editio n of The Ro m an ian M usic Festival also took place at that time… MC: Th er e w er e festivals all o ver the co u ntr y, except in Iași. When I proposed a festival of Romanian music, Ion Baciu was scared: such a repertoire wasn’t our usual audience’s favourite. My suggestion was to invite the best musicians and ensembles from the country, on condition that they choose Romanian music. Everybody chose the best!
Professor Cozmei and the baritone David Ohanesian in Enescu Museum garden, Liveni.
Rep: I r em em b er w itn essing Paul Constantinescu's concert-opera O noapte furtunoasă (A Stormy Night) as a student, with great soloists, the conductor Ion Baciu and a full concert hall! After the first few editions, the festival became very well received. MC: Y es, an d th at w as because both th e m usic and the musicians were high class, like Madrigal Chamber Choir, for instance. Rep: Finally, m y q uestion r egar ds th e last twenty years, quite a different era, different conditions, audiences, even artists – how do you feel it?
November 1979, Cluj. Professor Cozmei exposes his doctoral researches.
MC: Now adays, th er e ar e only a few m usician s of B aciu ’s generation in the Philharmonic orchestra. Life has changed for everyone, not only for us. Music education is focused especially on a career as a solo player and less on chamber music and orchestra experiences. Another reason is the existence of a resident conductor living in the same town with the orchestra. Baciu didn’t perform weekly concerts, but he used to organise rehearsals every day, in order to practice all sort of orchestra sounds and realise the unique ‛colour’ everybody talked about. Rep: K indly th ank yo u, Pr ofessor Cozm ei, for your tim e and th e excitin g m em or ies. (9 May 2012 )
Professors, students and organizers at the Summer Festival Vacanțe Muzicale la Piatra Neamț (Musical Vacations in Piatra Neamț), 1978
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Puzzle
How do our artists do in their spare time? Artists - and not only they - do many interesting things in their spare time. Beside family, home, entertainment, hobbies, they express their special gifts when you least expect it. Unfortunately, throughout the history of the Philharmonic orchestra, these maverick 'activities' were forgotten or only maintained in the unwritten 'folklore' of our establishment, with many events disappearing along with their narrators. However, their funny stories continue today. Here's the latest one. In February 2008 Iaşi Philharmonic Orchestra was visited by Romanian and French filmmakers, for a casting set-up of the film Le Concert, produced by the Romanian-French director Radu Mihăileanu (his name was already known from Train de vie - 1998 or Va, vis et deveins - 2005).
The storyline of the film Le Concert takes place in Russia and in Paris. A few Russians pretend to be musicians of the Bolshoi Theatre (from where they had been fired 30 years before) and plan a sensational concert in Paris. Below there are a few photos, accompanied by the impressions of the Iaşi Philharmonic Orchestra musicians who took part in the shooting. Romeo Ciocârlan, violist: "I had a tremendous time. At first, when I was told: 'You are déménageur' - I did not know what that meant. Soon I learned that this presupposed packing, loading and transporting all sort of things without damaging them. Anyway, I gave a new meaning to the profession, that of déménageur alto!
From left to right: Laurenţiu Nujnoi (Bucharest Operetta Theatre), Romeo Bălan (cello), Florian Budeanu (clarinet), Bogdan Antoane (horn, Iaşi Opera House), Ecaterina Tudorache (flute), Ioan Gușă (bassoon), Radu Mihăileanu, Adriana Marinca (violin, below), Constantin Grigore (cello), Carmen Oprea (violin, Iaşi Opera House), Marcian David (violin), Olivier Jacquet (second director), Aurel Oroşanu (oboe), Romeo Ciocârlan (viola), George Frunză (actor, Botoșani Theatre), Caliu (fiddle, Les Haïdouks traditional music band)
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(left) Cigarette break in Paris. (right) Porn DVD boutique and its 'manager' - clarinettist Florin Budeanu
What other Romanian actors were involved? R. Ciocârlan: ‘Mr. Caliu’ (Gheorghe Anghel) – leader of the traditional Taraf Des Haïdouks – Clejani Fiddlers.
What characters…? R. Ciocârlan: B ogdan Antoan e [tr u m pet player] and I were ‘demenajeurs’; Aurel Oroşanu [oboe] – a samovar salesman, Puiu Gusa [bassoon] – a vegetable salesman, Marcian David and Carmen Oprea [violinists] – cafeteria musicians, Adriana Marinca [violin] - a player at funerals. The funniest character was Cati's [Ecaterina Tudorache, flute], who was a maid at the Natural Science Museum; she appeared from behind a mammoth skeleton holding a mop, and then her flute. Florian Budeanu [clarinet] was quite nice as well: they hung a tail to him (he was spending about an hour in make-up to have his tail stuck), as he dealt in porn cassettes. In Bucharest, the shooting took place in the Palace of Justice, five days at the Roman Arenas and 2 days at Otopeni Airport. In June we shot in Moscow. The following day we shot in the Red Square: although it was summer time, it was terribly cold and drafty. In Paris we had about 20 days of shooting. What kind of a man is Radu Mihăileanu? R. Ciocârlan: Th er e ar e leader s, b uffoons and maestros in the world: Radu Mihăileanu belongs to the class of maestros. No matter how many takes or how long we shot, I've never seen him get angry. He always spoke elegantly, kindly. I appreciated his human quality, as well as his artistic value.
In the early '90s, Taraf Les Haidouks became well-known in Western Europe with authentic Romanian gypsy music. Epic songs, love songs and long songs, the Haidouks have them all, and have been playing them for centuries. 'The Lăutari' (Fiddlers) of Clejani are perhaps the most inspired and fervent of all gypsy musicians in Romania. The exuberant musical style of their native Southern region has certainly stimulated them in this respect. Their village of Clejani (Giurgiu county, Southern Romania) is an old 'music school' of Muntenia, which trains its disciples by requiring their total implication in the art of their choice: sound, dance, gesture, pantomime. However, it would be unfair to ignore their superb endowment. The traits they have in common are imagination and impetuosity. Each musician, however, has his own distinct personality, inclinations, skills, qualities and performances. In the film, Gheorghe Anghel -'Caliu' is the orchestra concert maestro.
Caliu-Gheorghe Anghel, concert-maestro in film; (middle) with Jacqueline Bisset!
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Le Concert—the entire team
(above, from left to right) Alexei Guskov (the conductor in the film) and Ioan Gușă; in front of Castel Studios trailer; Group in character costumes. (middle, left) Radu Mihăileanu; (right) Romeo Ciocârlan as déménageur. (below) the Orchestra in film
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An American in… Iași ! Journey notes (excerpts) The Philharmonic life means not just artistic performance. As the existence itself, around the concert stage lots of good or bad, happy or sad events are happening. We included below excerpts from the journey notes written by lady Cello Bennett, manager and close friend of the American conductor Paul Nadler. In the Autumn 2010, the American conductor Paul Nadler has returned to Iași for two concerts. He and the Iași Philharmonic artists were bound by an old friendship, which has begun in 1998. At the beginning of the season 2010-2011, maestro Paul Nadler arrived together with lady Cello Bennet, who was at her very first visit in Romania. We include here further biographical information. * * * Cello Bennett—Mary Carlene Forszt—was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, USA. Her paternal grandparents were immigrants from Silesia in Poland, then part of the Austrian Empire. Her maternal ancestry is German, French, Dutch, Scots-Irish, and Native American. Cello, who trained as an opera singer at universities in Washington, D.C., and in Los Angeles, also studied voice privately with Maestro Arrigo Pola in Modena, Italy. Pola was the vocal technique teacher of Luciano Pavarotti. Cello sang opera in the U.S. and in opera houses throughout Germany, as well as appearing in concerts in Europe and more recently in Southwest Florida. When the Berlin Wall fell, Cello - under her maiden name - did important translations for an agency of the German Government. After her marriage to artist Gale Bennett, Cello took on administrative functions of his art school, ArtStudy Giverny in Giverny, France, and continued running the school for two seasons after his death. Cello now lives full-time in the U.S., where she dedicates her time to free-lance writing and operating her Artist Management agency, Cello Bennett Artists. She is Artist Representative for Maestro Paul Nadler.
The Painter Gail Bennett and one of his portraits
Lady Bennett closely followed the rehearsals, the internal life of the institution and – with great interest – the local people. After the concert of Iași, she and maestro Nadler traveled for few days in North Romania – Bucovina and the city of Brașov. They spent three weeks in Romania and afterwards lady Cello wrote a travel diary, from which we include a few excerpts below. * *
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Cello Bennett January 2011 Our flight from Paris to Bucharest is blissfully uneventful. When we de-plane two and a half hours later, Mr. Marsahn, a driver arranged by the Iasi Philharmonic, is waiting for us at the customs exit. He and Paul greet each other cordially, as they have known each other for years. Just as we walk out of the airport, I find three brand-new coins on the sidewalk - a good omen for our journey!
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The view from our fifth-floor window is spectacular. The round, red-brick steeple of the magnificent St. Nicholas Church, with frescoes of saints adorning the exterior, is directly in front of our window. To the left is a huge palace - also half-covered in scaffolding - which we learn houses the City Library and three museums all closed for restoration. Across the broad boulevard that runs alongside our hotel we can see County Hall, a fairly modern, inoffensive brick structure. Mountains in the distance provide a lovely frame to the picture. We are really in Romania. It is midnight—we left the house 31 hours ago. It is delightful to take our first stroll around Iasi on a Sunday, when the main boulevard, named for Stefan Cel Mare (King Stephen the Great) is blocked off to traffic. It is a partly sunny day, warm with a hint of autumn in the air. The iron benches lining the boulevard are occupied by family groups, grandmothers and grandchildren, friends engaged in animated conversation. The street itself and both sidewalks flanking it are crowded with Sunday promenaders. While most of the passers-by certainly do not look prosperous, they are carefully Bucharest, Kisseleff Boulevard
As Mr. Marsahn drives us to the Bucharest railway station to catch a train to Iasi, I get a first glimpse of the capital city, with stately manor houses in various stages of restoration and/or decay flanking the wide, tree-lined boulevard into the city. Our driver tells us that many of these houses are embassies. I am able to recognize my very first Romanian words in Romania - billboards and huge signs painted on the sides of buildings yield at least a handful of words in my still-miniscule vocabulary, such as 'de inchiriat', i.e., for rent. It already feels worthwhile having spent all those hours grappling with this new tongue, Latin-based, with Hungarian, Turkish, and Slavic influences. The verbs really remind me of Latin. Other words alternate between easily recognizable cognates, such as 'statie' for station, 'muzeu' for museum, etc., and things you would never guess in a gazillion years, like 'scump' meaning expensive and also dear. The train we are traveling on, labeled an 'Intercity', is reputed to be of far better quality than other conveyances. In previous years Paul has had good luck with Intercity trains. Imagine our shock when this one turns out to be a dark, dirty, sad-looking member of its species, crowded to boot. Thank heavens Mr. Marsahn boards the train with Paul to carry on our bags - we each have one large suitcase and two carry-on pieces - as well as to find our seats - no small feat, as the Romanian numbering system is impossible to understand. Why is 68 next to 76!? (…) The witching hour finally arrives - we are in Iasi! Christian from the Iasi Philharmonic, tall, pleasantlooking, and highly efficient, is waiting for us with his car and also a second car and driver. Since neither vehicle is large enough to contain both us and our bags, our things are apportioned between the two and we are hustled into the back seat of the second one. (…)
Iaşi View, from Hotel Moldova window (photo: Cello Bennet)
dressed. Clearly the majority of them take pride in their appearance. Stray dogs abound - cute terrier mixtures, huge mangy-looking, long-haired canines of indeterminate origin, every color and size imaginable. Most of them trot along quickly, anxiously looking over their shoulders as if they fear being apprehended or kicked. Some cower at the edge of the sidewalk or street, some nap in the grass. They all look hungry and sad. Iasi is a giant construction site, very much like Berlin in the early 90’s after the Wall came down. All of the Eastern Orthodox churches lining the boulevard - there are at least four of them, all mammoth - are shrouded in scaffolding. The opera house wears a large photo, mounted on canvas, of what it will look like when its restoration is complete - a project we hear has already gone on for years. A large, shiny, modern black box of a building stands on a small square of land directly adjacent to the opera house. It is the temporary theater and has won awards for its innovative design. 24
We walk to Philharmonic Hall to view it from the outside - it, too, is shrouded in scaffolding. A former cloister, probably from the 1600’s, it occupies one entire side of a city block. There is a statue of the conductor Sergiu Celibedache, a native of these parts, in the narrow courtyard in front of the hall. In the display window next to it is a large poster advertising Paul’s concert this coming Friday. It is a special event - the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University of Iasi, which today has 100,000+ students. It is also the opening concert of the season. Paul is conducting a Beethoven Overture entitled Consecration of the House followed by Beethoven’s grand Ninth Symphony with orchestra, chorus, and vocal soloists. He has a heavy workweek ahead of him rehearsing these two challenging pieces. Today is our only day to relax and recuperate from the journey - concert rehearsals begin tomorrow morning. We walk to the magnificent Hotel Trajan, located at Piazza Unirii, for a wonderful lunch. This building from the 1800’s has been restored to all its former splendor. Inside the restaurant is as grand as the exterior of the hotel - stratospheric ceilings, cream-colored walls with a heavy dose of carved molding around the ceiling and windows, gold accents, red-and-gold velvet drapes, red-and-gold upholstery on the chairs. Elegant.
Rehearsing in Iași, for the concert in June 2015
Since Romanian restaurants are known for delicious home-made soups, I start with mushroom soup - loaded with funghi porcini and little wild mushrooms from the woods - while Paul enjoys a cream of broccoli soup. All
courses are listed a la carte on the menu: if we want side dishes, they have to be ordered separately. Paul has chateaubriand while I enjoy a fish called 'salau' (pronounced shalau) here, wall-eyed pike in the US. My favorite. We enjoy some vegetables - Paul’s favorite dish in Romania is 'salata de vinete', a salad made from pureed eggplant that has been baked until it absorbs some of the smoky flavor of the slightly burned skin. There is chamber music being piped in through the sound system - almost loud enough to drown out the street noise.
Maestro Paul Nadler and Iași Philharmonic Poster (photo: Cello Bennet)
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The Symphonic Orchestra Concert Masters: Gheorghe Margineanu Teodora Stoica Flute Ioan Cezar Horez Alin Apetroaie Camelia Ionela Paduraru
1st Violin Cristian Barbus Laurentiu Busnea Ovidiu Calfa Andrei Chirila Raluca Chirila Emil Dinu Virgil Iuriciuc Dragos-Sebastian Orzan Adriana Andreea Patras Nicoleta Rotar Razvan Emil Rotar Iulia Ludwika Vagner
Oboe Florin Taga Alexandru Olaru Delia Pana Clarinet Mihai Ailenei Constantin Ailenei Florian Budeanu Bogdan Irina
2nd Violin Vlad Hrubaru Alina Tudorache Andreea Elena Blendea Sabina Comici-Sabareze Doina Horez Aurel Scripcaru
Bassoon Georgel Hariton Ioan Gusa Adrian Moisuc Horn Paul Patras Romeo Popa Adrian Iftimie Sergiu Vlad Iordache
Viola Catalina Adumitroaie Doru Mihai Costachescu Diana Corroller Beatrice Violeta Luca Profirita Murgoci Manuela Prodanciuc Corina Gavril
Trumpet Ioan Moraru Bogdan Baciu Cristian Chiperi Trombone-Tuba Mihai Antoane Radu Andron Marius Cioata Ionut Nechifor
Cello Liliana Bisoc Nicoleta Avadanei Silvia Aftene Oana Gavril Ciprian Nedelcu Mirel Petrica Grajdeanu
Percussion Radu Lupu Cristina Popescu Lucian Maxim Theodor Popescu
Double-Bass Grigorita Mandache Constantin Bizga Ioan Mantu Radu Murgoci Florin Virgil Prisecariu
Harp Adina Diaconu Piano, Harpsichord, Organ Ciprian Ciotlos Stage Technicians: Constantin Constantinescu Sandu Mania
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The Academic Choir Choir Master: Doru Morariu
Sopranos: Avadanei Cristina Iolanda Baciu Luminita Badarau Victoria Bleortz Anisoara Brinzei Ionela Chiru Cristina Costin Mirela Diaconu Corina Dumitru Alina Elena Galusca Petronela Ghinea Madalina Herrerro de la Conception Cristina Honciuc Maria Mosuti Mirela Palamaru Claudia Pivniceru Raluca Popovici Roxana Postolache Paloma Rogojina Luiza Torboli Ramona Tumurug Romina Turcanu Nicoleta Manolache Mezzo-sopranos: Ana Luminita Adam Ana-Manuela Aradoaie Ioana-Andreea Avram Mihaela Blandu Simona Geta Casiean Mirabela Castillo-Osuna Ramona Maria Chirila Doina Ciornei Carmen Cojocaru Dana Dorosinca Cristina Egyed Ana Giurgica Maria-Cristina Grigoras Malina-Maria Pricop Mirela Raileanu Irina Suditu Angela Timofte Consuela Radu-Taga
Tenors: Radu Dumitru Liviu Muntean Vasile Bucur Radu Casiean Alexandru Darie Eduard-Gabriel Egyed Florin Luchian Alexandru Petraru Gabriel Sandu Costel Radu-Taga Baritones–Bass Laurentiu Anghel Stefan Bejan Bogdan Blandu Alexandru Caziuc Bogdan Carabus Lucian Cilinschi Silviu Cilinschi Nora-Nicolae Ciobotariu Bogdan Cojocariu Lucian Dolhascu Gabriel Adrian Grigoras Cosmin Morariu Stefan Popel Costel Talmaciu
Ad libitum String Quartet Alexandru Tomescu 1st Violin
Șerban Mereuță 2nd Violin
Bogdan Bișoc Viola
Filip Papa Cello
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