George Enescu International Festival

Romania hosts one of the world's most notable international classical music events.

The 26th edition of the George Enescu International Festival opens on Sunday, August 27, in Bucharest's Palace Hall. The event will be held from August 27 to September 24, 2023.

Over 3,500 guest artists will play in 90 performances on the stages of Sala Palatului, Romanian Athenaeum, Sala Radio, Sala Auditorium, and Odeon Theatre over the period of 29 days.

Since 1958, Bucharest has hosted the George Enescu International Festival to commemorate and celebrate the influence, music, and personality of Romanian composer, pianist, violinist, and maestro George Enescu, considered "the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart."

Bucharest will feature concerts by 51 orchestras from 16 nations, 150 soloists, and over 60 conductors as part of the most important creative event Romania has to offer the world: the George Enescu International Music Festival.

The official schedule for this year includes six series of performances, each with a particular topic and adapted to the needs of the venue and its audience.

The Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the French National Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra figure in the major orchestras taking part in this year's edition.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gautier Capucon, Yuja Wang, Klaus Makela, Daniel Hope, Olga Peretyatko, Fazil Say, Avi Avital, Kate Lindsey, Cameron Carpenter, Xavier de Maistre, Jose Cura, David Grimal, Daniel Muller-Schott, Benjamin Kruithof, Maria Marica, Alexandra Segal are the other soloists who will accompany the orchestras.

During the festival, world-class conductors such as Cristian Măcelaru, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Wilson Hermanto, Paavo Jarvi, Delyana Lazarova, Lawrence Foster, and Vladimir Jurowski are scheduled to perform.

According to Agerpres, the theme of this year's edition, "Generosity through music," expresses the composer George Enescu's fundamental values, remembers the George Enescu National Award, established in 1913 by the Romanian composer, and describes new approaches in categories of social involvement, education, training, inclusion, and community contribution, which are unique to this impressive artistic event.

Concerts for Families and Children is a new series this year. The series, an idea of maestro Cristian Măcelaru, will feature four thematic concerts in the Majestic Hall of the Odeon Theatre, which will be featured in the Festival for the first time. The concerts for children and parents are unique experiences aimed to make the works of great composers known to the general public, with programmes expressly developed to promote children's interest in classical music and instruments.

The midnight performances bring together 11 suggestions for unforgettable recitals, similarly on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, this time with a programme ranging from Renaissance and Baroque music to traditional Georgian folklore and improvisational moments.