The world in harmony (the world in harmony) was the theme of the 2019 edition of the biennial International George Enescu Festival, which took place between August 32 and September 22 in Bucharest under the artistic direction of Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski.
During that period, the most prestigious musicians and ensembles took turns, often performing at a rate of three or four concerts per day, primarily to be heard in the Sala Palatului (the grand concert hall) and in the more intimate Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Roman) where even 'midnight concerts' were held. The list of musicians and orchestras is impressive: world-class orchestras, celebrated chamber music ensembles and vocal and instrumental soloists captivate the eager audience. This audience comes primarily from Bucharest itself but also from other cities that are even tangentially involved with the festival.
Berlin Philharmonic opens, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam closes festival
The repertoire presented is large and varied: baroque and classical, contemporary and experimental. Concertante operas alternate with large symphonic works, song recitals with instrumental chamber music, and of course works by George Enescu, the great Romanian composer (1881-1955), are regularly featured. His Rhapsody No. 2 performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko opened the festival, His Concert overture on popular Romanian themes by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Tugan Sokhiev closed it. But in between there were many other Enescu compositions to be heard, performed among others by the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
During the three full days I was able to immerse myself in the Enescu festival, I attended a concert in the beautiful hall of the Athenaeum by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo conducted by Maxim Vengerov, who also performed as a soloist violinist in an Enescu and Tchaikovsky program, together with cellist Gautier Capuçon. Both musicians played with great dedication, Capuçon with a delightful, shimmering warm tone, solidly accompanied by the orchestra. But when the orchestra then performed Tchaikovsky's The conductor had the youthful orchestra firmly in hand, which was evident among other things from the premature full applause after the first and third movements. It became even more apparent at the end: an encore was absolutely demanded, and the audience got it with a repeat of the finale of the third movement of this symphony. the sound seemed somewhat confined within the walls of the relatively small space which was actually designed by the festival for recitals and chamber music.
Sir Bryn Terfel
This became even more apparent in the special program built around the charming Welsh baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, also accompanied by the orchestra from Monte Carlo. The orchestra could barely fit on the relatively small stage. Bryn Terfel and conductor Gareth Jones had to laboriously make their way through the musicians, and when the orchestra unleashed Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, the limited space clearly hindered the development of the sound. But that was quickly forgotten once Sir Bryn appeared on stage and had the audience, so to speak, eating out of his hand. With Hans Sachs' reverie What fragrance doth the lilac have from Wagner's The Meistersingers of Nuremberg he set the tone. The conviviality turned to emotion and authority in Wotan's Farewell from The Valkyrie only to shift into the hubris of Boito's Mefistofele.
Through Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera Terfel then found his way to musicals such as South Pacific and The Fiddler on the Roof. He knew how to deliver every number perfectly, played to the crowd's reactions, and gave them a wonderful time thanks to his precious voice, great interpretive skill, and warmth. Conductor Gareth Jones and the orchestra clearly enjoyed themselves, and the audience could barely bring themselves to let him go.
A very different mood prevailed at the performance of the Kremerata Baltica conducted by Gidon Kremer. This time the ensemble and program fit perfectly in the Athenaeum. On that program were compositions by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Dinu Lipatti, and George Enescu. Gidon Kremer was a passionate champion of the sometimes difficult Weinberg compositions, including his Symphony No. 10 which Kremer performed as violinist and conductor. Pascal and Ami Rogé provided virtuosic piano playing in Dinu Lipatti's Symphonie concertante .
Midnight…
Also at the Athenaeum were the Midnight Concerts featuring much Baroque music and concert opera, as well as a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic's Twelve Cellists (ten men and two women) who performed Fauré and Boris Blacher, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla with equal mastery. I was ready at half past ten for a semi-staged performance of Beethoven's Leonore, the first version of his Fidelio, conducted by René Jacobs leading the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Zurich Sing-Akademie, and featuring Birgitte Christensen (Leonore), Robin Johannsen (Marzelline), Christian Immler (Rocco), Johannes Weisser (Don Pizarro), Torben Jürgens (Don Fernando), and Nikolaus Pfannkuch (Jaquino). It was a performance very much in the style René Jacobs has regularly presented at Bozar, and here it was quite cramped on the small stage.
The singers circulated skillfully through the orchestra rows, spoke their dialogue and sang their vocal parts, creating a theatrical experience together with the disciplined choir. René Jacobs oversaw everything from his conductor's podium and saw that it was good. The audience remained attentive until well after midnight!
In the grand concert hall of the Palatului where one large symphony orchestra followed another, I heard the Russian State Academic Symphony OrchestraEvgandy Svetlanov conducted by Vladimir Jurowski in a particularly austere yet effective manner De Profundis, an intriguing, captivating and moving composition by Alexey Retinsky (b. 1986). Alexandra Silocea's virtuosic interpretation of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 and a fine performance of Enescu's Symphony No. 2 rounded out the program. The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra took the stage the following day and performed under Vasily Petrenko's baton a symphonic poem by Oyvind Torvund and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. Leif Ove Andsnes performed Grieg's Piano Concerto Op. 16 and the packed hall erupted in cheers.
- WHATInternational George Enescu Festival
- WHERE & WHEN: Bucharest September 11, 12 and 13
- PHOTOS: © Andrada Pavel, © Cătălina Filip, © Alex Damiand
