The Romanian Athenaeum is a “European Heritage Mark”. And the Philharmonic will be up to his standards

How can it be the coolest news of the week about the Romanian Athenaeum? Well, I’ll tell you how. The Athenaeum, which every Romanian knows, received the distinction of “European Heritage Label”, awarded by the European Commission. This distinction became a strong enough motivation to discover, from now on, the people of the Athenaeum, yes, the people of the Athenaeum who make the orchestra and choir called the Philharmonic.

It is not known how, between so many “Enescu” Festivals and so many tourist trips, the people of the Athenaeum remained in the shadows. Strange effect. They have become slightly relevant. Maybe the politically appointed leadership for years has contributed to this, who knows?

Marin Cazacu, the cellist, recently became the head of the Athenaeum. Art has finally crushed politics. But the cellist who became the boss did something else. He wanted to bring to light the other instruments with which he suffered through the dungeons of the Athenaeum. And now the first step is taken. Marin Cazacu announced that the Philharmonic will be in European light thanks to the upcoming concerts.

Here’s how it sounds next year: “The legendary conductor Charles Dutoit, whose career of over 50 years has taken him to all the great stages of the world, the popular violinist Renaud Capuçon, as soloist and conductor, as well as the conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, who will give a grand romantic score – Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi, with one of the world’s most acclaimed opera basses, Roberto Scandiuzzi, in the cast. The British Daniel Hope and the Russian Vadim Repin complete the list of illustrious violinists who will appear for the first time in the FGE season, with the lesser-known Benjamin Britten Concerto, respectively with a classical page from the 20th century repertoire – Concert no. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Some of the musical works presented in the next season will be real events: the concert operas Ora Spaniolă by Maurice Ravel (conducted by Maxim Pascal) and Elektra by Richard Strauss (premiered at the Ateneum), under the baton of Christian Badea, the monumental Symphony no. 2 by Gustav Mahler with Vasily Petrenko (music director of the Royal London Philharmonic), Symphony no. 3, “Kaddish” by Leonard Bernstein (at the lectern, Alexandre Bloch, music director of the National Orchestra of Lille) but also Matthaeus-Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach, considered the most impressive oratorio ever composed, conducted by Gabriel Bebeșelea.”

“The initiative was presented on Thursday, April 25, 2024, during a meeting with friends of the Philharmonic” by Marin Cazacu and Oana Marinescu, who took over the reins of the rebranding of the Athenaeum and the Philharmonic. And we will have a reborn Philharmonic (young talents have been and are being hired for the orchestra and choir), there will be new technological equipment (ventilation, video transmissions, etc.). And we will have rebranding. And the Romanian Athenaeum will be the “cultural heart of Bucharest”. Doesn’t all of this make for the best news of the week? The Romanian Athenaeum has a history (since 1889). It’s time for the Philharmonic (orchestra and choir) to take the stage and write history. Let’s remember the moment: April 27, 2024.

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