World Premiere at Bucharest in the Opening Concert of the Enescu Competition
Symphony No. 1 “Consolations” by Korean composer Shin Kim, the winning piece of the Composition Section of the 2022 Enescu Competition, will have its world premiere in Bucharest at the Opening Concert of the 19th George Enescu International Competition, under the baton of conductor Delyana Lazarova. The event will take place on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Romanian Athenaeum.
Accompanied by the National Radio Orchestra, Maria Marica (violin), Benjamin Kruithof (cello), and Alexandra Segal (piano) – winners of the 18th edition of the George Enescu International Competition – will perform Paul Constantinescu’s Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano, and Orchestra.
On Saturday, August 31, 2024, the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition will open at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. This event is held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and funded by the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Culture.
Bulgarian conductor Delyana Lazarova will lead the National Radio Orchestra at the competition’s opening concert, featuring soloists Maria Marica (violin), Benjamin Kruithof (cello), and Alexandra Segal (piano), the winners of the previous edition of the George Enescu International Competition.
The evening program will open with a world premiere: Symphony No. 1 “Consolations” for orchestra, composed by Korean Shin Kim, winner of the Enescu Competition’s Symphony Music Prize. In his works, Shin Kim distinguishes three major themes: religion, narrative, and psychological phenomena, paying great attention to making classical-contemporary symphonic music accessible to a wide audience.
“Consolations,” the first symphony by the Korean composer, is a profound emotional journey reflecting the dark and heavy realities of human life, but also the light of hope and consolation that comes despite these obstacles. With five distinct movements, the symphony explores the full spectrum of human experiences, from pain and suffering to hope and inner peace. “Hymnus Caelestis,” the final movement, concludes the symphony with a celestial hymn, bringing light and peace to this musical journey.
Born in South Korea, composer Shin Kim (29) is currently a master’s student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, studying under Dr. Rubens Askenar. Previously, he studied at the Korea National University of Arts with Byung-moo Lee and was a student of Karlheinz Essl at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna for a year. A winner of two of Europe’s most important composition competitions, the Enescu Competition and the Geneva Competition, Shin Kim is a member of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), South Korean Section, and composer-in-residence of the ensemble SONOR XXI.
The Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano, and Orchestra, performed by the three young soloists of the evening, was composed in 1963, the last year of composer Paul Constantinescu’s life, and is one of the landmark works of Romanian composition.
In addition to his symphonic, chamber, and vocal music, Paul Constantinescu (1909-1963) also composed several film scores, including for “A Stormy Night” (1952), “A Lost Letter” (1953), and “The Lucky Mill” (1956). The first recording of the Triple Concerto featured Valentin Gheorghiu on piano, Ștefan Gheorghiu on violin – winners of the award for the best performance of George Enescu’s Third Sonata for Violin and Piano in 1958 – and Radu Aldulescu on cello. Maestro Iosif Conta conducted the National Radio Orchestra.
The evening will conclude with “Romanian Poem,” written by George Enescu when he was only 16 years old. The first performance of “Romanian Poem” took place in Paris on February 6, 1898. Through this work, the musician already crossed the threshold of maturity: “It is indeed astonishing to observe the remarkable orchestral science mastered by this young man, who is only 16 years old. It is a work that could have been signed by a master […]. He created a personal work, which is a great rarity of our time.” (in Nouvelle Revue Parisienne, Paris, 12.02.1898). “From the first stroke, this young man created a masterful work and was warmly celebrated.” (A. Boisard, in Le Monde Illustré, Paris, 19.02.1898).
The vast repertoire of conductor Delyana Lazarova has been influenced by her international musical education: she studied violin at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana with Mauricio Fuks and conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts with Johannes Schlaefli. After winning the inaugural edition of the Siemens Hallé International Conducting Competition, she held the positions of assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra and music director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra from 2020 to 2023.
In 2024, at the invitation of Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, Lazarova will take the stage of the Enescu Festival conducting the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra. She then opened the season of the Tiroler Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck and will soon make her debut with the Bordeaux National Orchestra, the BBC Symphony and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras, the Dresden Philharmonic, and the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin.
Violinist Maria Marica is the winner of the 2022 edition of the George Enescu International Competition, and in June of the same year, she won the New Hope Grand Prix Competition in Cluj-Napoca. Marica has performed throughout Romania, as well as in France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and the United States, and in November 2023, her recital at the Romanian Athenaeum was included in the European Broadcasting Union’s Young Top Performers series. She has given chamber recitals alongside great performers such as Marc Coppey, David Grimal, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Solenne Païdassi, Philippe Cassard, among others.
During last year’s George Enescu International Festival, Maria Marica performed Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra at the Romanian Athenaeum alongside pianist Alexandra Segal, also a winner of the George Enescu International Competition. Maria Marica plays a violin made by Auguste Sébastien Philippe Bernardel in 1845, obtained through a private loan.
Benjamin Kruithof is emerging as a top instrumentalist of his generation. The winner of the 2022 George Enescu International Competition, the cellist received the Rising Star title from the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) for the 2024-2025 season, being nominated by the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Philharmonie Luxembourg. In November 2023, Benjamin Kruithof received the Audience Award from Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
As a soloist, his most significant recent and upcoming appearances include concerts with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford, and the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra. He has given recitals at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Gasteig in Munich, Kings Place in London, and the Salle Cortot in Paris, and Romanian audiences could see him last year at the George Enescu International Festival alongside the East-West Chamber Orchestra.
Pianist Alexandra Segal is the winner of the 2022 George Enescu International Competition and laureate of numerous international competitions. The Israeli-Ukrainian artist enjoys a rich activity, giving concerts in the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel, Romania, Austria, Poland, Croatia, and Ukraine. She has performed in several prestigious venues, such as KKL Luzern, the Romanian Athenaeum, Sala Verdi, the Kyiv Philharmonic, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and has been broadcast live on national radio and television stations in Romania, Israel, and Ukraine.
Segal has performed with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Kiev Chamber Orchestra, the Dogma Chamber Orchestra, the Donetsk Philharmonic Orchestra, the Elblag Chamber Orchestra, the Raanana Symphonette, and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductors such as Avi Ostrowsky, Yoav Talmi, Kensho Watanabe, and Vag Papian.
TICKET INFORMATION:
For this year’s edition of the George Enescu International Competition, classical music lovers can purchase both individual tickets for each concert and 3 types of subscriptions, with prices starting at 60 lei.
Tickets and subscriptions for the concerts and recitals organized within the George Enescu International Competition can be purchased from the ticketing platform www.eventim.ro, as well as in physical format from Cărturești Bookstores, Humanitas Bookstores, Carrefour, and Good2Go stores.
Symphonic Concert Subscription (5 concerts) Category 1 – 800 lei Category 2 – 640 lei
Recital Subscription (6 recitals) Category 1 – 720 lei Category 2 – 576 lei
General Subscription for Recitals and Symphonic Concerts (11 events) Category 1 – 1370 lei Category 2 – 1100 lei Category 2 with 50% discount for students, pensioners – 550 lei
Individual tickets for symphonic concerts (price/concert) Category 1 – 200 lei Category 2 – 160 lei Category 2 with 50% discount for students, pensioners – 80 lei
Individual tickets for recitals (price/recital) Category 1 – 150 lei Category 2 – 120 lei Category 2 with 50% discount for students, pensioners – 60 lei
Students, pupils, and teachers of music schools and universities across the country benefit from free access with their school and service ID, subject to availability.
Additionally, people with disabilities and their companions benefit from free access, subject to availability, in accordance with the law.
The organizers are not responsible for tickets and subscriptions purchased from other unofficial ticketing platforms.
The organizers of the George Enescu International Competition offer free access to the preliminary stages of all instrumental sections of the competition, which will take place at the National University of Music in Bucharest from September 1 to 18, 2024, and to the semifinals, which will take place at the Romanian Athenaeum on September 8 (cello), September 14 (violin), and September 20 (piano), without prior registration being required.
The George Enescu International Competition is held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.
Cultural project funded by the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Culture.
Organizer: ARTEXIM
Co-organizer: ArtProduction Foundation
Co-producers: Romanian Radio Broadcasting Society, Romanian Television Society, Bucharest Municipality – ARCUB
Main partner: Rompetrol
Partners: Purcari, Senia Music, La Mama, Althaus, SANADOR
Institutional partners: Romanian Cultural Institute, George Enescu Philharmonic, National University of Music Bucharest
Legal services partner: Țuca Zbârcea & Associates
Mobility partner: Blue
Supported by: Romanian Association of Luthiers, Paradigma Film, Bucharest Airports National Company
Monitoring partner: MediaTrust