The International George Enescu Festival in Romania was founded in 1958 and is one of the largest and most renowned festivals for classical music in Europe. The 2023 festival runs from August 27 to September 24, 2023.
After the opening concert on Sunday evening, which is traditionally performed by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the first Monday offers two concerts that are well worth a visit. Jörg and Carolin Widmann will present two of his works for violin and orchestra with the WDR Sinfonieorkester. Also on the menu is an orchestral arrangement of Felix Mendelssohn's Clarinet Sonata, arranged and performed by Jörg Widmann, as well as Mendelssohn's weighty Reformation Symphony.
Later on the first Monday, the venerable honorary chairman of the festival, Zubin Mehta, will conduct Verdi's Otello together with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The soloists are Fabio Sartori and Anastasia Bartoli.
On the following days, it's worth checking out a short Czech Philharmonic series, with highlights including the Lebèque Duo performing Bryce Dessner's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra on Wednesday and Enescu's powerful Vox Maris on Thursday.
Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra will also appear in the first week, performing Mahler's Ninth Symphony on Wednesday and Messiaen's extraordinary Turangalîla Symphony on Thursday. Fans of 20th century music should stay until Friday when Matthias Pinscher and the Ensemble InterContemporain perform the box set of Ligeti Concertos - the sensational trio of late concertos for piano, violin, horn and the eerie concerto for cello.
The first weekend offers a cavalcade of concerts with the Orchestra Nationale du Capitole de Toulouse, the Cameristi della Scala and three Romanian orchestras. Chamber music fans should check out the performance of Mozart's Gran Partita by the Ensemble Zefiro and the piano recital by Fazıl Say on Sunday evening.
In the second week, it is worth paying attention to two chamber orchestra concerts. On Thursday, the East-West Chamber Orchestra will perform with cellist Benjamin Kruithof, winner of the 2022 Enescu Competition.
The second weekend has another tranche of concerts, including visits from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and several chamber and choral events worth exploring. Another highlight will be the visit of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jakub Hrůša with soloist Igor Levit. On Monday, the Viennese will return with music from Enescu, Janáček's suite "The Cunning Little Vixen" and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances.
On the third Monday, we will see Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with the Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera, another opera concert production that the festival has to offer. The third week also sees a visit from Patricia Kopatchinskaja and her experimental chamber orchestra Camerata Bern.
On Tuesday, September 12, the third opera of the festival, a semi-staged version of Britten's Billy Budd, will be performed by the George Enescu Philharmonic under the baton of Hannu Lintu.
A highlight of the third weekend will be Ligeti's crazy (and terrifying) Bruegel-inspired opera Le Grand Macabre, which will be performed together with conductor Arnaud Arbet.
Perhaps the standout event of the entire festival will take place in the fourth week, on Wednesday, September 20, when the Orchestre Nationale de France, together with Le Balcon, the Romanian National Opera Orchestra and Choir and the Romanian Youth Orchestra, will perform Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Maxime Pascal from Le Balcon will conduct and Thomas Oliemans will sing St Francis. A gigantic work of great spiritual depth that is rarely performed, an event not to be missed.
