Over 200 candidates from 5 continents join the 14th edition of the George Enescu International Competition (6-27 September, Bucharest). The most numerous candidates are at the Piano Section, a total of 81, while for the Violin Section 64 candidates have registered and for the Cello Section, 34. The rest of the participants registered for the Composition Section. The increasing trend is visible: the number of competitors registered at this edition of the Enescu Competition is 20% above the 2011 edition.
Candidates registered for this edition of the George Enescu International Competition, which takes place between 6 and 27 September in Bucharest (Romania) and opens doors for artists all over the world, are from 35 countries: Romania, Germany, SUA, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Russia South Korea, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Moldova, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, China, Estonia, Switzerland, Italy, Georgia, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Australia and Austria.
28 cadidates are from Romania, 23 from Russia, 21 from South Korea, 16 from Japan, 8 from the United States, 8 from France, 6 from Germany and 3 from China.
At the Composition Section 41 works are subscribed.
The number of competitors may be on the rise during the next days, as the envelopes with applications continue to arrive at the organizer’s office, the accepted deadline for post being 1 July.
The number of applications for this edition of the Enescu Competition, a total of 220 at present, has increased compared to the 2011 edition of the Competition with 20%, back then the official number being 183.
„Romania matters on the international musical market! This is well proven by the Enescu Competition: this is an event that offers young artists the possibility to start a musical career recognized at an international level. With a tradition of launching artists that are great names of the classical musical world today, the Enescu Competition along with the Enescu Festival strengthens the importance of Romania’s place on the cultural international market. Furthermore, the high number of subscriptions is a proof that the Enescu Competition is growing into an event itself, as this is the first edition when the Competition is organized apart from the Enescu Festival”, states Mihai Constantinescu, Executive Director of the Enescu Competition and Festival.
The deadline for applications was July 1.
For the first time in the Enescu Competition’s history, apart from the total value of the prizes – over 100.000 Euro – , the laureates of the Competition have the opportunity to join a master class with one of the most important musicians of today’s classical music scene at the prestigious International Academy of Vienna, as well as the possibility to perform on the main concert venues in Romania, alongside top Romanian orchestras.
The Competition is proud to use The Romanian Athenaeum and The National Music University – both symbolic places of Bucharest – as the performance venues for the preliminary stages of the Competition. The final concerts will be performed at The Romanian Athenaeum, with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra.
The George Enescu International Competition was officially established in September 1958, accompanying George Enescu International Festival in its debut. Since its first editions, and moreover after the Fall of Communism, George Enescu International Competition has become one of the most prestigious European events of its kind, placing Romania on the map of the internationally recognized and highly praised classical music competitions.
Over the years, Yehudi Menuhin and Arthur Rubinstein graced the Enescu Competition with their judgment.
Intended as a natural extension of the George Enescu Festival, the most important international cultural event organized by Romania and a true national cultural brand, George Enescu International Competition brings back into the limelight the values of George Enescu himself, the only Romanian composer whose music belongs to the universal cultural heritage, believed in - creativity, originality and generosity.
George Enescu Competition's worth and stature on the international classical music stage are also reinforced by the international caliber of the jurors who adjudicate in the sections of the Competition. Among the distinguished personalities who graced with their judgment the George Enescu Competition over the years are Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrach, Claudio Arrau, Sir John Barbirolli, Jean Absil, Nadia Boulanger, Arthur Rubinstein, Sidney Harth, Michèle Auclair, Dmitri Tziganov, Eugene List, Lola Bobescu, Lawrence Foster, Silvia Marcovici, Ileana Cotrubaş, Viorica Cortez, Ioan Holender, Hideko Udagawa, Trygve Nordwall, Dmitri Sitkovetsky - to name just a few.
