I count myself to the category of performers who do not deem themselves as conductor-addicted, nevertheless, it is hard for me to clarify the feeling I sense when I assert this. Maybe, it is a matter of tribute to the Lord, to Whose unique credit destiny willed that I master the piano – the queen among instruments – to such a degree that any development on the planks, however difficult, should conjure up a reserve of self-esteem, cardinal in mastering myself. It is probably the reason why, over the years served on the boards of the concert hall, I was enabled to secure that amount of fulfillment defining of artistic success, regardless of the "conducting hand" at my side. I have, to the best of my abilities, tried to respond to the gestures – be they ample or compendious, emphatic or mild, acute or circular – to the arms, be they in a perfect coupling with the fingers or, on the contrary, seemingly disjoint, to the lofty or bent silhouettes, in a balanced, lithe dance, or, perhaps, in a staccato, which impregnated the movement with an infinite array of postures, from the elegant to the grotesque… The countless times I have felt envious of a sketcher who, in a sprinkling of lines, can capture a world of expression!What has always touched me with these characters (with whom, for a long-hourly interval onstage, I tried to create "a thing" called an artistic message), was the drop of perspiration rebelling across their brooding expressions, a sibling to my dampened brow, both a living proof of the joint effort in the loyal service of the same art. I have to admit that, not with all those who have been on the podium during my concerts, have I established a yearned-for communication, quite the contrary – I have experienced moments of personality clashes as well. Nevertheless, from each and every one there was something to learn. And, all the episodes confirmed that, however intimate and independent a performer might be, the instant the baton is lifted, the direction of the ensuing event entirely reverts to the conductor. A conductor, in his plight, may heighten or lower the quality of the entire human apparatus he drives in its fleeting action. Therefore, if one, as a performer, feels unfettered and full of gumption on stage, if one feels solitary and unbound in the spectacular world of sounds, one should not forget that the credit partly goes to somebody who aristocratically and discreetly buttresses one's intentions, by investing faith. And, with all the fair-play one can sport, one should address him with a well-earned: "THANK YOU, MAESTRO"! June 2003
GEORGETA STOLERIU A distinctive presence in Romanian musical life, the soprano Georgeta Stoleriu marks a prominent appearance on the boards of concert halls and is a prestigious canto professor at the University of Music in Bucharest.A laureate of the International Contest "J. S. Bach" in Leipzig, as well as of several national prizes, such as the prize of the College of Music Critics (1984), the prize of Flacara magazine (1994), Georgeta Stoleriu was bestowed, for her highly distinguished activity, the medals: George Enescu, Dinu Lipatti, Darclée, Tristan Tzara.Throughout her career, she has participated in international festivals in Bydgoszcsz –Poland (1972), Zadar – Yugoslavia (1977), Sanssouci – Potsdam (1977), Bremen – Germany (1988), and "George Enescu" – Bucharest (1976, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2001), Milwaukee, Wisconsin – USA (1992), Santander – Spain (1995), Dortmund – Germany (2000).She has performed on many stages in: Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, the SlovakRepublic, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Morocco, USA, France, Portugal.Countless times she has worked with the Philharmonic Orchestra "George Enescu", the ensemble of the Romanian Broadcasting House, as well as with the rest of symphonic orchestras in the country, in her symphonic-vocal repertoire.An impassioned performer of old music, she collaborated, as early as 1969, with the ensemble "Musica rediviva", and then became a founding member of the specialized group "The Old Music Studio", with which she has given many event performances in the country and abroad.She has recorded over 3500 minutes of music for the radio, for the record companies Electrecord and Edi Pan-Italia, and has made 100 first auditions.The will to pass on her artistry and experience to the next generation has led to Georgeta Stoleriu's designating precious time and passion to her tutoring activity: she is a highly-esteemed canto professor at the National University of Music in Bucharest, and the results are 52 international prizes won by her students. The additional accreditation of her merits is constituted by her membership to juries in national and international competitions, as well as by the invitation to give lectures on mastership in our country, in the Republic of Moldova, the CzechRepublic, and the United States.
by Georgeta Stoleriu
