How was the 4th edition of Concerts on Siret

Radio Romania Music has always supported us, even from the first days of the campaign to save the house. We had a small problem, so to say, a problem that unfortunately is common in more and more old houses made of clay, stone or brick, a fungus, a biological attack, but we will solve it. We hope to get rid of this by the fall. Of course, we still need some money, so all donations to the „Pro Patrimonio” Foundation are welcome. This year we marked Enescu Day on August 19 with a blue and red „supermoon” and an exceptional ensemble of children from Havârna playing folk games and music, but the concerts are being held at the „Miclescu” Manor House in Călinești and the „Moruzi” Manor House in Vârful Câmpului. We already had a very nice concert on Wednesday – a recital of arias and lieder, I also sang a solo, but the „focus” was on the exceptional soprano Tehmine Schaeffer, who came especially from Vienna. And on Sunday – the final concert of the young masterclass participants. Also, in September there will be another concert at the „Moruzi” mansion in Vârful Câmpului, a concert by the „PlaCello” Ensemble, also from Bucharest, with Răzvan Suma, Ștefan Cazacu, Mircea Marian and Ella Bokor, four cellists with a very beautiful program.

Between August 17-25 you are mentoring a young generation of pianists, as you said, students from music colleges in Botoșani, Suceava, Iași, Bacău, Piatra-Neamț and Bucharest. How do you go about working with these trainee performers?

The number 9 seems to have become the magic number in our masterclass, because we start at 9 and finish at 9 and we work about nine hours a day. Unlike other courses, I do the courses the way I like to do them, so that each child has one hour of class every day, so seven hours on paper which works out well towards eight to nine hours. We mainly work on new programs that they are just figuring out now in the summer for next year, but we also work on a concert piece that they already have well worked on from the previous year.

What kind of audience do the events in the „Concerts on the Siret” series have?

We are very happy that the audience is getting bigger and more varied. There are also people from the local area, who enjoy it tremendously. We have a lot of music lovers from Botoșani, Iași, Bacău, Piatra-Neamț, and the audience is getting bigger every year. This is already our fourth edition and we hope to grow over time.

What future plans are there for the „George Enescu” house from Mihăileni?

The house in Mihăileni will simply be a living place, a place where music is made and not just music, but also music education, a wide variety of activities dedicated to young people and children in the area – from painting to theatre, crafts. The „Pro Patrimonio” Foundation and the „Maria” Association, and I must also mention the „Dream Horses” Association, are basically the initiators, partners and supporters of these projects. They are very much involved. When the work to eliminate this biological attack is finished, the activities will continue without interruption. It is also a home where one can live, write, compose and create very well and with great inspiration. It is a place where various musical residencies have already taken place, so musicians have lived there – a string quartet. I would like to organize a small symposium in the future, maybe, or in the same way, residencies in other fields – in literature or architecture… because it’s a place that really charges you up!”