27/06/2025
🎼 Festivalul Internațional George Enescu / Enescu Festival, unul dintre cele mai importante festivaluri de muzică clasică din lume, ajunge la cea de-a 27-a ediție, în perioada 🗓️ 24 august - 21 septembrie 2025, la 📍București 🇷🇴. Considerat cel mai mare compozitor al României, moștenirea lui ✨ va fi onorată printr-un program excepțional, această ediție de referință marcând 70 de ani de la moartea sa. Pe parcursul celor patru săptămâni de eveniment, publicul va descoperi reflecții asupra operei lui Enescu, precum și influența sa profundă asupra muzicii clasice internaționale.
🪄 Sub conducerea directorului artistic Măcelaru, căruia îi revine pentru a doua oară acest rol în Festivalul Enescu, programul include peste 95 de concerte, prezentând numeroase premiere internaționale și reinterpretări unice ale unor lucrări cheie care dezvăluie rafinamentul muzicii clasice. Programul cuprinde, de asemenea, expoziții, conferințe și un simpozion dedicat lui George Enescu.
🌏 Sunt așteptați să participe aproximativ 4.000 de artiști din 28 de țări, alături de muzicologi, compozitori, studenți și pasionați de muzică clasică. Pe lângă programul principal de la București, în cadrul festivalului, vor avea loc concerte în mai multe orașe din România.
🔜 Descoperă ediția din acest an pe www.festivalenescu.ro
The 27th Edition of the George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest, the World’s Capital of Classical Music
The 27th edition of the George Enescu International Festival, one of the world’s leading classical music festivals, will take place in Bucharest, Romania, from August 24 to September 21, 2025. Under the artistic direction of renowned conductor Cristian Măcelaru, this edition will feature multiple international premieres and landmark interpretations, attracting over 4,000 artists from 28 countries, including world-class orchestras, conductors, and soloists.
The official festival trailer is available here.
A Festival of Celebrations
This edition is dedicated to Celebrations, primarily marking the 70th anniversary of George Enescu's passing. Widely regarded as Romania’s greatest composer, Enescu’s legacy will be honored through an exceptional program featuring over 45 performances of his works, including symphonies, orchestral suites, chamber music, and his masterpiece opera Oedipe, performed by the Bucharest National Opera.
Honoring Musical Masters
Beyond Enescu, the festival will also celebrate major milestones in the lives and works of legendary composers: Maurice Ravel (150 years since his birth), Gabriel Fauré (180 years since his birth), Pierre Boulez (100 years since his birth), Arvo Pärt (90 years since his birth), Johann Sebastian Bach (340 years since his birth), Dmitri Shostakovich (50 years since his passing).
Several prestigious orchestras will also mark their anniversaries during the festival: Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (45 years since its founding), Danish National Symphony Orchestra (100 years of activity), Philharmonia Orchestra (80 years of activity), Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra, Cluj-Napoca (70 years since its founding).
A Gathering of the World’s Finest Orchestras
More than 80 orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles will take part in the 27th edition of George Enescu International Festival, including:
• Orchestre National de France (France) – Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
• Ensemble Intercontemporain (France)
• Les Siècles (France) - Franck Ollu (Sept 2), Ustina Dubitsky (Sept 3), conductors
• Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie (France) - Emmanuel Resche-Caserta, conductor
• Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich (Switzerland) – Paavo Järvi, conductor
• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Netherlands) – Klaus Mäkelä, conductor
• Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Italy) – Daniel Harding, conductor
• Philharmonia Orchestra (UK) – Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UK) – Vasily Petrenko, conductor
• Czech Philharmonic (Czech Republic) – Petr Popelka, conductor
• Staatskapelle Dresden (Germany) – Daniele Gatti, conductor
• Budapest Festival Orchestra (Hungary) – Iván Fischer, conductor
• WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln (Germany) – Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
• George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania) – Arnaud Arbet, conductor
• Romanian Radio National Orchestra (Romania) – Giancarlo Guerrero (14.09), Francesco Ivan Ciampa (21.09), conductors
The Romanian Youth Orchestra will perform alongside the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, while the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, under the baton of Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson. Comprising Ukrainian musicians from around the world, the ensemble symbolizes solidarity with their homeland. This project is the result of a collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Polish National Opera, and Ukraine's Ministry of Culture.
World-Class Soloists
The festival will host some of the most celebrated classical musicians, including violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust, Renaud Capuçon, Nemanja Radulović, Augustin Hadelich, pianists Martha Argerich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Kirill Gerstein, Alexandra Dariescu, Alexandre Kantorow, Nelson Goerner, Rudolf Buchbinder, Sir Andras Schiff, cellists Gautier Capuçon, Kian Soltani, Sol Gabetta, Andrei Ioniță, Alisa Weilerstein or some of the most important soloists of the world opera stage:
• Sopranos: Asmik Grigorian, Sonya Yoncheva, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Kristine Opolais, Julia Lezhneva, Jennifer Holloway, Ailyn Pérez, Elsa Dreisig
• Mezzo-sopranos: Ruxandra Donose, Magdalena Kožená, Judit Kutasi, Ramona Zaharia
• Tenors: Benjamin Bernheim, Maximilian Schmitt, Benjamin Hulett, Paul Curievici, Leonardo Cortellazzi
• Bass, Baritones: Iain Paterson, Ionuț Pascu, Bogdan Baciu, Frode Olsen, Vazgen Gazaryan, Soloman Howard
Iconic Concert Venues
The 27th edition of the George Enescu International Festival offers a comprehensive cultural experience, bringing together the world’s greatest orchestras, conductors, and soloists for an extraordinary celebration of classical music. Concerts will take place in seven iconic venues, each with its own unique history and atmosphere, all within walking distance in the heart of Bucharest:
The Romanian Athenaeum, a true jewel of neoclassical and eclectic architecture, the Romanian Athenaeum – home of the George Enescu Philharmonic – is one of the most beautiful concert halls, awarded the European Heritage Label, and a beloved symbol of Bucharest.
The Radio Hall, a premier concert venue and recording studio, is home to the Romanian Radio National Orchestras and Choirs, renowned for its exceptional acoustics and hosting world-class musicians and performances.
The Palace Hall (Sala Palatului) is acoustically transformed into an impressive concert venue, with a capacity of 3,000 seats, during the Enescu Festival.
The Bucharest National Opera was inaugurated in 1921 with a performance of Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, conducted by George Enescu. The current venue was completed in 1953. It features a grand façade, a luxurious interior, and seats 952 spectators.
Odeon Theatre, built in the interwar period, features Sala Majestic, the only one in Europe with a sliding ceiling.
MINA Museum is the first immersive space in Romania and the largest new media art center in Southeastern Europe.
The Auditorium Hall of the National Museum of Art of Romania. The museum, founded in 1950 in the former Royal Palace, features an extensive art collection of grand European Masters Located in central Bucharest, and is surrounded by historic landmarks.
Beyond these seven iconic venues, the 27th edition of the George Enescu International Festival extends its reach to over 15 cultural spaces across Romania, including Timișoara, Sibiu, Iași, Craiova, Constanța, Târgu Mureș, Brașov, and Cluj-Napoca, bringing classical music to a wider audience and reaffirming its status as one of the world’s premier classical music festivals.
A Festival for All: From Enthusiasts to New Discoverers
Beyond the highly affordable tickets available to young audiences with a student card, the festival offers a special program dedicated to them - Enescu in Control.
This unique series brings four electrifying concerts to Control Club, one of Bucharest’s trendiest venues, famous for its live music scene and vibrant atmosphere. Held every Wednesday evening during the festival, these performances will offer a bold reinterpretation of George Enescu’s music, blending classical mastery with contemporary influences in an unexpected and fresh way. Enescu’s legacy will be reimagined through innovative collaborations, mixing traditional sounds with modern genres, creating a one-of-a-kind musical experience that bridges the past and the future.
One of the festival’s most innovative projects is the Enescu - JTI Immersive Experience series, a spectacular fusion of music, dance, and visual effects. Hosted at the MINA - Museum of Immersive New Art, every Thursday and Friday, these complex shows will feature world-class musicians alongside a captivating dance performance directed by Gigi Căciuleanu, one of the most influential contemporary choreographers. This series of events will also showcase stunning visual effects, developed in collaboration with the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) from Stanford University, California.
The festival also welcomes its youngest music lovers with a delightful series of four children’s concerts, held every Sunday at the Odeon Theatre. These performances aim to spark curiosity and passion for classical music in the next generation.
For the complete schedule, visit www.festivalenescu.ro
Tickets for the George Enescu International Festival can be purchased online via Eventim.ro. Tickets are available in six categories: VIP: 280 lei (≈ €56.25), category 1: 250 lei (≈ €50.23), category 2: 200 lei (≈ €40.18), category 3: 150 lei (≈ €30.14), category 4: 120 lei (≈ €24.11), discounted tickets for students/pensioners: 90 lei (≈ €18.08).
About the George Enescu International Festival
The George Enescu International Festival is one of the most important classical music events worldwide, organized since 1958. The 27th edition of the festival will take place between August 24 and September 21, 2025, marking 70 years since the death of the great composer and musician George Enescu. The theme of this year's edition is Celebrations and the festival program will feature over 95 concerts performed by more than 4,000 of the world's most renowned artists, highlighting both Enescu's artistic legacy and his profound impact on universal classical music.
The George Enescu International Festival is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania
Organizer: ARTEXIM
Co-organizer: ArtProduction Foundation
Co-producers: Romanian Radio Broadcasting Society, Romanian Television Society, Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB – Cultural Center of Bucharest Municipality
Main partners: Rompetrol – KMG International, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, JTI – Immersive Experience: innovation partner, Lexus: mobility partner
Partners: Purcari, FERRERO, Mobexpert, One United Properties, ORANGE, Nazzuro Aqua, L’OR, Althaus, Liliana and Peter Ilica Foundation, Senia Music
With the support of: BIGOTTI, Tuca Zbarcea si Asociatii, SANADOR
Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST
Tickets: www.eventim.ro
The organizers reserve the right to make changes to the programs. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the official website of the George Enescu International Festival at www.festivalenescu.ro.