One of the most acclaimed and celebrated pianists in the world, Martha Argerich returns to the stage of the George Enescu International Festival for two performances of outstanding artistic caliber.
On Sunday, August 31, 2025, at 7:30 PM, Martha Argerich will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 at the Grand Hall of the Palace, accompanied by the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, under the baton of conductor Daniel Harding. The evening’s program also includes Pastorale-Fantaisie by George Enescu and Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 by Johannes Brahms.
On Monday, September 15, 2025, at 4:30 PM, Martha Argerich will return to the Enescu Festival stage, this time at the Romanian Athenaeum, to perform Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major under the baton of renowned conductor Charles Dutoit, alongside the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. This will be one of the festival’s main events celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great French composer. The evening’s program will also include Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye and Valses Nobles et Sentimentales M.61, along with Claude Debussy’s symphonic triptych La Mer, L. 109.
For Martha Argerich, the piano is second nature. Her spiritual fusion with the keyboard is intrinsic, the sound fluid seems to emerge from the very soul of the artist, and her message is conveyed with charm. These are the emotions that have captivated audiences in a delicate and ethereal interpretation, executed with a touch of genius, of Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 by Beethoven.
— Costin Popa, musicologist
About Martha Argerich
The legendary pianist Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Considered a child prodigy, it was not long before she started performing concerts and recitals regularly. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna, and Switzerland with Bruno Seidlhofer, Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Madeleine Lipatti, and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions, followed by the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1965. Since then, she has been regarded as one of the most prominent pianists in the world, both in terms of artistic skills and popularity.
Although her temperament often led her toward the virtuosic masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries, Martha Argerich commands a vast repertoire that includes works by Bach, Bartók, Beethoven, and Messiaen, as well as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky.
Martha Argerich has recorded for EMI, Sony, Philips, Teldec, and DGG, with many of her performances broadcast on television worldwide. She has also been awarded multiple Grammy Awards, as well as the Gramophone Award for Artist of the Year in 1999.
About Conductor Charles Dutoit
The renowned conductor Charles Dutoit has received two of the most prestigious distinctions in the musical world: in 2017, the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society, becoming the 103rd laureate since the medal’s establishment in 1870, and the “Premio Una Vita Nella Musica 2022” from Teatro La Fenice in Venice. In 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Classical Music Awards, and in 2017, the Gold Medal of the City of Lausanne, his birthplace. His over 200 recordings have earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards.
At just 20 years old, Charles Dutoit was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Vienna State Opera. He went on to conduct at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Rome Opera, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
Dutoit was the Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, the National Orchestra of France from 1991 to 2001, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003, currently serving as its Conductor Emeritus. Between 2009 and 2018, he was the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
He has had an artistic collaboration with The Philadelphia Orchestra spanning 32 years and over 700 concerts and has frequently performed with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as in London, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Moscow, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
About Conductor Daniel Harding
Esteemed conductor Daniel Harding is the Music Director of the Orchestra and Choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He is also the Artistic and Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Harding made his debut in 1994 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as an assistant to Sir Simon Rattle. The following season, he was an assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic. From 2007 to 2017, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and between 2016 and 2019, he served as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris.
Harding has been named Conductor Laureate for Life of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with which he has collaborated for over 20 years. He regularly works with leading orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Symphony, La Scala Philharmonic, and major U.S. orchestras, including those of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the George Enescu International Festival concerts can be purchased online via Eventim.ro (https://www.cts.eventim.ro/artist/festivalul-george-enescu) and in physical format at Carrefour hypermarkets and Cărturești and Humanitas bookstores.
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Tickets for the concert at the Grand Hall of the Palace:
- VIP: 280 lei
- Category 1: 250 lei
- Category 2: 200 lei
- Category 3: 150 lei
- Category 4: 120 lei
- Reduced tickets for students/seniors: 90 lei
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Tickets for the concert at the Romanian Athenaeum:
- Category 1: 280 lei
- Category 2: 250 lei
- Reduced tickets for students/seniors: 120 lei
Organizers reserve the right to modify the programs. For the latest updates, please visit the official George Enescu International Festival website: http://www.festivalenescu.ro.