Sitkovetsky, Răduțiu, Geniušas Perform at George Enescu Competition

The famous violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky, President of the Jury for the violin section of the George Enescu International Competition, the 19th edition, will give an exceptional recital today, September 6, 2024, at 19:00 on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, together with the well-known cellist of Romanian origin Valentin Răduțiu and pianist Lukas Geniušas. The event is part of the Series of recitals that the Enescu Competition offers to the music-loving public during the international competition.

The program of the event will include Sonata in A minor for arpeggione and piano D. 821, Sonata in A major for violin and piano D. 574 and Trio no. 1 in B flat major op. 99 by Franz Schubert.

Emblematic personality and President of the Violin Section of the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition, Dmitry Sitkovetsky is an artist whose career spans more than four decades. Sitkovetsky is world-renowned as a violinist, conductor, creator, arranger and facilitator, and his illustrious career as a violinist is documented in a discography of over 40 recordings that reflects the impressive breadth of his repertoire. The discs were recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, with Sitkovetsky joined by legendary artists such as Colin Davis, Mariss Jansons, Neville Marriner and Yehudi Menuhin.

Sitkovetsky has performed with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Leipzig, New York Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1990, Sitkovetsky founded the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra (NES) – which brings together the most distinguished string players from the best European ensembles, both from the Russian and Western musical worlds.

Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s name has also become synonymous with the art of transcription. His iconic versions for orchestra and string trio of Bach’s Goldberg Variations took on a character of their own. Following this unprecedented success, he went on to arrange over 50 landmark works by composers such as Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Schnittke and Shostakovich.

Laureate of the George Enescu International Competition in 2011, Valentin Răduțiu is considered “one of the most talented cellists of our time” and was praised by the Süddeutsche Zeitung for his “bright, distinctive and exciting male sound”.

Răduțiu has performed with ensembles such as the Berlin German Symphony Orchestra, the Saarbrücken German Broadcasting Philharmonic, the MDR Leipzig and SWR Stuttgart symphony orchestras, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, the German Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra from Bremen, the “George Enescu” Philharmonic and National Radio Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Württemberg Heilbronn Chamber Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic and World Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In 2014, Valentin Răduțiu released, together with Per Rundberg, an album with the complete works for cello and piano by George Enescu, and the disc was considered by critics to be a reference recording (Hänssler Classic), after, in 2013, he collaborated with composer and conductor Peter Ruzicka on the premiere recording of Ruzicka’s Cello Concerto and Chamber Works. Other recording appearances include: Haydn, Mozart/Cassadó, C.P.E. Bach with the Munich Chamber Orchestra (2016), Haydn, J.Ch. Bach, Janson with Chamber Orchestra of Württemberg Heilbronn (2019).

Since 2019, Valentin Răduțiu has been active as principal cellist in the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, and since 2021 he is a university professor at the Carl Maria von Weber Conservatory in Dresden.

Appreciated for his “sparkle and maturity” (The Guardian), pianist Lukas Geniušas has established himself as one of the most fascinating and distinctive artists of his generation. The pianist has given recitals in the most prestigious halls around the world, such as Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Sala Gaveau, Louvre Auditorium, Frick Collection New York, Verdi Hall in Milan and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Lukas Geniušas is invited to perform with the most important international ensembles, among which are the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Paris, Toronto, the Royal Northern Sinfonia Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen , Tugan Sokhiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Maxim Emelyanychev, Leonard Slatkin and Kristiina Poska, among others. He has recorded and performs regularly with the violinist Aylen Pritchin, together with his wife, the pianist Anna Geniushene, and with the soprano Asmik Grigorian on some of the most prestigious stages in Europe: at the Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence festivals, at the Elbphilharmonie, the Scala Theater in Milan or the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

Lukas Geniušas recently gave the first public performances of Sonata no. 1 for piano by Rachmaninov, in the original and complete version, which he also recorded at the composer’s residence in Switzerland.

The latest CD release – which received five-star reviews from BBC Music and Gramophone magazine, and was awarded both Diapason’s CD of the Month Award and Classica magazine’s Choc Award – is the latest from an extensive and critically acclaimed discography.

At the end of the recital, cellist Valentin Răduțiu will offer the audience autographs on the album “Heirs of Musical Romania – II”. An album immortalizing the recital given at Sala Radio, on March 4, 2020, by Valentin Răduțiu together with the Swedish pianist Per Rundberg. A truly memorable event because several of the works performed in this recital were admitted to the Radio Romania Fonoteca with the Gold rating.

At the same time, in the foyer of the Romanian Athenaeum, the public is invited to experience Wolfgang – An Installation-Performance filmed in VR by Gigi Căciuleanu. A unique concept realized by the Art Production Foundation with the support of JTI.

The George Enescu International Competition, initiated in 1958, is one of the most important high-profile events in the world, offering young musicians a platform to assert themselves at an international level. Over the years, the contest has strengthened Romania’s position on the global cultural scene, being the only contest in Romania affiliated to the World Federation of International Classical Music Contests and discovering numerous talents who have become world-renowned artists. The 2024 edition promises to be exceptional, continuing the tradition of bringing classical music talents to the fore.