In the elegant ambience of the Cerchez Salon at the Cotroceni National Museum in the capital, the soprano Aida Pascu and pianist Gabriel Gîțan gave a recital yesterday evening. It was an event marked by "Heirs of Musical Romania", organized by Radio România Muzical in collaboration with Artexim and Cotroceni National Museum and with the support of Rotary Club Pipera.

Recently awarded the title of "Young Performer of the Year 2024" at the "International Classical Music Awards", Aida Pascu delighted the audience with the versatility of her interpretation, complemented by a captivating stage presence and a convincing and mature vocal timbre, which vibrated in harmony with every note sung by pianist Gabriel Gîțan.

The music of Maurice Ravel opened the evening at the Cotroceni Museum. The young soprano gave us an emotional interpretation of the French composer's etude-vocalise. The programme, centred on the theme "Dream of Love", took us further into the sound universe imagined by George Enescu through the interpretation of the 3 songs op. 4 signed by the Romanian composer. Next, soprano Aida Pascu and pianist Gabriel Gîțan presented two works by Jules Massnet and Antonin Dvorak - "Elegy" and "Song learned from my mother" respectively. In the following minutes, we listened to the pianist in a solo score. I noticed his technical and expressive Intermezzo Op 118 No 2 by Johannes Brahms. Then I stayed in the sphere of German music, where the vocal-chamber genre developed at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, especially through Franz Schubert's lieder. Aida Pascu and Gabriel Gîțan offered the audience "Serenade" from the Romantic composer's work, and then the two musicians presented an opus from Joseph Haydn's work - "Fidelity".

The sound journey took us to Italy through two vocal miniatures written by two great composers well known for their works. From the works of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini we heard "In solitaria stanza" and "Storiella d'amore" respectively. At the end of the recital, soprano Aida Pascu and pianist Gabriel Gîțan performed seven songs by Fernando Obradors, in which the young opera singer's spirited interpretation was complemented by clear and expressive diction.

The unique sound story, full of emotion and sensitivity of the whole recital was rewarded with roars of applause from the audience present yesterday evening at the Cerchez Hall of the Cotroceni National Museum:

"Tonight was a special event in so many ways. Aida Pascu has an extraordinary voice, not only that she has international recognition, which she deserves... the selection of songs was extraordinarily inspired! The whole atmosphere - very romantic, very poetic. Exceptional location. Indeed, a great recital, the Heirs of Musical Romania" - Dan Popescu, Rotary Club Pipera

"A special voice, of a rare quality! I think she will have a great career from now on. She has inflections of great relief. She moves through styles with great ease. The piano accompanist is also of great quality, he has great pedaling, he follows, he feels, he intervenes in moments when the voice is not singing. He's going to be a great accompanist, in my opinion." - Marcel Frandeș, music critic

Here are other opinions from the audience:

"For me it was a surprise to see Aida. I'm very happy to have seen her live for the first time. I'm pleasantly surprised by her development, her good voice and her ambitus. I thought the event was very well organised. I liked the fact that she took us through all the eras, all the countries where the Lied was appreciated. I have nothing but praise. It was really nice!"

"It was great! I thought Aida was wonderful. I liked it very much. And the pianist, too. They're both extraordinary. I loved them."

"I've known Aida for a long time and I'm very happy to realize how much she has evolved. I think she deserves an important place on the world stage."

"An extraordinary recital, very beautiful! We enjoyed these miniature gems together. An extraordinary repertoire! An equally wonderful presentation. And... the soprano - extraordinary! Impeccable technique. Just as we expected. A great timbre. We hope to hear her again."

"I really enjoyed discovering both creations by much-loved composers and true gems, such as the last cycle of 7 Spanish songs. I loved not only Aida Pascu's voice but also her temperament. You could feel the passion not only in her voice, but also in her expression and gestures, and I can't wait to see her in operatic pieces soon."

Photo credit: Maria Gândac and Andrei Gândac