On Thursday February 29th and Friday March 1st, the Orchestra and Chorus of the "G. Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra will be guest conducted by Lawrence Foster, "brought to this planet to conduct the music of Enescu", according to The Telegraph. We extend this phrase by reading the programme of the two concerts: Beethoven-Cantata "Silent Sea and Happy Journey" op. 112, Franz Liszt - Concerto No.2 in A major for piano and orchestra, featuring soloist Andrei Korobeinikov and orchestral selections from Hector Berlioz's dramatic Symphony "Romeo and Juliet", an event of the current concert season.

Between two rehearsals with orchestra and choir on the samed ay,Maestro Lawrence Foster was kind enough to give a few minutes to our station.

We know how close you are to Romania, George Enescu's music and Romanian artists. What does it mean for you to be back on the stage of the Athenaeum?

I come back quite often now, I go to Cluj, four weeks a year, as a kind of frequent guest, and finally, after a long period, Icome back to the "Enescu" Philharmonic. It's a real joy, it was the first rehearsal this morning. I think the orchestra is in excellent, very, very good shape. And we went through a very difficult work, Berlioz - "Romeo and Juliet" - orchestral selections. They played extraordinarily, focused, well prepared. It was a very high level that I really, really enjoyed. So I'm delighted that I came, I like being in Romania, I like listening to the language that I speak a little but badly, I like the food and the place.

Was it your choice to bring a vocal-symphonic work into the concert programme - Beethoven and Berlioz, involving the choir?

They asked me to start with a short work with a choir. I knew this Beethoven work (Cantata "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage" op. 112) that nobody else performs, it's a beautiful work and I suggested this, thinking it was a good fit before Liszt's Concerto No. 2, performed by this great pianist, Andrei Korobeinikov. And what I really wanted to perform in the second part, Berlioz's dramatic Symphony "Romeo and Juliet" - the orchestral fragments, the three main pieces. Philharmonic musicians have never performed this major work in the repertoire, it's a fantastic creation. To me, it is amazing that they have never played this opus. As such, I thought I was doing my bit for the quality of the orchestra by asking them to learn the score. Performing this kind of work makes any orchestra better, because it demands so much technically and, more importantly, expressively and sonically. So we proposed it, and the orchestra and administration were delighted to play Berlioz.

You are in contact with fantastic orchestral ensembles from all over the world. Does this imply the idea of so-called masterclasses you hold when you meet new orchestras? We notice that the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra has so many young players now. Is it useful to work on such a difficult score?

It is very useful, it challenges the musicians, it makes them play at a very high level, it gives them a style that they are probably not very exposed to. I mean, in an orchestra, they are generally confronted with Beethoven symphonies, Mozart symphonies, they learn about the tradition and how these works are played. But I think Berlioz will contribute a lot to their progress as artists.

You have played so much Enescu, you are a promoter of his music in the world. Is it a challenge to recreate Enescu's expressiveness?

It is very difficult to interpret Enescu's music. Of course, the Rhapsodies are so well known, maybe the "Romanian Poem", but the late works, the chamber music, the Chamber Symphony, the Second, Third Symphonies are incredibly difficult. But, it's worth the journey, it's so rich in meaning, in expression and any conductor, any orchestra would be worth trying to perform this music. I love to do that, to introduce an orchestra to this kind of music that they are not familiar with, that they don't know.

...and that helps an orchestra grow in quality?

Without a doubt. Such is the case with the Third Symphony. Once they study it, they acquire a higher level, general skills, sensibilities that they didn't have before. There are other similar works - Schoenberg's Variations Op.31, so demanding, asking musicians to find resources they often didn't even know they possessed. I think an orchestra gets better at playing these works, but of course without mastering German classicism, it makes no sense. They have to master Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann. It is essential.

And Bach?

Bach is quite special. If you have the right person, it's wonderful.There's a lot of discussion now about style as far as Bach is concerned. I love conducting Bach myself, but I don't do it anymore because...I'm old-fashioned. When I play Bach, the only person who likes it is me.Others seem to be very critical of what I do, so I stay away.

Is the same thing happening with Handel?

Not so bad, with Handel it's not the same. I think the situation is changing again, similar views are emerging as in the 19th century, but "historically informed" interpretations are much more accepted by the public now than they were 10-15 years ago. I think. I'm 82 and a half and I no longer conduct Bach, unless I'm asked to accompany a soloist in aconcert, although now soloists are also conductors, but if I'm asked, I do it. But generally it doesn't make sense. There are so many artists who perform this music fabulously, and not necessarily in the "historically informed" way. There are people who play Bach on the piano fantastically. When Andras Schiff plays Bach, there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more compelling, it's wonderful, even Barenboim in recent years has played a lot of Bach - the Well-Tempered Harpsichord and the Goldberg Variations, providing unique experiences.

Do you think there are special images, portrayals for the orchestras in Cluj and Bucharest?

I will be very direct, instead of saying "what should". In general, for years, connoisseurs have said that the Cluj orchestra is superior to any orchestra in Bucharest. I think there was a time when this might have been true. But when I listened to the Bucharest Philharmonic today... it is now truly excellent. They are maybe different, maybe you still feel in Cluj a little bit more the Central European way of playing, maybe because there are many fantastic Hungarian musicians in the orchestra. But there may be a special colour of sound that you get now conducting the "G.Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra here in Bucharest, which can be unique and very convincing. I can tell you more after a few days. I heard this orchestra for a while, I think in the Enescu Festival, performing Benjamin Britten's "Billy Bud" with Hannu Lintu. They played fantastic. So it's obviously a terrific orchestra!