Soprano Aida Pascu, winner of the "Young Performer of the Year 2024" award at the International Classical Music Awards, will perform an extraordinary recital with pianist Gabriel Gîțan. Gabriel Gîțan gives us more details about the event that will take place on Thursday, the 18th of April in the "Cerchez" Hall of the Cotroceni National Museum in a dialogue with Ioana Țintea.

Gabriel Gîțan, you are recognized as one of the most sought-after pianists for vocal and instrumental chamber music. What made you decide to go in this direction and what are the rewards?

I simply enjoy sharing the stage with my colleagues and friends and making good music together.

This is not the first time you have collaborated with Aida Pascu. In July 2023, you did a special recording session together at Radio România. How would you describe Aida and your collaboration?

Aida is an extraordinary soprano! We got along very well. As proof of that, she received this very important award "Young Artist of the Year". Yes, we recorded, following a prize she won last year at the "Heirs of Musical Romania" scholarship, lieder from universal literature - Rahmaninov, Grieg etc., at the Sala Radio. We got on very well. We enjoyed playing together, although the recordings are a bit tiring, but it was very good.

The recital on April 18th is being held under the aegis of the "Heirs of Musical Romania" project. What does this project initiated by Radio România Muzical mean to you?

I think it is very important for young musicians. It's a motivation, an opportunity for affirmation. And these awards, whether recordings or concert-recitals, are very important in the career of a young musician. So I think it's a very good idea.

The theme of the recital on April 18th at the Cotroceni Museum is "Dream of Love" - a lieder from Romanian and universal literature which, somehow, all orbit around this primordial idea of art. We have Enescu on the program - three songs, lieder by various composers and a song cycle by a lesser known (at least to me) composer, Fernando Obradors.

In your experience, what would be the most important piece of advice you would give to a pianist who wants to specialise in chamber music?

To play as much as possible, to accept every proposal he receives - as much as possible, with as many chamber music partners as possible, as many instruments as possible and... to enjoy doing it. Chamber music seems to me to be the most beautiful side of concert work.