From November 3rd to 24th, 2024, Timișoara will host the seventh edition of the Musica Ricercata Festival, held this year under the slogan "Vive la Révolution!" We learn more about the series of events from conductor Gabriel Bebeșelea, who also serves as the festival's artistic director, in a conversation with Ioana Țintea.

Mr. Gabriel Bebeșelea, you mentioned that this edition of the Musica Ricercata Festival continues the theme of Enlightenment, addressed last year. How do you plan to develop this topic, and how is the slogan "Vive la Révolution!" reflected in this year's festival program?

As a consequence of the Enlightenment, there was this movement driven by the French Revolution, advocating for human rights. If last year's edition in Timișoara centered on Enlightenment, particularly in this region of Europe, focusing heavily on how Enlightenment was expressed in 18th-century Timișoara, this edition continues in that direction for two reasons: we are marking 235 years since the French Revolution and 35 years since the Romanian Revolution, which began in Timișoara. Thus, as a tribute to these events, we wanted to create a concept that covers this vast area of revolutions-not only political or social. This edition is, in fact, about the new, about new beginnings. In the programs we have developed and are preparing for the Timișoara audience and beyond, we reflect on the idea of revolution-not only social and political, but especially revolutions in new discoveries, the Industrial Revolution, the exploration of new territories, and so on. Each program in the festival centers around this idea of a beginning in a new direction.

Could you please tell us about the guest artists?

I am very pleased that, thanks to the "Banatul" Philharmonic, we are able to invite top-tier artists from the international music scene. First and foremost, we have Jordi Savall, who will present a program dedicated to Spanish and South American Baroque.

Then, we'll have the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, with a program focused on the religious revolution; it will feature music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi-all centered around the extraordinary voice of tenor Carlo Vistoli.

There will also be a program with Juan Perez Floristan on fortepiano, which will likewise align with the theme of the French Revolution, presenting pieces inspired by this historic event.

It will be, in my opinion, a very interesting concert, as we are also marking the 270th anniversary of the consecration of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Timișoara, where we will perform Michael Haydn's Trinity Mass, a piece that, according to several sources, was performed in Timișoara in 1754.

There will also be a concert featuring the "Banatul" Philharmonic Orchestra, with Florin Iliescu as the soloist, performing Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Richard Strauss and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Jean-Baptiste Lully.

Additionally, we have a very intriguing program centered on Beethoven-specifically, Beethoven inspired by the French Revolution. We will perform the Eroica Symphony and the piece Beethoven wanted played at his own funeral, Cherubini's Requiem, dedicated to the memory of Louis XVI, who was executed during the French Revolution.

And the opening will feature Les Lunaisiens-an ensemble presenting a program of songs from the time of the French Revolution.

The series of public dialogues will continue in this edition as well. Can you tell us which cultural figures will be invited to participate in these discussions?

This series will continue, and we will also have a series of workshops-which is very important to us-along with educational concerts and concerts dedicated to students. This year, Emil Hurezeanu will be invited, as he is a key figure in relation to the theme of revolution, having reported the sequence of events in 1989 from Radio Free Europe.

What surprises are you preparing for young music lovers?

We have an educational concert in which Jean-Baptiste Lully's music will be explained in a way that everyone can understand, along with the "revolutions" that followed in music. Many things we take for granted today, like the invention of the modern orchestra, are thanks to Jean-Baptiste Lully. So, there will be this educational concert, and we'll also have a fortepiano workshop with Juan Perez Floristan for all musicians interested in learning about the piano's ancestor.

I imagine the selection isn't easy, but for someone attending the festival concerts for the first time, which event would you recommend?

You can understand I'm quite subjective, and I would say that they are all interesting. But I would mention Jordi Savall's concert, Carlo Vistoli's concert with the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, Cherubini's Requiem performed with a period-instrument orchestra, and so on.