On Friday, October 31st, Radio România Day will be celebrated with an anniversary concert presented by the National Radio Orchestra. Conductor Cristian Oroșanu, who will lead the performance, shares more details about the evening's program:

The concert on October 31st marks Radio România Day - an important occasion both for the institution and for the National Radio Orchestra. What does it mean to you to conduct this anniversary concert?

I'm truly delighted by this invitation. Honestly, I gladly accepted the proposed program in its entirety - which happens rarely. Usually, I'm offered the solo piece, and I choose the rest of the repertoire myself. This time, the management proposed a complete program, and I accepted it as it was. It includes a special piece written for radio - Music for Radio by Filip Lazăr. I didn't choose this piece; it was suggested to me. I didn't know it beforehand, though I have performed another work by Filip Lazăr before - I believe also with the National Radio Orchestra - called The Boxing Ring, if I remember correctly. I really appreciate this composer, who lived at the turn of the 20th century, spent time in Paris, and met some of Europe's great composers. His music carries both modern European influences and distinct Romanian touches. In fact, this piece we're performing on Friday with the National Radio Orchestra includes a second theme that sounds unmistakably Romanian.

The program also features Richard Strauss's Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon. What can you tell us about this work?

It's a fascinating piece, written by Strauss toward the end of his life, when he set aside the vast orchestral apparatus he used in his symphonic poems and returned to a kind of neoclassicism - a style that is transparent, restrained, and very delicate, yet at the same time deeply beautiful, bearing his unmistakable harmonic signature.

To be honest, I have never conducted this piece before - nor any of the works in this program - and I don't believe the orchestra has performed them either. So it's quite an unusual and exciting program for all of us; it's a discovery. If not absolute premieres, they might very well be first performances in Romania.

You have often conducted the National Radio Orchestra. How has your relationship with this ensemble evolved over time?

My relationship with the National Radio Orchestra actually predates my conducting career. I played horn in this orchestra as a student - for about five years. Later, while still active as an instrumentalist, I began conducting, first in Romania, then abroad. Gradually, I had less time - and no longer an instrument, to be honest - to continue my horn career, so I set that aside. That's how my connection with the National Radio Orchestra began, and I've returned ever since. Every season - or almost every season - I come back to conduct this wonderful ensemble.

What are your plans after this concert?

For several years now, I have been organizing an international conducting competition called "Orchestra's Conductor." So far, I've held it only in Romania - the last edition actually took place right here, at the Radio Hall, this past May, with the Radio Chamber Orchestra. Starting next year, however, I plan to take the project abroad. The fifth edition will take place in Bulgaria, and the sixth may be held in Austria. I also have other international prospects on the horizon. That doesn't mean I won't return to Romania - of course I will, with great pleasure. I organize the competition in collaboration with any host orchestra that embraces my concept. Still, this project takes up a great deal of my time and energy. In addition, I'll be organizing a conducting masterclass in February.