Violinist Alina Lepper Petrescu is one of the Romanian artists that performs with the NDR Elbphilarmonie Symphonic Orchestra from Hamburg. We discovered what such an experience entails from the musician herself, who also told us about several other projects that she is working on.

Alina Lepper Petrescu, you have been a member of the Hamburg NDR Orchestra fro a while. What can you tell us about your experiences so far?

It is an honor and a huge joy to be part of the NDR, which is the Symphonic Radio Orchestra of the city of Hamburg, also called the Elbphilharmonie We now have the opportunity to be the resident orchestra in the Elbphilharmonie, a fantastic construction with an incredible concert hall, both aesthetically and acoustically. I am honored that I am a part of this ensemble, of this professional orchestra.

To my knowledge, there are almost 2.000 seats in the concert hall. What was your first impression when you premiered there?

Our first concert was incredible! It was an opening event, that took place one year ago, on the 11^th of January, and we held a 5-hour-long performance, with the most important German politicians as our esteemed guests. The moment the audience started applauding for the first time truly made us see the quality of this concert hall. It was an incredible moment, the round of applause was amplified by the acoustics of this marvelous hall.

Have you collaborated with any big names from the music world?

I can gladly say that I have had the opportunity of collaborating with conductors such as Järvi or Blomstedt or with singers such as Frank Peter Zimmerman and, recently, Gil Shahaml. We have also collaborated with solo singers such as Phillippe Jaroussky, who has visited us last year, and we have great artists coming in every week, giving us the opportunity to learn even more and develop our skills. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given.

Besided your weekly concerts and your current program, what other personal projects do you have in store?

I would love to perform more concerts for chamber music. I will be performing next week with a quartet, and I will be returning to Romania on the 30^th of March, where I will perform along the Philharmonic of Braşov in a family concert, where my father, Adrian Petrescu will be the conductor, and my brother, Flavius, will be playing the trumpet.