Pianist Ștefan Doniga and violinist Diana Jipa are currently organizing two projects dedicated to celebrating Romania's cultural heritage. Between May 9^th and June 13^th, audiences in 14 cities across the country are invited to experience "Eminesciana 2.0" - a multimedia performance where music intertwines with poetry and videos.The two musicians are currently in Budapest, where they've just launched another project titled "Universal Enescu".

In your National Tour "Eminesciana 2.0", you're offering audiences a unique multimedia experience - an interweaving of music and poetry that pays tribute to the universality of Romanian culture. What can the audience expect from it?

The audience can expect something truly unprecedented, at least in Romania. This project was born several years ago - about four, in fact - out of our shared passion for poetry. When I say "our", I mean both Diana Jipa's and mine. We've worked together for many years now, striving to offer our audience artistic experiences that are both meaningful and captivating.

So, back in 2021, during the pandemic and on the occasion of Romania's National Culture Day, we came up with a special concept for our online followers. It involved a series of video clips featuring renowned Romanian actors reciting Eminescu's poetry in sync with our music - performed live during the recording. But we wanted to go even further. To highlight the universality of Eminescu's work and of Romanian culture more broadly, we asked the six actors who worked with us to recite each poem in a different language. That original "Eminesciana 2.0" project which took place 4 years ago featured names such as Maia Morgenstern, Cristina Deleanu, Eugen Cristea, Gheorghe Visu, Simona Vintilă, and our dear friend Charlie Ottley. For instance, Maia Morgenstern recited "La steaua" in Hebrew, Gheorghe Visu delivered a beautiful rendition of "Diana" in French, Charlie Ottley read my own English translation of "Ce te legeni codrule?", Simona Vintilă recited Lucian Blaga's German translation of "Trecut-au anii", and so on. The music, performed by us, was carefully chosen to match the linguistic and cultural flavour of each translation. For example, "La steaua" - recited in Hebrew by Maia Morgenstern - is accompanied by a piece composed by Hilda Jerea, a Romanian composer of Jewish heritage. Gheorghe Visu's French rendition is paired with George Enescu's "Impromptu Concertant", written in a gorgeous impressionist style in the early 20^th century. Simona Vintilă's recited German-language version of "Trecut-au anii" is supported by works from Paul Richter and Walter Klepper. The deeper you delve into the project, the more fascinating layers you'll discover. All of these clips were originally released online.

Now, as we mark 175 years since the birth of Mihai Eminescu, we wanted to revive and expand on that earlier concept. This time, we're able to perform in front of live audiences, unlike during the pandemic. So we've organized a 14-city tour featuring multimedia performances that blend the original video recordings with live music. The show alternates between projections of the clips and our live renditions of the musical pieces featured in them. The music flows seamlessly from screen to stage and back again, creating an interplay between the virtual and the real - between iconic actors appearing on screen and live musical interpretation on stage.

That is why I say this is a truly unique experience. As far as we know, nothing quite like this has been done before. It's a project born from our desire to offer our audience something both artistically rich and genuinely engaging.

What has the audience reaction been so far?

The festival kicked off last Friday, on May 9^th - Europe Day, symbolizing the openness of this project, and of Romanian culture in general, to the broader European and global cultural landscape. We debuted in the beautiful Transylvania Building in Zalău, and the reaction was astonishing - even for us! The audience was so captivated by the continuous dialogue between the virtual and the real that they weren't even sure when the performance had ended. They seemed under a spell.

To be honest, we had no idea what to expect. We couldn't rehearse this show in its entirety, because it just wasn't feasible. It only existed in our minds until that first performance. We had no access to a space where we could test the integration of live music with video projections. The entire concept existed only in our minds until it was brought to life on stage for the very first time during the premiere in Zalău.

You're currently in Budapest, where you're launching another project honouring Romania's cultural heritage: "Universal Enescu", marking 70 years since the death of the great composer. Can you tell us more about it?

We're thrilled to be presenting two major projects in parallel - "Eminesciana 2.0" and "Universal Enescu" - each tied to a major cultural milestone this year: the anniversary of Mihai Eminescu's birth and the commemoration of George Enescu's passing. Having reasons to celebrate means we're acknowledging the beauty and significance of what Romanian culture has produced, and we're grateful to be part of that tradition.

Today, at the Liszt Academy Concert Hall, we're performing a program dedicated to George Enescu. We chose a rather original approach: to alternate Enescu's own compositions with works written in his honour. This way, we can demonstrate how deeply he was appreciated both during his lifetime and posthumously. Some of these tribute pieces were composed for events like the George Enescu International Festival or its associated competitions, including works written for the composition contest, as well as works designated as mandatory repertoire in various categories of the performance competition.

The tour includes seven concerts - one for each decade since Enescu's death. Besides the two events here in Budapest, we'll continue on June 3^rd in Sibiu, on June 11^th in Bucharest at the Romanian Cultural Institute, on June 19^th in Giurgiu, on June 24^th in Deva, and on June 26^th at the "Ion Dumitrescu" Philharmonic in Râmnicu Vâlcea.