Frequenza Festival, a new event celebrating chamber music, will be in Bucharest between May 22nd and 25th, 2025.This project is the brainchild of two internationally renowned artists, trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov and pianist Maria Meerovitch, who also serve as the festival's artistic directors.Over four evenings of concerts held at the Auditorium Hall of the National Museum of Art of Romania, audiences will enjoy performances by world-class musicians, including Kristóf Baráti, Kevin Zhu, Eva Bindere, Jing Zhao, Roman Spitzer, Sergio Carolino, David Taylor, and Sebastian Burneci.Maria Meerovitch shared more about the festival in a conversation with our colleague, Ariadna Ene-Iliescu.

You are the initiator of the Frequenza Festival, a new chamber music project that proposes a fusion between tradition and modernity. Over the course of four evenings, Bucharest will host a series of remarkable concerts: "The Three B's: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms,""The Impressions," "The Grand Concert," and "Brass Fusion Finale." Could you walk us through the key highlights of this musical journey?

The first evening is, I'd say, more traditional, as it features works by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. I believe each piece on the program will have its own special appeal.You'll hear the Goldberg Variations-a highly complex piece originally written for keyboard, which we will present in Dmitry Sitkovetsky's arrangement for string trio. I think it's one of the most impressive works in the entire history of musical literature.Another central moment will be Brahms' Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano.For this opening night, I will be on stage with the festival's co-artistic director, trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov. We've been performing as a duo for 20 years now, and for this concert we'll be joined by our colleagues on string instruments.

The second evening promises to be particularly compelling, showcasing works from various countries: Ysaÿe's Sonata for Two Violins, Kodály's Sonatina for Cello and Piano, and Glazunov's String Quintet in A major-a rarely performed and relatively little-known piece. We were thrilled to include it in the program and thought it would be a wonderful idea to share it with the Romanian audience.In the second part of the evening, we're presenting a fantastic project titled "Kopfkino"-a trio for trumpet, trombone, and bass trombone. This performance includes theatrical elements and blends multiple musical styles, such as classical, jazz, and electronic.A highlight of the evening is the presence of an extraordinary bass trombonist: David Taylor, a true legend. He is an artist who has collaborated with Leopold Stokowski, Duke Ellington, Barbra Streisand, and Miles Davis.

In the third concert, we're offering another captivating program, leaning perhaps towards the more classical. What's especially interesting here is the structure of the evening: we'll begin by introducing the performers individually, in duo formations, followed by trios. In the second half, we'll come together on stage to perform César Franck's Piano Quintet. I think it will be a really engaging experience for the audience.

For the final evening, we're presenting a fantastic concert dedicated to brass instruments. On stage will be Sérgio Carolino, whom Sergei Nakariakov described as the "Paganini of the tuba." Carolino is a celebrated Portuguese performer, and he is coming to Romania especially for this occasion. He'll be joined by David Taylor and Elias Faingersch. It will be an exciting evening because the program is a fusion of classical music, improvisation, jazz, electronic music… You name it! I think the audience is in for something truly special.

You mentioned that you founded the Frequenza Festival together with trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov. How did the idea for such a project come about?

As I mentioned earlier, I've been performing in a duo with Sergei for over 20 years. We've recorded numerous CDs together and toured all over the world. In a way, we had already built a bridge between the world of brass instruments and the more traditional realm of piano artistry.Brass is typically associated with lighter, more entertainment-focused music, while the piano is deeply rooted in the classical tradition.We had already built this bridge between the two worlds by creating numerous arrangements for trumpet and piano of pieces originally written for other instruments; we've been working closely together for a long time.Then, we looked around and realized there are so many chamber music festivals, so many events dedicated solely to brass instruments, or piano festivals… but what if we combined them and created something together? Just as we've been doing for the past 20 years… That's how the idea of fusing these different instrumental traditions came to life. And I think it will work!

What can you tell us about the artists invitedto the debut edition of the Frequenza Festival?

I'd be delighted to introduce you to our wonderful lineup of artists. I think we've brought together an incredible team of diverse musicians who are all highly respected on the international music scene. The guest artists come from different generations. There's David Taylor, who, as I said, has worked with some of the greatest names in music. Then there's Kevin Zhu, a phenomenal young violinist who won First Prize at the Paganini International Competition. He's only 24, but already has an impressive career behind him.We're also joined by two outstanding cellists: Jing Zhao, who has worked with Seiji Ozawa, and Zvi Plesser, who teaches at Juilliard and other places around the world and who has performed with Maestro Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic.Roman Spitzer is an exceptional violist who has played under renowned conductors like Yuri Temirkanov, Riccardo Muti, and Lorin Maazel.Eva Bindere, a long-time chamber music partner of Gidon Kremer, has recorded extensively with him and performed widely in chamber ensembles.And of course, there's Sergei Nakariakov, Sergio Carolino, and Elias Faingersch.As for myself, I'll be performing as the pianist, actually the only one at this festival!We warmly welcome the audience to this special event. We're thrilled to be collaborating with Artexim and to offer the Bucharest public this exciting first edition of the Frequenza Festival.