An interview with Florica Jalbă, the project coordinator, gives us more details about this musical evening, the programme and its protagonists:

The idea of this project started from the fact that 2013 marks 120 years since the birth of maestro Marţian Negrea, as well as 40 years since the death of this composer, professor, theorist, conductor and musicologist.

The 'Romanian Music Values - Marţian Negrea recital' at the Studio Hall of the National Opera on Wednesday, 30^th January, will include some of the chamber works by Mr Negrea - a Suite for clarinet, which will be played Alexandru Avramovici (clarinet) and Lidia Butnariu (piano), and then a Theme and variations for harp, played by Ionela Brădean. Then, we will continue with March for Flute and Reciter, from the Ten Songs series, based on poems by Lucian Blaga, played by flute player Luiza Cârlian and joined by reciter Mrs Monica Mihăescu.

Finally, soprano Adriana Dumitriu, accompanied by Lidia Butnariu, will play four of the Ten Songs, while mezzosoprano Sorana Negrea, the composer's great-granddaughter, accompanied by Laura Butnariu (Lidia Butnariu's daughter) on the piano, will play four songs, as well, both from the Ten Songs series, and the Five Songs series, based on poems by Veronica Micle.

All these instrumentalists and soloists are employees of the Bucharest National Opera. Marţian Negrea is a complex personality of the Romanian music and we thought that we could not simply skip this year's celebrations.

You have also invited Mrs Veturia Dimoftache. What will she show us?

PhD professor Veturia Dimoftache is a specialist in the field, and her doctorate thesis was about Marţian Negrea. She will take us to the world where the composer lived, giving us both biographical information and a description of the works that will be played. We will also project photographs and manuscripts of the composer. It will be a special evening that Romanian musicology fully deserves.