Today, we have a special guest joining us via phone, Mr. Bogdan Roșca-Zasmencu, manager of Radio Cluj. Good morning!

Good morning, everyone! I'm delighted to be here today on Radio România Muzical.

Mr. Roșca-Zasmencu, March 15th is a special day for Radio România Cluj, a part of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation. It was on this day, in 1954, that Radio Cluj aired its first broadcast. Therefore, we wish "Happy Birthday!" to our colleagues on this wonderful milestone-70 years.

Yes, indeed, today at 4:00 PM marks the 70-year milestone you mentioned. It's asignificant moment for us because it allows us to pause and think about who we were, who we are, and who we want to become. But I believe that's more of a discussion about, let's say, the future of the press in Romania, of radio globally, and similar topics.

Leaving that aside, we are happy to invite music enthusiasts in Cluj, along with those who are currently tuned in to your show-I know you have many listeners here, in our region, Transylvania-to honor us with their presence at an anniversary concert tonight at 7:00 PM, at Sala Radio.

It's worth mentioning that 70 years ago, at the inauguration of the radio station, the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra performed for Radio Cluj, accompanied by Ferdinand Weiss on piano. Likewise, at the inauguration of the current headquarters-a building specifically constructed for the radio, and an architectural gem of Cluj-Napoca-the Transylvania Philharmonic took the stage, this time with the renowned Stefan Ruha on violin.

Today, we invite you to a concert where you will have the opportunity to see Maestro Tiberiu Soare alongside the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, and two guest soloists from abroad. We have Elizaveta Ivanova on flute and Samantha Škorjala on clarinet. The program includes Michael Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in D Major for flute, Gioachino Rossini's Introduction, Theme And Variations for clarinet and orchestra, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Serenade for String Orchestra, Op.48.

I would like to add a few words about our guests. First, Tiberiu Soare, whom I'm sure your listeners know. He is a close collaborator of yours and the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company. I will only mention that he has received invitations from important cultural institutions in Romania, as is the case this time with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra. Together with the National Radio Orchestra, Tiberiu Soare participated in the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 and was invited to important festivals such as the Varna Summer International Music Festival in 2011, the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, the Balchik Classic Days in 2013 or the World Summit on Media for Children, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2014.

Second, the two soloists. Elizaveta Ivanova was born in 1997 in Estonia. She received much of her training at the Special Music School of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, where she also attended the Conservatory. In addition, in 2023, she also graduated from the Basel Academy of Music, where she studied with Professor Felix Renggli. Samanta Škorja is from Slovenia. She trained at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, in the class of Joze Kotar. She has also participated in many competitions.She won four gold prizes and three first prizes at the Slovenian National TEMSIG competition, third, second, and first prizes at the International Contest for Clarinet, and in 2021 she won first prize at the France Music Competition. Of course, she has also been here in Cluj; she participated in the Cluj International Music Competition and many other collaborations.

These are the guests who will join us on a day when we want to show our listenersand online followers that we are here to promote real talent, and to maintain, if you will, a high professional standard in both the cultural area and the editorial, journalistic area.

I must admit that you've already answered the questions I had in mind. Could you please tell us if this concert will be accessible to those of us who are not in Cluj?

Yes, I forgot to specify this. Today's concert will be broadcast live on Radio Cluj and, of course, to preserve its memory over time, it will also be recorded.

I would like to ask you further about how the collaboration with the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic is going. You've already said it's a long-term partnership. Could you elaborate on how it's unfolding today?

It's one of our most important partnerships, which, over the last two years, has allowed us to produce the first recordings of the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic Orchestra since 1990. It is a curious and interesting fact. Before 1990, one could find records released by the record label Electrecord featuring the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra, including works conducted by Maestro Ștefan Ruha. However, following 1990, this outstanding orchestra ceased to have any recordings produced. This issue was resolved about three years ago, when, for the first time, the orchestra had the opportunity to record albums that were made at the renowned record label Pentatone, located at the Radio Cluj headquarters.

Two major cultural institutions in Cluj have joined forces to produce recordings that are real treasures. As of now, they have released four compact discs. The first one was an opera by Puccini, "La Fanciulla del West," followed by Verdi's "A Masked Ball". Then a disc dedicated to Bela Bartok, and one dedicated to the singer Melody Moore, titled "Remembering Tebaldi." These discs are exceptionally good. Some of them have even been nominated for the Grammy Awards, which is a great honor for us.

Succeeding today amidst various economic and logistical problems, and so on, is no easy feat when it comes to recording a philharmonic orchestra. Yet, here in Cluj, they've managed just that. This achievement was, undoubtedly, due to the support of remarkable sound technicians, individuals who originally hailed from record labels like Philips and Decca and are now part of Pentatone. It's a convergence of all these elements.

It's my pleasure to announce for the first time that in the months of June and July, there will be a new recording at the Radio Cluj headquarters, an event that all of us who work here anticipate with joy.

We and our listeners are familiar with the recordings you're referring to. They are indeed treasures. With your permission, I'd like to ask you one last question. You have chosen classical music for this festive occasion. What is your take on the role of classical music in the Transylvanian area, and certainly in general?

As a side note, I am a huge music lover. I collect jazz records and also host a jazz show on Radio Cluj, but I've always drawn important references from the realm of classical music. What more can I say? The fact that today we live in a world where subculture, mediocrity, and musical genres can no longer be identified, and we often witness the proliferation of 'music' lacking any intellectual or cultural support, devoid of any value... Yes, these are the times we live in. Classical music continues to be a foundation for education, shaping individuals, enriching their culture, and providing a universal language that all people can understand, from St. Petersburg to Cluj-Napoca, to Basel, to Zurich, and so on. Music has this wonderful ability to bring people together. People who gather in front of a symphony orchestra, an opera ensemble, or small groups performing classical music share a unique experience. Why? Because they speak this universal language. Regardless of the musical genre under discussion, its limitations should be evident. I don't know, to take the opposite extreme, for instance, hip hop is a musical genre that I like, but if you don't speak English and perhaps aren't familiar with the significant themes that have shaped this musical genre, you simply won't comprehend anything about what's being sung. However, this is something that will never happen with classical music.

Once again, thank you, Mr. Bogdan Rosca-Zasmencu, manager of Radio Cluj, for joining us over the phone on the morning show. Happy birthday, Radio Cluj!