Guitarist Dragoş Ilie will have an extraordinary recital, on Tuesday, October 8th, as part of the series "The Heirs of Musical Romania", a Radio România Muzical project. More about this event taking place at the Romanian Athenaeum, and about other aspects regarding the artistic activity, we will find out more in a dialogue with Ioana Țintea.

In your recital at the Athenaeum, you propose a sound journey through several genres. Please, tell us, how did you choose the music that you were going to interpret, many of them rarities for the Romanian public.

The program I have selected contains music that I am very emotionally connected to. Either they are pieces that I have learned at various stages of development, or they signify an important moment in my life. For example, the Romanian compositions, Bartok's Sonatina written for piano, original, transposed for guitar and for the first time I would say, George Enescu's The Guitarist from the suite Impressions of Childhood. I am curious what the Romanian audience will think about this piece set on guitar. After that, I present two Viennese sonatas by a composer who today, unfortunately, is not very well known, although in his time he was highly esteemed by his contemporaries and was even a good friend of Franz Schubert, Thomas Matiegka. I will perform two sonatas for Viennese guitar. This is not today's classical guitar; it had a different shape and a different sound. Then Japanese music. It is a culture with which I connected very deeply, a culture quite distinct from European and Western European, music that is very much related to Eastern philosophy and Japanese philosophy. I will present a work by Toru Takemitsu, which is very precious to me, Equinox, and then a tribute to Toru Takemitsu by a Cuban composer. Interestingly, this piece is written in the Japanese character, and I will conclude with Spanish sounds with two famous works; the first is the only piece Manuel de Falla ever wrote for guitar, Omenae, a work actually dedicated to Claude Debussy, and I will finish the concert with Invocacion y danza - Invocation and Dance, written by the renowned pianist and composer Joaquin Rodrigo, who also wrote the Aranjuez concerto and placed the classical guitar on the orchestral stage, on the global classical music stage. Invocacion y danza is again written as a tribute to Manuel de Falla. I think it is an intriguing program. I hope the audience will connect with the international, intercontinental, and diverse magic of the guitar.

In addition to your solo work, you are engaged in chamber music projects and initiatives dedicated to young performers. In 2022, at the invitation of Radio România Muzical, you became violinist Alexandru Tomescu's performing associate on the Stradivarius tour, and this summer you conducted master classes together as part of the "Enescu Experience" project. How has this collaboration impacted your artistic development?

As I mentioned before, for me, teaching and performing are almost identical in my mind. I do not separate them very much because even when I sing on stage, I share something, I instruct my audience about something, and the projects that I did with Alexandru, especially the masterclass camp at altitude, because we did it in the Caraiman Mountains, at 2025 meters altitude. We had two editions, last year and this year. I feel very honored that the master chose me to be his partner and to have the classical guitar alongside the violin. A great experience. I am accustomed to working alone with my students. I think it helps a lot to elevate the prestige of the classical guitar among all instruments being paired with the violin.

What are the plans and projects you have in mind for the future?

The first will be the commencement of my teaching activity at the Iași Conservatory, at the 'George Enescu' University. At the same time, I want to cultivate a guitar phenomenon, of course, around the faculty. I want to develop an ecosystem, maybe a guitar festival, some guitar series. I would also very much like to initiate a teaching activity with young people all over the city. I am thinking of my hometown Iași; that is where I will be most of the time, but who knows, maybe we will expand it to other cities in the country. The guitar is a truly captivating instrument, accessible to everyone, and I would love to nurture this phenomenon of love for the stage and share it with as many people as possible. Then comes a dual adventure for me, I would say, because I must record two new albums for the Naxos label. I must record two complete CDs of guitar sonatas, even by Matiegka, which I will present in concert at the Athenaeum. Next are concerts with Alexandru Tomescu; we have three that are all part of the Enescu Experience from the same project. We will have three concerts in Italy. There are projects, I amoverly excited; now I hope I can have the energy to see them all through. I feel fortunate. I have many people supporting me; the University of Music supports me, Alexandru Tomescu's team supports me, Radio România Muzical supports me; I really feel very supported, I almost can't believe it, it is something special.

Apart from music, what else are you passionate about and do you find fulfilling?

I really enjoy swimming; I just do not swim well, but that does not stop me. I love shuffling decks of cards; it is an art form. I appreciate a good laugh, and that isis not difficult to achieve at all. I consider myself a very sociable person and enjoy exploring unfamiliar places. It is so hard to separate my life as a musician and guitarist from an outside life, so I often seem dull if I talk to a musician about what I do in my leisure time. That is about it.