Between the 7^th and 10^th of April 2011, the pianist Dan Grigore will give a master class at the Cantacuzino Palace. The class, which is organized by the Phoenix Events Agency, will take place during these four days from 10 AM to 3 PM, and will be open to the public. Further details will be given in the following interview:

Mister Dan Grigore, which are the main criteria and qualities you will be looking for in the participating pianists?

I will have to get to know the young performers that I have accepted following the demo recordings that I requested and, according to their personalities and the repertoire they bring with them, I will structure the class in front of the audience, as it is a class that is open to the public. So it is, in fact, like working in a sort of display case, where the dynamic aspect of the teacher-student relation can be observed by those attending. And surely, this feature will modify some of the characteristics of an usual class, in which the teacher is trying to also shape the artistic discourse and, on the long run, the personality of his disciples. We are, in a way, embarking on an adventure into the unknown and the only thing we know, which is in fact the common goal of all of these endeavors, is that we wish to get as close as possible to what is called the "mystery of music." It is an endeavor that is in itself very adventurous and I hope that by the end of this four-day class we will end up enjoying it and also give the audience an idea about part of the adventure that takes place before their very eyes and in their ears.

Will there also be a recital at the end of this class?

It's possible that there will be a recital. This depends on how things will progress. If we will manage to shape the repertoire we are planning into something that can be seen as quasi-finished, then we will move on to a public performance. But in fact, all of these performances will form, in some way, a great concert.

You have fond memories of the place where the class will be held, The Cantacuzino Palace, seeing as it was there that you have made your debut when you were 14 years old.

That's true. That is where I played two suites by Enescu, some works from the 3^rd Suite and the whole of the 10^th Suite. That concert was organized by Romeo Drăghici, an old friend of the artist, who was, at that time, the director of the Enescu Museum and the administrator of his will in Romania. He was the one who launched me in this public musical orbit, because when I was fifteen or sixteen, I performed at Dalles Hall in a concert organized by the Enescu Museum in honor of Enescu's anniversary. So I have a close bond with this museum; it is like a second home to me, because the American Steinway piano in the Cantacuzino Hall was given to me after these concerts as part of a grant, thanks to Mr. Drăghici's endeavors, for a period of three or four years, by Mrs. Maruca Tescanu, Enescu's wife. I then used it in my home, with great results, during the entire period of my adolescence. It was one of the best pianos I've worked with in my life and it brought me even closer to George Enescu's music, a music that is still influential and

Larisa Clempuş

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Interview with Paul Mustaţă, the director of the advertisement agency, Phoenix Events

From the point of view of the organisers, which are the expectations of this public master-class held by the artist Dan Grigore?

Mainly, this project offers support to young pianists. We are very pleased to have the artist Dan Grigore with us. Without a doubt, he is one of the greatest pianists of the world. We want to take every necessary measure so that the young Romanians could study with him.

The course is for those with a true calling as a pianist. They are the ones who absolutely need the guidance of a great figure in this field. We know how desperately they need their wings and to absorb beneficent energies from a great artist. This is what we fight for.

We are very pleased with this project, with this collaboration and especially with the consent of the great artist Dan Grigore.

The number of students admitted is limited. How were they chosen?

The selection of the students was strictly based on the value criteria. They each presented an audio demo and, in the end, seven of them were selected.

They will study for four consecutive days with the artist Dan Grigore and will also be able to hear the courses of their other colleagues. Also, the course is organised so that it can have a public, precisely to offer the students of other universities, and practically anyone, the chance to participate in this real show, from which we can learn a lot.

Besides the young musicians, for whom we have organised this master-class, we invited poets, painters, film directors and other artists. The participation in such a course brings extraordinary intellectual content.