The Musica Ricercata Ensemble and conductor Gabriel Bebeșelea take center stagein the event set for Sunday, January 14th, at the Romanian Athenaeum. Our Guest of the Week at Perpetuum Mobile is my colleague Luminița Arvunescu, President of the Union of Critics, Editors, and Music Producers in Romania, who will share more about it shortly. She is now in the Radio România Muzical studio. Good evening, Luminița!

Good evening, Lucian. Greetings to you and to all our listeners. I would like to mention that you, too, are a part of the Union of Critics, Editors, and Music Producers in Romania.

It has become a tradition for UCRRM Musicrit to recognize excellence, both in the artistic field and domains of journalism and management in classical music, through the Musicrit Awards Gala. This prestigious event, held annually in the second week of January, is set for Sunday, January 14th, at 7:00 PM, and will be held at the Romanian Athenaeum.What novelties can we expect in terms of the awards presented at this year's gala?

The tradition I want to establish is for this event to always be held on January 14th, on the eve of the National Culture Day. I want it to be a premium occasion, dedicated to musical institutions, classical music, and its most outstanding artists. This year, the gala will indeedunfold on the concert stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, which, in my opinion, is the most representative cultural institution in this country. The event is organized in partnership with the "George Enescu" Philharmonic, and I first wish to express my gratitude to its manager, maestro Marin Cazacu, for the support he gave me. I want to thank him for the close friendship he showed me in the last two months, helping shape the Musicrit Awards Galainto the event that everybody can now see on the poster. It's an incrediblydifficult task to tackle alone, so havingmaestro Marin Cazacu as a collaborator was crucial. I would have brought him to your show tonight, by the way, but evidently, he didn't have time to leave the Athenaeum and join us at our Radio broadcasting. I think the upcoming event offers an enriching experience that is very appealing both to the general public and cultural institution managers, as well as the Ministry of Culture. In addition, wereceived confirmation from Minister Raluca Turcan 10 minutes ago that she will attend our event to present an award anddeliver a commendation speech. We are, of course, honored to have her.

I would also like us to talk about distinctions asthe awards of the 30thedition of the National Competition for Composition, Criticism, and Musical Interpretation "Mihail Jora," the music criticism section, will be presentedduring the gala. It is a project initiated by UCRRM. Vlad Ghinea, our guest in yesterday's Perpetuum Mobile, is this year's winner. Who are the other laureates, and what are your thoughts on their performances?

I was very pleasedwith the results of this competition. In particular, I was thrilled about the enthusiasm with which it was received. This is not the first time the competitionhas focused onthe field of music criticism, but there has been quite a long break, and I was very eager to bring back the competition, with a special emphasis on the music criticism section. This is because, as we all know very well, there is a certain lack of interest in this type of activity among young musicologists. At the same time, there is a gap between the old generation of music critics, a group which naturally is growing smaller, and those who should take over this field and this particularly important activity. As a result, we focused extensively on this sphere, on music criticism, and I must say, I was very pleased with the enthusiasm our proposal was met with. There are five awardees. Vlad Ghinea took the first prize;you've already mentioned him and said that our listeners had the opportunity to get to know him.The second prize will be awarded to two young ladies, Diana Cardoș from the "Gheorghe Dima" Music Academy in Cluj and Ioana Bîgu from the National University of Music Bucharest. The third prize, also ex aequo, will go to Alexa Lupu and Ana Sireteanu, both students from the National University of Music Bucharest. The competition requirements were especially challenging. We demanded a great deal from these young people. We asked for a review of an instrumental or chamber concert, another review of an opera performance or a lied recital, and the third category was a review of a record or a book. It was quite difficult. Of course, the awards also include cash prizes. Perhapsthis aspect also incentivized them - the first prize is 3000 RON, the second prize 2000 RON, and the third prize 1000 RON. Let me reveal one of the surprises in store for the gala. As part of presenting these awards to the young talents we've mentioned,there will be an additional prize offered by opera director Rareș Zaharia, in memory of his mother, Mioara Bâscă, who was also a member of our union. I'm very curious myself to see who will be the recipient of this award. I provided him with all the written materials of the contestants, and he will make the decision by next Sunday.

It will certainly be an emotional moment, considering Mrs. Mioara Bâscă's activity. Let's get back to the program of this gala. Similar to last year's edition, the event will includeshort recitals performed by renowned names in Romanian interpretative art. I've already mentioned the Ricercata ensemble and conductor Gabriel Bebeșelea, but please tell us how this aspect of the gala's program has evolved.

Someone told me that this gala has grown rapidly, much like the story of Prâslea the Brave, achieving in one year what others might in ten. I hope I won't come across as immodest, but I share this sentiment. That's why I would like to emphasize that none of those currently featured on the poster, or at least some of them, would probably not be thereif it weren't for the sponsorships we received. On this account, I wish to acknowledge our four sponsors, JTI, Quick Web Romania, the Casa de avocatură Deleanu, and the Erbiceanu Cultural Foundation. Each contributed to the beauty of this event and to everything that will happen on Sunday. Coming back to our distinguished guests, I would like to start with mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi, a key figure in the Romanian singing school, with an internationally acclaimed career. A few seasons ago, she sang in the inaugural performance on December 7th, for the opening of the season at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In February, she will also make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Next, we have bass Alexander Kopeczi, a soloist of the prestigious Bavarian State Opera, and baritone Alexandru Chiriac, a voice that we proudly feature. He is well-known here, and I foresee a bright future for him on the international stage. Young pianist Daria Tudor will be present as well. Musica Ricercata and soprano Rodica Vicăwill not miss either. And I don't want to forget about the Romanian Youth Orchestra, which will play a significant role in this gala,led by maestro Gabriel Bebeșelea, who is another renowned figure in the music world. I cannot simply label him as a conductor because Gabriel Bebeșelea is genuinely a multifaceted musical and cultural force,known for initiating orchestras, festivals, and other endeavors. Finally, I conclude with the National Chamber Choir "Madrigal-Marin Constantin."This is a lineup that fills me with pride, and I am deeply grateful to everyone featured on our event's poster, our sponsors, and last but not least, the "George Enescu" Philharmonic, our gracious host.

All these musicians will be live on Radio România Muzical.

Many thanks to everyone, to all my colleagues at Radio România Muzical. I also want to extend my thank you to you and the station manager, Cristina Comandașu. I truly feel your strong support, and I am indebted, to say the least.

The Musicrit Awards Gala will be live on Radio România Muzical. Tune in this Sunday, January 14th, at 7:00 PM. That concludes our chat with Luminița Arvunescu, the president of the Union of Critics, Editors, and Music Producers in Romania, association of which I am proud to be part of. Thank you for joining us on Perpetuum Mobile and good luck on Sunday evening!