Mr. Petruț Constantinescu, the traditional festival "Young Talents" reached its XLIV edition this year and took place on the 12^th-13^th of May. I would kindly ask you to tell us a bit more about the mission of the organizers, looking back at the big number of editions.

The Young Talents Festival, a trademark of Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic, a festival that the RâmnicuVâlcea Philharmonic and the RâmnicuVâlcea City Hall have been organizing for more than 10 years, has reached its XLIV edition. On the 12^th and 13^th of May, the greatest young talents of Romania came to RâmnicuVâlcea. They performed on all kinds of instruments. We had a very special moment, because the distinguished pianist and musicologist, dr. Ilinca Dumitrescu, the festival's president, organized an extraordinary contest in Bucharest. After this competition, some of the winners were invited to RâmnicuVâlcea. This year, apart from the traditional instruments, piano, violin and wind instruments, she invited a young pan flute player and a young choir from Brasov, who were awarded by Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic. Therefore, some exceptional names. The "Remember Enescu" Foundation, with the help of the generous teacher Mihaela Tomescu, a talent scout who is never tired, as I like to call her, brought young performers to RâmnicuVâlcea, so that, this year, the festival was full of great moments performances once again, and the public had the joy to see the Central Ballet School of RâmnicuVâlcea, which sent two winners of great ballet competitions from France and Germany on stage. A festival with incredible moments, with the festival gala, accompanied by the symphony orchestra - anyone coming to RâmnicuVâlcea knows that on Monday night, during the festival gala, the symphony orchestra accompanies the most talented young people. This year, Maestro Tiberiu Dragoș Opreahad the pleasure of accompanying the five young people, because we also had a vocal duet, realized by soprano Maria Cazacu and baritone Marco Solina from Italy, since we want to give an international connotation to this festival. The young pianist Inya Kutova, who performed Grieg'sPiano andOrchestra Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, also performed at the gala. The young violinist from Chișinău, MihaiMangîr, who performed Poème, Op. 25, by Chausson, and the young clarinetist from Timișoara, Vlad Oberșterescu, who performed Concertino in E-flat major by Weber, were two exceptional talents who impressed the music lovers.

What is the impact of the Young Talents Festival in terms of culture for RâmnicuVâlcea? What are you planning to do for the following editions?

Each edition enriches the audience of RâmnicuVâlcea both culturally and spiritually. The public has the chance to see the most valuable young artists, so the impact is more and more powerful with every edition that passes, when we succeed in coloring, as I like to call it, this festival with quality music that the music-loving audience present in the Lahovari hall has always deeply appreciated. We would like to see the educational field being more involved in this, because, unfortunately, the music-loving public is the one who wins by far in terms of presence in the concert hall, and the young people, not necessarily the ones that study music, are more oriented towards facile and vulgar, so, as I was saying, the traditional music-loving audience wins, they are present even throughout the festival.

I would like to focus our attention on the Viorica Cortez Gala, which took place on Monday, the 20^th of May, a concert that closed the series of events organized for the 636-year anniversary since the first documentary evidence of Vâlcea city. Tell us more about this event.

Yes, the Viorica Cortez Gala ended last night and it was sensational. It is a historical moment for RâmnicuVâlcea, for Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic of RâmnicuVâlcea and for the contemporary public, having this "Carmen" of the century, as mezzo-soprano Viorica Cortez has been called since she was young. At a venerable age, she flawlessly performed an incredible repertoire to a full house, and the baritone Florin Estefan performed an extraordinary duet with Mrs. Viorica Cortez. A concert event, because the city hall of RâmnicuVâlcea, took care not only of the financial aspect of the concert, but also joined the Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic for this special moment. On the 20th of May, it was the 100th anniversary of the philharmonic in Vâlcea. The composer Ion Dumitrescu, born in Oteșani, Vâlcea, therefore, an exceptional moment in a philharmonic that once again certifies its national value by inviting these musical monuments, I may say, and I would like all the decision makers of our times to know that all the philharmonic and operas of Romania shake hands, nationally and internationally representing both the greatest musical values and music.