The Magic Summer Festival, organized by the cultural Foundation Lanto Communication, started on 18^th July, 2012, at the Romanian Athenaeum, with a special concert held by the pianist Valentin Gheorghiu and his guests: the pianists Roxana and Valentina Gheorghiu, the violinist Gabriel Croitoru and the violoncellist Marin Cazacu.

The programme was diverse and comprehensive at the same time, starting with two works played by the pianists Valentin and Roxana Gheorghiu: Sonata for Piano Four-Hands in D major, K.381 by Mozart - tender, serene, in which the two musicians emphasized through dialogues the vocality of the instrumental discourse and Rondo in D Major, D.681 by Schubert, full of a cantability reflected in the contouring of the timbral colours. Next went on stage the pianist Valentin Gheorghiu, who chose to play "Pagodes" and "La Soiree dans Grenade" from the suite Estampes by Claude Debussy and "Vallée d'Obermann" of Years of Pilgrimage by Franz Liszt, and after that the pianists from the Gheorghiu family went on stage in order to perform Romance and Waltz in A Major for Six Hands by Rachmaninoff. Two more performances by the protagonists Roxana and Valentin Gheorghiu ended the first part of the evening: two of the Slavonic Dances Op.72 by Dvořák, performed with expressivity and profoundness and a transcription for piano four hands of the Rapsody, Op.11, No.1 by George Enescu signed by Valentin Gheorghiu, an achievement of great pianistic and interpretative finesse.

After the break, pianist Valentin Gheorghiu was joined by violinist Gabriel Croitoru and violoncellist Marin Cazacu, for the Trio No.4 in E Minor (Dumky) by Dvořák, a performance full of energy and optimism, but also of melancholy and interiorization during the slow parts.

The violinist Gabriel Croitoru told us what it felt like to be again on stage with maestro Valentin Gheorghiu: "as always, very good, between friends, I'm glad that God allows us to perform with such a great artist and, for me at least, it is a delight every time."

At the end of the concert I also had the honour to talk to the pianists Valentin and Roxana Gheorghiu and the violoncellist Marin Cazacu.

Marin Cazacu: "I thought about something; 30 years have passed since we have first sang together and you cannot imagine the joy that we feel in our hearts every time we happen to have joint evening, because joint evening means joint emotion, the type of friendship that develops through sounds and through the reactions of the audience who loves us the same way we love music."

Valentin Gheorghiu: "And it also means another thing: a sonorous universe who belongs to some geniuses, a universe which needs to be shared with everyone more often. We feel close because of the music."

Roxana Gheorghiu: "Not only because of music, but also because of the mental affinities."

Marin Cazacu: "The truth is that music unites us, not only us, the performers. It unites the audience; people feel better, friendlier, and more tolerant."

Indeed, the audience was charmed by the music performed by Valentin Gheorghiu and his guests. The "magic summer" at the Romanian Athenaeum continues on every Wednesday, until 29^th August.