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The Travelling Piano Tour Begins Its Third Journey
Thousands of kilometres, tens of thousands of listeners in the halls and millions of virtual listeners by means of radio, television or internet participated in the first two editions of the national tour The Travelling Piano, organized by Radio Romania Cultural and the Cultural Association Accendo. After the 12 recitals in 2011, the impressive tour of 2012 reached 22 recitals and concerts in 19 cities; this time, the third edition of the event, with Horia Mihail as protagonist, taking place between 24th March and 27th April, 2013, will reach 15 cities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
The itinerary will cover all historical regions of the country: it will start in Banat - Sânnicolau Mare and Timisoara, it will then arrive in Ardeal at Brasov, Sibiu, Mediaș, Cluj Napoca and Târgu Mureș, in Crișana at Oradea and in Muntenia at Pitesti and Bucharest, in Moldavia at Bârlad, Tecuci, Roman and across the Prut at Chișinău and, finally, it will reach Dobrogea for the piano's final destination, Tulcea.
The repertoire chosen for this tour consists entirely of Beethoven: the Pathétique, Moonlight and Appassionata sonatas and the Concerto No. 4 for Piano and Orchestra in G Major. And because old friends can never be forgotten, Horia Mihail will go visit in 2013 the first two travelling pianos. Thus, the tour will begin at Sânnicolau Mare (24th March), the town where the second travelling piano remained at the end of the 2012 edition. The pianist will also meet again the first travelling piano on 11th April, at Mediaș, where the latter remained in 2011.
Before leaving Bucharest, the third travelling piano will take a walk through the Capital's parks. From the Radio Hall, where it is now (as the piano is the property of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company), the piano will stop in Cișmigiu and Herăstrău, on 13th and 14th April; there will be two outdoor recitals, organized with the support of ARCUB (The Centre for Cultural Projects of the Bucharest City Hall). One week later, the travelling piano will accompany Horia Mihail on his journey to several cities in the country, where there are no quality pianos to be used for such events.
A year ago, Horia Mihail was stating: 'In every town we went, the audience was enthusiastic, eager for beauty, for culture and very warm; there were a lot of young people and this brought me incredible joy. Despite the inherent tiredness, after every recital I had a fresh energy and I felt that the audience empathised with what I was doing. I wish that this great, beautiful event didn't share the destiny of other beautiful things in Romania, namely disappearance.'
Oltea Șerban-Pârâu, the editor-in-chief of Radio Romania Cultural and one of the initiators of the tour, stated: 'The travelling piano was at first just an idea, a dream; we didn't know if we'd be able to turn it into reality and not let it become only something that happened some year, an accident that will amaze some people and then be forgotten, as soon as it was discovered. Now, when launching the third edition, the travelling piano became a brand and everybody knows perfectly well what it's all about. The third journey will start in Bucharest, just like the previous ones, and will end in Tulcea, at the Jean Bart Theatre, where the third travelling piano will live during the next few years.'
The third tour offers Horia Mihail the joy of repeating this experience, with an attractive programme, recitals and concerts with the orchestra. The itinerary can be followed on www.pianulcalator.ro or on the frequencies of the public radio stations.
Itinerary for Recitals:
24th March- Sânnicolau Mare, Nako Castle, Recital (Travelling Piano no. 2)
25th March-Timisoara-Capitol Hall, Recital
29th March-Brasov-the Military Circle, Recital
2nd April-Pitesti, the Cultural Centre, Recital
5th April-Oradea, the Philharmonic Hall, Recital
7th April-Cluj Napoca, the Music Academy, Recital
9th April-Targu Mures-the Culture Palace, Recital
17th April-Bucharest, the Radio Hall, Recital
Itinerary for Concerts with the Orchestra:
28th March-Brasov, the Military Circle, Concert with the orchestra
11th April-Sibiu, Thalia Hall, Concert with the orchestra
12th April- Mediaș, Traube Hall, Concert with the orchestra (Travelling Piano no. 1)
19th April-Bucharest-the Radio Hall, Concert with the orchestra
25th April- Chișinău, the Organ Hall, Concert with the orchestra
Itinerary for the Travelling Piano Recitals:
13th April-Bucharest, Cișmigiu Park, the Travelling Piano Recital
14th April-Bucharest, Herăstrău Park, the Travelling Piano Recital
20th April- Bârlad, the Marcel Guguianu Pavilion, the Travelling Piano Recital
21st April-Tecuci, the Cultural Centre, the Travelling Piano Recital
22nd April-Roman, the Cultural Centre, the Travelling Piano Recital
27th April-Tulcea, the Jean Bart Theatre, the Travelling Piano Recital
Translated by Mihaela Olinescu and Elena Daniela Radu
MTTLC, Bucharest University