On Sunday, December 13^th, from 7 PM, the conductor Cristian Măcelaru will conduct the Romanian Youth Orchestra, in the concert that can be listened to live from the Romanian Athenaeum on the facebook page of the National Center for Romanian Youth Art.

The soloist of the concert organized in partnership by the National Center for Romanian Youth Art and the "George Enescu" Philharmonic is the pianist Simon TRPČESKI and will have in the program Concert no. 5 for piano and orchestra in E flat major, op. 73, "The Imperial" by Ludwig van Beethoven and Symphony no. 41 "Jupiter", KV 551 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The conductor Cristian Măcelaru returns this year besides the National Youth Orchestras of Romania, with which he has been collaborating for several years, from his current position at the desk of the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Orchester National de France. Already in his second year as head conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln, Cristian Măcelaru is one of the most well-known rising orchestra conductors in the world.Appointed music director of the Orchester National de France in Paris, one of the most important orchestras in Europe, starting September 2021, he started his activity in this position a year earlier, ie from September 2020. At the beginning of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru was awarded with the GRAMMY® Prize for conducting with the recording made for Decca Classics with the Violin Concerto by Wynton Marsalis with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since the summer of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru is the artistic director and principal conductor of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the InterlochenCenter for the Arts. Also in 2020, Cristian Măcelaru entered the fourth season of artistic director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the most important festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic repertoire worldwide.

In the artistic biography of pianist Simon Trpčeski we can see a wide concert experience with orchestras such as Concertgebouworkest, Russian National Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Orchester National de France, New York Philharmonic, China Philharmonic and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. Simon Trpčeski regularly gives solo recitals in cities such as New York, Paris, Munich, Prague, São Paulo, Sydney, Beijing, Tokyo or London, where he was recently Artist in Residence at Wigmore Hall. With the support of KulturOp - Macedonia, Trpčeski regularly works with young musicians from Macedonia to cultivate the country's new generation of artists. Born in Macedonia, Trpčeski studied with Boris Romanov, was a BBC New Generation Artist and received the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2003.

CRISTIAN MĂCELARU

With a rising conducting activity, Cristian Măcelaru is one of the most representative conductors of his generation. He began his career with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the 2010-2011 season he was appointed assistant conductor of the same orchestra, being awarded the Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award for special merits.

He studied at Rice University with Larry Rachleff and earned a master's degree in conducting. Having also played the violin, Cristian Măcelaru was concertmaster of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, making his debut at Carnegie Hall with the same orchestra.

He completed his artistic training following training programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and studied with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin, Rafael Frühbeck of Burgos, Robert Spano, Oliver Knussen and Stefan Asbury. He was a resident conductor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Larry Rachleff's assistant conductor in the Department of Opera. Cristian Măcelaru was invited to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to replace Pierre Boulez.

Concerned with the training and support of young musicians, Cristian Măcelaru laid the foundations of the Crisalis Music project. He currently collaborates with the Métropolitain Orchestra of Montreal, the Symphony Orchestras of Washington, Seattle, Toronto, Baltimore, with the symphony orchestras of Houston and Baltimore, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BayerischenRundfunks Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Cristian Măcelaru also made his successful debut with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Already in his second year as head conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln, Cristian Măcelaru is one of the most well-known rising orchestra conductors in the world. Appointed music director of the Orchester National de France in Paris, one of the most important orchestras in Europe, starting September 2021. He started his activity in this position a year earlier, ie from September 2020. At the beginning of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru was awarded with the GRAMMY® Prize for conducting with the recording made for Decca Classics with the Violin Concerto by Wynton Marsalis with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since the summer of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru is the artistic director and principal conductor of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the InterlochenCenter for the Arts. Also, in 2020, he entered the fourth season of artistic director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the most important festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic repertoire worldwide.

Romanian Youth Orchestra

The Romanian Youth Orchestra was formed in 2008 at the initiative of cellist Marin Cazacu, as an artistic and educational program supported by the "Friends of Music - SerafimAntropov" Foundation and Lanto Communication. Since 2014, it has been operating under the auspices of the "Romanian Youth" National Art Center. This project brings together the best young musicians in Romania for an unique artistic experience that aims to achieve a high level of performance. The Romanian Youth Orchestra is considered to be the best orchestra in the country in the last years, which has recently stood out internationally, appreciated by European critics as a top ensemble in the world.

From the beginning, Cristian Mandeal was concerned with the development of the ensemble. Under his artistic direction, the orchestra became a successful story in the Romanian music world. Through the work of turning every concert into a memorable event, it thus gives the country an international orchestra that sets a standard par excellence.

Currently, the project "Romanian Youth Orchestra - Enescian spirit and European tradition" involves various creative development activities. The aim of the program is to offer the possibility of training musicians in orchestra, to assimilate a rich repertoire by participating in masterclasses, and most importantly, to cultivate the pleasure of singing as a whole with internationally renowned conductors and soloists such as: Cristian Macelaru, Lawrence Foster, Horia Andreescu, Kristjan Järvi, Bogdan Băcanu, Sarah Chang, Amanda Forsyth, David Garrett, Stefan Geiger, Andrei Ioniță, Roman Kim, Elizabeth Leonskaja, Ivan Ludlow, PlamenaMangova, Valentina Naforniță, Olga Pasichnyk, Wave Quartet, Peter Sadlo, Olga Scheps, Emmanuel Séjourné, Aleksey Semenenko and Pinchas Zukerman.

The result - an unique orchestra, acclaimed at concerts with the full hall of the Romanian Athenaeum, Radio Hall, George Enescu International Festival and on international stages such as: the Auditorium Parco dellaMusica in Rome, the Ravello Festival and the Mahler Festival in Dobbiaco - Italy, March Music Day in Ruse, the Milan Youth Orchestra Festival, the Aix en Provence Festival and the International Festival of European Youth Orchestras Euroclassic in Berlin.

Since November 2011 the ensemble is a member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras - EFNYO. Within this international body, the Romanian Youth Orchestra is an active participant of the MusXchange program, meant to ensure the best possible circulation of the most valuable young musicians in the programs carried out by the youth orchestras in Europe.

Since 2011, the Romanian Youth Orchestra is constantly invited to the George Enescu International Festival, marking over the years numerous premieres in terms of the presence of a Romanian orchestra on major European stages, such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthaus, Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Pierre Boulez Grand Hall of the Paris Philharmonic, the Bozar Hall in Brussels, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome or the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg along with the most important concert halls in important cultural centers such as Aix en Provence, Basel, Geneva , Lyon, Rouen, Ruse, Chisinau, Balti, Milan, Dobbiaco and Ravello in Italy, Linz, Salzburg, or from Asia, Istanbul and Beijing, or the United States of America, as well as from Romania, to Sinaia, Brașov, Busteni, Sibiu , Cluj, Iași and Timișoara.

Considered an artistic project that has reached maturity, the Romanian Youth Orchestra continues its journey in the world of quality music and international recognition, being an ensemble educated in a professional spirit in an exceptional artistic environment.

Photo credits: Virgil Oprina