The second edition of Classix Festival debuts in Iasi, on Sunday, March 14^th. Its program consists of five chamber concerts and two educational dialogues on cultural issues.

Sold out concerts

At the moment, the city is in the yellow scenario and allows the development of cultural events with a participation of 30% of the seats available in the concert halls. Shortly after the tickets were released, physical access to concerts was claimed by classical music lovers. The festival will have a hybrid format, and all concerts will be broadcast online on the festival's Facebook page .

Classix Festival brings together in Iasi 11 international artists who will perform in atypical locations in the city: the Roman Catholic Cathedral "Holy Virgin Mary, Queen", the Hall of the University Library "Mihai Eminescu", the Hall of the Technical University "Gh. Asachi" and the Palace of Culture. This year's edition also marks a series of awards, such as: the Iasi performance of Olivier Messiaen - Quartet for the end of time, the debut in Romania of the Viennese ensemble Artio Trio and supporting the interdisciplinarity of arts through video projections in the Roman Catholic Cathedral.

The series of events organized within the festival enjoys the support of partners and cultural centers in Romania, and their support has proven to be absolutely essential in the complicated context of pandemic regulations and limitations. Katharina Scheidereiter, CSR Manager of Kaufland Romania, says: "For Kaufland Romania, culture is a key pillar in the social responsibility strategy. We have happily joined the Classix Festival, which is a model of perseverance to bring classical music close to people. "Due to the hybrid format in which it takes place, the festival contributes to restoring the precious link between artists and the public and has every chance to position itself on the map of cultural events of the year."

Artists invited to Iasi

On Sunday, March 14, at 19:30, during the Classix Aeterna concert, artists from Iași will perform: concert pianist and artistic director of the festival, Dragoș Andrei Cantea, cellist Filip Papa, violinist Andrei Chirilă and clarinetist Mihai Ailenei.

Dragoș Cantea is an alumni of the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and constantly performs in Europe both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Outside the stage, Dragoș is actively involved in charity projects, especially in the fields of health and education.

Cellist Filip Papa is a founding member of the Ad Libitum Quartet. He supports a rich concert activity, collaborating with great musicians such as Bujor Prelipcean, Dan Prelipcean (VOCES Quartet), Martin Lovett and Norbert Brainin (Amadeus Quartet). He is an associate professor at the West University of Timișoara and a concert soloist at the State Philharmonic in Iași.

Mihai Ailenei, clarinetist, combines concert activity with pedagogical activity: he is the first clarinetist soloist of the Iași State Philharmonic and associate professor of the "George Enescu" National University of Arts. He has given concerts in Romania and the rest of Europe under the baton of personalities such as Ion Baciu, Tiberiu Soare, Dietrich Scholler Manno or Alfonso Calleya.

The violinist Andrei Chirilă became a member of the "Moldova" Philharmonic Orchestra in Iași in 2003, and in 2008-2011 he held the position of party leader (violin I) in the "Philharmonie der Nationen" orchestra in Germany, with which he gave concerts internationally. He also stood out as a soloist, performing with prestigious orchestras, having in parallel a rich artistic activity in chamber ensembles. Currently, he holds the position of master concert of the Iași Philharmonic.

On Monday, March 15, at 19:00, the Kaleidoscopic Trends concert marks the debut of the Viennese Artio Trio ensemble in Romania. Thomas Kloiber, director of the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest, mentions: "Contemporary sound and courageous repertoire choices have propelled the Trio Artio among the most appreciated young Austrian chamber ensembles, selected in the NASOM program - New Austrian Sound of Music - promoted by the Austrian Ministry of European Affairs Trio Artio is also a model for the assertion of women in the European environment of classical instrumental music, often dominated by men.This refined ensemble meets the Romanian audience at Classix Fest, a high quality event that becomes a landmark in region and which the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest is proud to support since the first edition ".

Trio Artio was founded in 2017 by Austrian violinist Judith Fliedl, German cellist Christine Roider and Austrian pianist Johanna Estermann, being mentored by Stefan Mendl and Johannes Meissl at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Shortly after its founding, the Trio Artio was awarded the "Massimiliano Antonelli International Chamber Music Competition" (Italy) and the beneficiary of the "Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now" scholarship. In the 2019/20 season, Trio Artio was the first "Featured Ensemble" from Jeunesse Austria. The ensemble has performed not only in some of the most prestigious venues in Vienna, but also throughout Austria, in a wide variety of genres, such as musical theater productions and children's concerts. A highlight of the season was a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto at the Konzerthaus Vienna.

On Tuesday, March 16, at 19:00, in the Foyer of the Palace of Culture in Iași, the concert Tango vs. Jazz takes places. The guest artists represent an effervescent and original duo: Kristina Vocetková - cello and Milan Řehák - accordion.

Kristina is currently a postgraduate student at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. She has won numerous competitions, such as the Anton Rubinstein International Competition (Germany), the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition (Czech Republic), the Liezen International Cello Competition (Austria) or the Rudolf Matz Competition (Croatia). Other solo engagements for Kristina next season include the Brno Philharmonic and the Jaroslav Kocian Chamber Orchestra.

Milan Řehák is currently one of the most notable Czech accordionists, a graduate of the Prague Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He is the winner of many international accordion competitions (Croatia, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia). His solo repertoire includes original accordion compositions, baroque works, virtuoso transcriptions and folk arrangements. He has officially released 6 CDs. In addition to accordion and performance, Milan is passionate about media production, painting and nature.

The concert is organized with the support of the Czech Center Bucharest, and Robin Ujfaluši, its director, says: "I am impressed by the commitment of the Classix team to organize the international festival despite the current restrictions. It is great to keep continuity, if possible, it is great for the city Iasi is great for artists who have minimal opportunities to sing today. I am very happy that Milan Řehák and Kristina Vocetková are young rising stars as part of the program and I hope that the Romanian public will enjoy their concert. "

On Wednesday, March 17^th, at 19:00, the concert Ecouri Intime takes place in the Hall of the Technical University "Gh. Asachi" in Iași, and the intimate space of the hall will be the ideal host of a seductive and profound recital by Rémi Jousselme, French guitarist world-renowned, defined by interdisciplinarity.

Rémi is the winner of the famous Printemps Guitar competition in Belgium and is a very active artist in the field of contemporary music. He is currently a professor at the Conservatory of Tours, France, and at the IsdaT College of Art and Design in Toulouse. He has numerous appearances as a soloist or chamber musician especially in Europe and Asia, and plays on a Vicente Carrillo guitar with Savarez strings.

On Thursday, March 18, at 19:00, at the end of the festival, the concert Classix In Perpetuum takes place. The German pianist Alexander Krichel presents two suites: the virtuoso exhibition of sound paintings - Paintings from an exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky and the fusion between Romanian folklore and impressionist tendencies in Suite No. 2 for piano in D major, op. 10 composed by George Enescu.

The pianist and winner of the ECHO Klassik Prize, Alexander Krichel is known for his captivating performances of the most demanding opposites of the piano repertoire. In Hanover, he was Vladimir Krainev's last student before graduating with the highest distinction from the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with Dmitri Alexeev.

Alexander Krichel has given concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle, Munich Herkulessaal and Prinzregententheater, Cologne Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, St. Martin in the Fields in London and at St. Petersburg Philharmonic. He has inspired audiences at numerous festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Schwetzinger Festspiele, Kissinger Sommer.

Alexander Krichel is not only a concert pianist, but also the co-founder and artistic director of the award-winning "Kultur Rockt" festival and artistic director of the exclusive chamber music series "Kammermusik am Hochrhein". Since 2018, he has also been a permanent member of the Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis jury. He is involved in projects that give children and young people access to classical music.

Alexander Rubel, Director of the German Cultural Center Iasi and partner of the festival, says: "The German Cultural Center Iasi is a partner of the" Classix "initiative, which this year is under the concept of timelessness. The innovative concept convinced us from the beginning and we are proud that this year, despite all the restrictions, we can make a German contribution. musicians from Europe and around the world and brings them together in Iasi. "

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The festival started in February 2020, and the 7 classical music concerts organized in atypical and unconventional locations for auditions of chamber performances had an audience of over 3000 people.

The Creative Industries Association is the organizer of the Rocanotherworld and Classix festivals in Iași, aiming at the cultural revitalization of the city, involving creative communities and involvement in civil life of society through actions that promote the proactive, contributory and participatory spirit.

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