In the concert hall of the Romanian Athenaeum, a very talented Romanian pianist, who won second place in the George Enescu International Competition in 2022: George Todică will perform a musical program of well-known opusesby Enescu, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Chopin.

The winner of the George Enescu International Festival, under the emblematic roof of the Romanian Athenaeum: the "Heirs of Musical Romania", organized by Radio România Muzical, together with Rotary Club Pipera and Artexim, brings George Tudica in Bucharest, for the first time since he won the coveted prize of the Enescu Competition last year.

An artist with a special sensibility, combining poetry with an outstanding piano technique, George Todica is currently one of the Romanian names associated with a beautiful career, carried out mostly in UK, his adoptive country.

For the recital happening in Bucharest on the 13^th on May, George Todica chose a program with neoclassical accents. He, of course, proposes pages from George Enescu's work: three parts of the most widely interpreted piano sheet music by George Enescu, Suite no 2. Op. 10, composed within the same time period as the famous Romanian Rhapsodies, meaning right at the beginning of the XX century, when Enescu was 20 years old. One of these three parts is called Pavane, referring to the baroque and Renaissance instrumental suites; another famous pavane that George Todica chose for his program is Pavane for a dead princess by Maurice Ravel, composed in 1899, but performed for the first time in 1902. The piece is another proof of Ravel's attraction for the Spanish musical universe, illustrated very well in the emblematic Bolero or in the Spanish Rapsody by Maurice Ravel, as well as a look to the past, the pavane being a slow dance with Renaissance origins.

In 1931, Serghei Rachmaninoff, composer celebrated in 2023 for 150 since his birth, also looked towards the past, when he composed his opus no 42: Variations on a theme of Corelli. Not just any theme, but the very popular La Follia, found in many pieces of work of the musical baroque. Rachmaninoff's Variations on a theme of Corelli are a demonstration of virtousity and sensibility of a great Romantic composer, and at the same time, of a great pianist of the XX century.

The concert's program, proposed by George Todica, ends with one of the most challenging scores left by a great pianist and composer of the XIX century: Frédéric Chopin: Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante op. 22, a demonstration of virtuosity and sensibility, a score that fully showcases the traits of the artist George Todică.

The concert happening on the 13^th of May, at the Romanian Athenaeum, at 19.00 o'clock, will be live streamed by Radio România Muzical. The host will be Cristina Comandașu.

Tickets are available at the ticket office of the Romanian Athenaeumand on the website www.fge.org.ro.

On the 11^th of May, George Todică will perform a preview of his concert in Bucharest, in Iași, at Casa Bals, in the Eduard Caudella hall.

George Todică (30 years old) was born in Iași and he began studying the piano at the age of 6, in his hometown. When he was 17 years old, he earned the "Constantin Silvestri" scholarship, which enabled him to study at Melville College, in Edinburgh, and then at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He had his debut as a soloist when he was 14 years old, playing alongside the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra of Iași. His portfolio includes many national and international awards.The most recent ones, received in 2022, are the second place award and the Erbiceanu award, which he won in the George Enescu International Competition, the Royal Over-Seas League Keyboard Prize and Kirckman Trust Young Artist' Platform. He has performed in some of the greatest concert halls, such as Wigmore Hall and St. Martin in the Fields in London, but he held recitals and concerts not only in UK, but all over Europe. George Todică is an apreciated musician dedicated to chamber music as well; he is part of Chloe Piano Trio, an ensemble which won various prizes in 2021 and 2022; he is also the stage partener of the soprano Charlotte Hoather, with whom he has already recorded 4 albums.

The "Heirs of Musical Romania" Project

...organized by Radio România Muzical and Rotary Club Pipera, theproject has evolved in two directions in the past years. The first of these two has the initiative to bring young and exceptional Romanian musicians, on the great stages of Romania. These are artists who are doing important work overseas, but which the Romanian public rarely has a chance to hear in their home country. The recitals in this project target a wide audience, having an accesible repertoire and lasting an hour, without any breaks.

Since 2018 and until now, 20 such concerts and recitals have been held: the cellist Andrei Ioniță, the cellist Ioana Cristina Goicea, the cellist Valentin Răduțiu, the pianists Florian Mitrea, Adela Liculescu and Axia Marinescu are just some of the protagonists. Under the umbrella of the same project, two records came out at Casa Radio Publishers, containing parts of the recitals.

The second direction of development is the "Heirs of Musical Romania" scholarship. In 2020, Radio România Muzical and Rotary Club Pipera launched the "Heirs of Musical Romania" scholarship, for young musicians aged between 16 and 24 years old. The winners of the scholarship, worth 4000 euros, were the pianist Cadmiel Botac-in 2020, the cellist Cornelius Zirbo-in 2021; in 2022-the pianist Kira Frolu. Submissions for the fourth edition of the "Heirs of Musical Romania" scholarship are open until the 21st of May 2023.

Starting with 2023, ARTEXIM joined the organizers Radio România Muzical and Rotary Club Pipera, in supporting the projects dedicated to young Romanian musicians, winners of the "George Enescu" International Competition.

Organizers: Radio România Muzical, Rotary Club Pipera, Artexim, the "George Enescu" Philharmonic.

Media Parteners: Radio România Actualități, Radio România Cultural, Rador, TVR, Agerpres, Dilema veche, Cariere magazine, Observator cultural, Zeppelin, spotmedia.ro, news.ro, liternet.ro.