Violinist Mira Glodeanu,professor of Baroque violin at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, will givea concert together with the BAROCkeri Orchestra of the UNMB (National University of Music Bucharest) on Tuesday, November 26^th.

Ms. Mira Glodeanu, tomorrowyou will perform at the concert "Metamorphoses" alongside the BAROCkeri Orchestra of the National University of Music in Bucharest. How would you describe this first collaboration with the ensemble?

I am very happy to be in Bucharest for this occasion, thanks to an invitation through the Erasmus Programme between the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where I teach, and the National University of Music in Bucharest. I gladly accepted this invitation from Angela Șindeli, who is in charge of the programme, and from Mr. Adrian Buciu, associate professor and deputy dean of the Faculty of Musical Interpretation, who is the conductor of the BAROCkeri Orchestra of this university.

Thirty years ago, when I was a student here, there was no such thing as Baroque music. Therefore, being here now, within these walls, on the same stage, surrounded by talented people who are passionate about this repertoire, fills me with great joy.

What is more, you also held a Baroque music performance masterclass on Saturday, November 23^rd, and Sunday, November 24^th, 2024, at the National University of Music Bucharest. How would you describe your interaction with the students and the way in which they relate to early music?

There is a great deal of interest and curiosity on their part. They are very open; each of them has joined the masterclass,at their own level, on a path of exploration, I would say. Some are playing gut stringsor Baroque instruments with Baroque bows. It was a great pleasure to see the number of instruments - it is wonderful! Others brought their regular instruments, which they use for all repertoires. They had such goodwill, wide open ears, patience, and focus.

In any case, I noticed that the students already have a remarkable level of sensitivity and awareness. Of course, what is also worth mentioningis the dedication of their teachers - for example, Lecturer Mihail Ghiga, who has been the concertmaster of the BAROCkeri Orchestra for many years, or Fernanda Romila, also an associate professor, who works with the basso continuo section.

This entire context has left a very pleasant impression on me, andI hope everybody enjoyed this fruitful interaction!

I would like to kindly ask you to tell us what the main guidelines that need to be followed in order to play early music in style are.

This is a philosophical question that will require a considerable amount of time to answer. However, our role as performers today, in order to play in style, is much closer to that of a Sherlock Holmes, for instance. At the same time, of course, we must be performers above anything else, because that is our primary purpose. On the other hand, we also assume the role of musicologist, researcher, and interpreter in the sense of a translator… because if we were to rely exclusively on what we read and see in written form, it would not be enough. This is- again, in the sense of a literary translator - a huge aspect of interpretation. What we can do, however, is to learn to masterthings like old instruments, organs, surviving old bows, original wind instruments… and, of course, the closer we get to these, the more we can see every detail as if under a magnifying glass. In the end, I would say that playing in style is a matter of information, of culture, plain and simple, and of shared sensitivity between the repertoire you choose to explore and your own personal sensitivity.

Let us go back to tomorrow evening's concert. Could you tell us a bit about the selected works for the programme?

The programme posed a bit of a challenge because my colleagues here at the National University of Music Bucharest asked me to perform French music. The first name that came upwas Marin Marais. From his works, we will perform the Suite from the tragedy Alcione, which I believe will be a premiere. This 17th-18th century French music was always accompanied by dance, choirs, singers, and the entire theatrical apparatus of the Baroque period, which -let's not deceive ourselves-we will not have tomorrow, but we will suggest it, create the impression of it. And this art of suggestion has set the tone for the entire programme. So, alongside Marin Marais, we will feature François Francoeur, an 18th-century composer very dear to my heart, from the time of Louis XVI, Michel Corrette, and of course, Jean-Philippe Rameau, who could not possibly be absent from this truly bold and slightly extravagant event, filled with many musical suggestions, though not as many visual ones.

I hope that, in the more or less distant future, the students here, the musicians, and the public will have the chance to fully experience this genre, namely French Baroque opera. For now, we areonly going to give you a sample of this highly elaborate, precious repertoire, which speaks so well of the French Baroque music.

Photo credit: Cezar Sandu