The universe of music with ES Mrs. Tamar Samash, Ambassador of Israel at Bucharest
Saturday, 21 November 2015 , 16.00

You can listen to the full dialogue recorded the 11th of November 2015, in studio 13 of Radio Romania. The dialogue became part of some programmes, the first being broadcast the 22nd of November. You need Flash player 8 or newer to listen to this clip. [More ...]

 

I find it difficult to talk about a programme that I have worked on. I imagine that each person who creates something might feel the same reluctance to talk about the fruit of his or her imagination…

One law of creativity states that each new idea is born out of a mix of old and new, mysteriously blended inside the human brain. This is exactly what happened in the case of ‘The universe of music’ programmes.

In 2004 I was invited to see for myself how things went on in an Irish classical music radio station which enjoyed huge ratings at the time. One if the ideas that the local director had was to bring personalities from other domains to talk about their interests in music, and his first choice was a famous soccer sportscaster.

Then I figured that we could have a similar format at Radio Romania Music; however, I failed to find any music loving sportscasters in Romania, so I turned my attention to spokesmen in the cultural area, people who could be an example for all those who have not yet dared to enter into the realm of classical music.

In November 2005, the cycle had its debut, with the first four programmes being done with the actor Victor Rebengiuc. My voice cannot be heard in those recordings, because I initially thought I could turn a dialogue into a monologue, which turned out to be a bad idea as I soon found out. Next we had a series a dialogues with the writers Horia Roman Patapievici, Nicolae Manolescu, professor Vlad Alexandrescu, the writer Octavian Paler, acad. Constantin Balaceanu-Stolnici and the actor Marcel Iures. Each of these emblematic figures were allotted four or five shows, depending on how many Saturdays there were in that particular month of broadcast. My guests were at first intimidated upon hearing that they had to attend so many two-hour meetings, but they all found out eventually that time flies in a heartbeat when you skillfully blend together music with an interesting conversation.

In June 2006, as I became unavailable, the show was taken over by my husband, Tiberiu Comandasu, who brought the first series to an end together with director Alexandru Dabija. Starting with October 2006, Tiberiu Comandasu’s guests have been the writer Neagu Djuvara, the painter Sorin Dumitrescu, art critic Pavel Susara, the writer Ana Blandiana, the director Alexandru Tocilescu, the writer Teodor Baconsky and Theodor Paleologu, former ambassador and Minister of Culture.

The 2008-2009 series brought in front on the Radio Romania Music microphone the likes of the writer Mircea Mihaies, the litterature critic Dan C. Mihailescu, the writer Mircea Cartarescu, the director Alexandru Dabija, the politologue Vladimir Tismaneanu and the philosopher Mihai Sora, and the next season, 2009-2010, the writer Vlad Zografi, the actor Tudor Chirilă, the theologist Mihail Neamţu, the writer Radu Paraschivescu, the theater critic Marina Constantinescu, the writer Ioana Pârvulescu, the actrice Medeea Marinescu.

The next guests of this programme where: the writer Ion Vianu, the sculpturer Vlad Ciobanu, the film director Cristi Puiu, the sociologist Vintilă Mihăilescu and the actrice Oana Pellea (2010-2011), the writer Monica Pillat, the editor Denisa Comănescu, His Holliness, Ioan Robu, Catholic Archibishop at Bucharest, Princess Margareta and Prince Radu of Romania, the translator Antoaneta Ralian, the poet Șerban Foarță (2011-2012), the theatre critic George Banu, the physicist Andrei Dorobanțu, acad. Solomon Marcus, the writer Gabriela Adameșteanu, the editor Georgeta Dimisianu (2012-2013), Mircea Vasilescu, editor in chief of Dilema veche, acad. Răzvan Theodorescu, the director Andrei Șerban, the photographer Francisc Mraz, the writer Filip Florian (2013-2014), the actor Marius Manole, the writers Livius Ciocârlie and Mihai Zamfir, English professor Lidia Vianu, the writer Matei Vișniec, the director Alice Barb (2014-2015), George Butunoiu - businessman and Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Israel at Bucharest, Tamar Samash (2015-2016). 

I think that there is a lesson to be learned from everything that we do in life. I have learned many things by working on this cycle on programmes, where I have invested all my passion for classical music, my favorite works, the ideas and the less known things about my guest’s lives. I have learned that it is a great privilege to spend even a few hours in the company of enlightened minds; I have learned that what you know and how you chisel your own soul is directly proportional to how modest you are and how much common sense you possess. 

I am eager to receive your opinions regarding the programme at cristina.comandasu@radioromania.ro. The programmes may be heard every Saturday at 4 PM.