Kamerata Kronstadt is a new, young and dynamic chamber orchestra which was created out of its member’s love for and dedication to music; an ambitious cultural project full of energy and love for the public. The members of the orchestra were chosen because of their interest in sharing in the intimate, special camaraderie created when performing chamber music – these musicians also play in the Braşov Philharmonic and Opera orchestras. Under the baton of Maestro Cristian Oroşanu, Kamerata Kronstadt, during its first 3 seasons, has invited the public of Brașov to a series of events. Some of these events have been under the aegis of festivals like the International “George Enescu” Festival, Nuit des Instituts Culturels Européens, Meridian Festival, Mozart Festival, Music Holidays Festival, or Musica Barcensis. Many of the performances have been with special guest soloists including the violinists Alexandru Tomescu and Răzvan Stoica, the pianist Horia Mihail, the violoncellist Răzvan Suma, or the less classic Alexandra Fits and Analia Selis. Kamerata Kronstadt also supports some of Brașov’s social projects by means of benefit concerts – in January 2014 it performed a benefit concert to raise funds for «Hospice – House of Hope ». The orchestra is also involved in educational projects for the very young public of Brașov (educational concerts just for kids).
AUGUST 11-14, 2016 | SIBIU, ROMANIA
Classics for Pleasure
Artists 2016
- Kamerata Kronstadt
- Cristian Orosanu
- Rebekka Hartmann
- Ion Dacian Operetta and Musical Theatre
- Lucian Vlădescu
- Spirit Brass Ensemble
- Irina Baianţ
- Mihai Ceascai
- National Chamber Choir Madrigal
- Anna Ungureanu
- Sibiu State Philharmonic Orchestra
- David Crescenzi
- Irina Iordachescu
- Liliana Zalesińska
- Dominik Sutowicz
- Iordache Basalic
- Cluj – Napoca Romanian National Opera
- Adrian Morar
- The Children’s Comic Opera
Built with care and seriousness, the professional reputation of Cristian Oroşanu – conductor – has determined his presence on many European stages in the company of famous ensembles: Orchestre de Paris during the Aix En Provence Festival, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Tonhalle Zürich, Dso Berlin, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Lamoureux, Israel Kibbutz Orchestra, Orchestre National Porto, the Strasbourg and Brussels orchestras, etc. During his career he has had the opportunity of being the assistant of famous conductors such as Yutaka Sado, Mstislav Rostropovich and Ingo Metzmacher.
Cristian Oroşanu has successfully conducted the orchestras of almost all the philharmonics in the country and the Radio Romania ensembles; at the present he is the permanent conductor of the Braşov philharmonic. His collaboration with the radio began before his conducting career; for 5 years Cristian Oroşanu has worked as a Horner in the National Radio Orchestra.
Fascinated by the opera world, Cristian Oroşanu has worked consecutively as permanent conductor of the National Operas in Bucharest, Cluj and Iaşi and abroad he was invited in France, Austria and Japan. His lyrical repertoire includes over 40 titles. The conductor Cristian Oroşanu is the founder of the Kamerata Kronstadt orchestra and holds the title of doctor in music.
Rebekka Hartmann began playing the violin at the age of 5 with Suzuki method teacher, Helge Thelen. Thereafter, she studied in Munich with Prof. Andreas Reiner and in Los Angeles with Prof. Alice Schoenfeld. Further significant advancements were made in international master courses with Rainer Kussmaul (among others) and during her collaboration with Josef Kroner, Christoph Schlüren and Rony Rogoff.
She thrilled audiences and reviewers alike during her numerous solo appearances in China, the USA, Great Britain, Austria and Switzerland as well as during her many recitals and appearances at important festivals with prominent orchestras like the Peking Symphony, the Bamberg Symphony, the Aachen Symphony, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra and the German Chamber Orchestra.
Rebekka’s continuing development and success bear the imprint of her collaboration with renowned conductors like Christoph Eschenbach, Miguel Gomez-Martinez, Esa Pekka Salonen, Jukka Pekke Saraste and over a period of many years with Enoch zu Guttenberg.
Her repertoire covers the entire field of violin literature from the interpretation of early baroque to the most modern works – of these, she has made debut performances of lesser known composers like Hâkan Larsson and Anders Eliasson and a number of first releases of otherwise seldom heard works.
Rebekka Hartmann plays on a violin Antonio Stradivari built in 1675.
The “Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theater has always been on the search for ways to reinvent itself in order to promptly respond to the new demands of the national and international cultural market. At the present, due to its alluring cultural strategy, the theater is one of Bucharest’s active cultural centers, having successfully navigated the path from tradition to innovation and experiment. As of 2012, the theater dedicated its activity to promoting musical performance arts at a national level, unfolding its activity on the road in the amplest tour ever developed by a musical institution in Romania; the tour increased the institution’s visibility and notoriety in the main cities of the country by performing in their original form some of the best known productions in the institution’s repertoire.
The “Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theater unfolds its activity by giving special consideration to the educational side of its mission, the impact of its propositions on the development of society and the cultural sector.
The extensive programs that the “Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theater has initiated and that continue to unravel at the present are incontrovertible proof of the energy and enthusiasm that the theatre invests in building an offer which corresponds to the expectance horizon of the contemporary public.
Lucian Vlădescu is one of the most appreciated musicians of his generation; he graduated from the National University of Music in Bucharest with the highest honors and has an extremely thriving career in classical music, chamber, coral and ballet music and countless conducted, broadcasted and recorded performances.
Since 1994 Lucian Vlădescu is the Conductor of the „Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theatre, having been at the lectern of some of the most important productions in its repertoire such as „Countess Maritza”, „Silvia”, „The Merry Widow”, „Le Secret de Marco Polo”, and „Die Fledermaus”. His portfolio also contains various performances, from operetta to symphonic music and musical.
At the same time Lucian Vlădescu is cultivating a flourishing composing activity, having authored several pieces of instrumental, chamber, vocal-symphonic music, and ballet and scene music. His compositions have been performed both in Romania and abroad. He published the Concerto for violin and orchestra op. 9 by Pascal Bentoiu and his dissertation entitled „Jacques Offenbach – A Prominent Personality Of The French Lyrical Theatre In The Second Half Of The Xix Century „in the „Muzica”, magazine. In 2011, the „Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theatre dedicated to maestro Lucian Vlădescu, Ion Moldovan’s monograph: „Lucian Vlădescu…In the free game of thoughts”.
Guided by the conductor Mihai Ceascai, chief tuba player within the National Radio Orchestra, Spirit Brass Ensemble – composed of members of radio orchestras – proposes to the audience a beautiful sonorous combination, in which only brass wind instruments are used, occasionally with the interference of the percussion section. Spirit Brass Ensemble has sustained concerts in Bucharest and in other numerous cities in Romania and has a varied repertoire which covers everything from baroque and renaissance music to film music; from pages from the classical-romantic symphonic repertoire to traditional songs, carols and interwar period music.
The ensemble aims to promote a brass choir or brass band repertoire, which is not very well known in Romania but is immensely popular in Europe and the United States.
Irina Baianţ is a master student at the National University of Music in Bucharest, her repertoire including lieder, arias and roles from famous operas and operettas.
Her participation in different musical competitions has brought her important prizes such as 1st prize in the National Music Olympics – national level (2008), 1st prize in the Ion Perlea Lieder Interpretation National Festival and Competition, (2010), 2nd prize in the Mihail Jora Competition (2010), 1st prize in the „Paul Constantinescu” competition (2010), the prize for the debut of the year offered by the VIP Gala for musical performance arts following her debut as Adele from the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II at the “Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theatre.
In 2013 and 2014 she was a laureate of the International Canto Competition “Le Grand Prix De L’opéra”, organized by the National Opera in Bucharest.
At the present, she is collaborating with the “Ion Dacian” Musical and Operetta Theatre where she performs the roles of Adele from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II, Stasi from the Silvia operetta by Emmerich Kálmán and recently Christine Daée from the musical the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Llyod Webber, obtained following the Ion Dacian Musical and Operetta Theatre casting in 2014.
Mihai Ceascai completed his musical studies at the National University of Music in Bucharest. In 2007 he began his doctoral degree studies at the National University of Music in Bucharest; classes which he completed Summa cum Laude in 2010.
In 1993, while he was a student, he won the competition for instrumental soloist – tuba at the National Radio Orchestra, with which he continues to collaborate to this day; at the present he is an instrumental soloist, party leader – tuba.
Alongside university professor Marin Soare he funded „New Generation Brass Quintet”, the first student brass band in the country. Together with their band they were invited to sustain concerts at the Santa Cecilia (Spain) and Malmő (Sweden) chamber music festivals; a premiere for Romanian student music. He also funded the „Romanian Radio Brass Quintet” Ensemble with which he toured in Europe and in the United States of America, at the UN headquarters.
In 2007 he disbanded Romanian Young Brass and laid out the basis for a new ensemble, the Spirit Brass Ensemble, made up of members of Radio orchestras. They held concerts in the capital and in most of the cities in Romania and in the summer of 2009 they sustained a concert within the Finca Music Festival in Gran Canaria.
The ensemble’s professionalism, value and notoriety determined the writing of an important number of works which the ensemble interpreted in exclusive world premiere.
Five years after its birth, the National Chamber Choir Madrigal received the UNICEF medal and 3 years later the prestigious Prize of the German Musical Critique. Numerous other prizes followed such as Il Saggitario D’oro, in Italy – 1976, Medaille En Vermeil – Luxembourg 1979, the Honorary Diploma and the Grand Duc Adolf Prize in 1979, the ATM Exceptional Prize in 1979, the Honorary Diploma of the Romanian Composer and Musicologists Union in 1985 and in 1993.
In 1992 the Madrigal Choir was declared at Paris a part of the “UNESCO World Heritage List”. In 2003 the National Chamber Choir Madrigal received on behalf of the Romanian Presidency the Grand Order of Commander. Other important distinctions followed: the „American Biographical Institute” diploma, the Enescu and Eminescu medals, the Orthodox Patriarchal Cross. Since 1964, the Madrigal Choir has participated in all the editions of the George Enescu International Festival. Since 1969, the Madrigal Choir has regularly sustained concerts in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, amounting to a total of 4100 concerts out of which 1980 were abroad.
The Madrigal Miracle has flamed the imagination of many poets and composers. Miriam Marbe, Sigismund Toduță, Sabin Pauta, Tiberiu Olah, Liana Alexandra, Cornel Țăranu are just some of the Romanian composers who wrote for the choir. Out of the constellation of poets we can recall Grigore Vieru and Nichita Stănescu who wrote the most vibrant poems dedicated to the Madrigal Choir.
Specialized in the art of conducting under the careful guidance of the renowned musicians Marin Constantin and Sharon Hansen (USA), Anna Ungureanu has sustained concerts in Romania, Germany, Russia, Japan, Turkey, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland and Belgium. Since 2011, Anna Ungureanu, doctor in music and one of the conductors of the Madrigal Choir has occupied the function of Artistic Director and Main Conductor of the Cantus Mundi National Program initiated by the conductor Ion Marin, which aims at encouraging, supporting and promoting the coral movement in all the educational institutions of Romania. The professional experience which she has obtained as a result of her 9 years collaboration with the founder of the Madrigal Choir, Marin Constantin, recommend her as a pupil and a continuator of the legendary musician.
In a context generated by the existence of an important number of musicians and of a music conservatory, backed by a long tradition of symphonic and opera interpretation, the Sibiu State Philharmonic was created on January 1st, 1949; a professional concert and performance institution which has sustained thousands of symphonic and opera music concerts in over 50 years of activity, thus assimilating a vast symphonic and lyric repertoire.
Countless Romanian and foreign newspaper and magazines chronics have praised the musical level of the Sibiu orchestra’s concerts, mirroring at the same time the quality of their radio, television, disc and CD recordings.
At the same time they sustained an important number of successful tours both at home and abroad – in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Russia etc. Famous Romanian and foreign interpreters have performed alongside the Sibiu orchestra; out of these, we may recall: Ion Voicu, Valentin Gheorghiu, Ştefan Ruha (Romania), Monique De La Bruchollerie and Jean Jaques Thiollier (France), Sviatoslav Richter, Rudolf Kerer, Lazăr Berman, Dimitri Baskirov (Russia), Ivry Gittlis (Switzerland), Monserrat Caballe (Spain), and many others.
Pianist, orchestra and choir conductor, David Crescenzi began studying music at the Pesaro (Italy) Conservatory and specialized in multiple fields: orchestra instruments, choral music and choral conducting; he collaborated for many years, with Alessio Vlad and studied with Gustav Khunnm with whom he also took masterclass courses.
Among his more notable engagements we can recall his collaboration with the Cairo Opera theatre as guest conductor, between 1998 and 2003, where he conducted Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’occasione fa il ladro, La cambiale di matrimonio and Il Signor Bruschino, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Puccini’s Tosca, and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. He worked as additional chorus-master at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice and Naples’s Teatro San Carlo. Thus, his lyrical repertory includes the most important works in the field, from Mozart to Bizet and from Donizetti to Verdi.
His vocal-symphonic repertory includes many collaborations with large orchestra of the world: “Reggio” Theater Orchestra in Parma, „Benedetto Marcello” in Teramo, Chamber Orchestra in Marche region, Chamber Orchestra in Bologne, „G. Rossini” Symphonic Orchestra in Pesaro, „Marchigiana” Philharmonic, Alessandria and Piemonte Philharmonic, „Banatul” Timişoara Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra in Zagreb, Croatia.
The soprano Irina Iordăchescu was born in Bucharest. Her record contains important prizes in national and international competitions such as: Ionel Perlea (Romania), Mihail Jora (Romania), Viotti (Italy), Maria Callas (Greece), Sylvia Geszty (Spain), Vicenzo Bellini (Italy) and Alfredo Giacomotti (Italy).
Abroad she sang leading roles in opera and concert productions on important stages such as: Teatro alla Scala – Milan, Teatro Dante Alighieri – Ravenna, Teatro Municipale Di Piacenza, Teatro Massimo Bellini – Italy, Glyndebourne Opera Festival – England, Sankt Margarethen Opernfestspiele – Austria, Isaac Stern Auditorium Carnegie Hall -New York, Perez Galdos Las Palmas Theatre – Spain, George Enescu Philharmonic Romanian Athenaeum, Tchaikovski Concert Hall – Moscow and the Sankt Petersburg Philharmonic – Russia, Mulhouse Philharmonic Grand Hall – France, Salle Flagey – Brussells- Belgium, Theater Capitole Gent & Sb–Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen – Belgium.
Both abroad and in Romania she sang opera and vocal-symphonic works with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Sir Neville Marriner, Roberto Abbado, Paul Nadler, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Nayden Todorov, Kirill Karabits, Jin Wang, Bojan Sudjic, Borislav Ivanov, Cyril Diederich, Cristian Mandeal, Christian Badea, Gheorghe Costin, Horia Andreescu,Camil Marinescu, Florentin Mihaescu, Iurie Florea.
Mezzo- soprano Lilianna Zalesińska is an award winner of numerous Polish vocal competitions as well as the Prize at the Rheinsberg Chamber Opera Competition, where she made her debut as Mathilde in Handel’s Ottone in the first German speaking performance directed by Harry Kupfer in co-production with Deutsche Oper Berlin. Since then, she has had the opportunity to participate in unique performances like the first staging since 1827 of the belcanto opera by Giuseppe Balducci Boabdil, re di Granata where she sung the title role.
In Vienna she has appeared in both roles of Die Mutter and Die Hexe in Humperdink’s Hënsel und Gretel. As Mrs. Grose she has lately taken a part in The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten staged in Poland and highly acclaimed. Her repertoire includes roles in operas by Mozart, Handel, Gluck, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Rossini, Puccini, R. Strauss. Lilianna Zalesińska also interprets modern music as well as chamber music especially lieder. In 2011 she won the first prize during the First International Competition for Liedduos in Germany (Köln). She has performed solo recitals in Poland and across Europe in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Turkey (four times, also during famous Izmir International Festival), Finland, Lithuania.
In 2008 the tenor Dominik Sutowicz completed the Academy of Music in Lodz, Poland in the class of Prof. Andrzej Niemierowicz. In the same year he was employed by the Grand Theatre in Lodz where he debuted with the part of Fred Eynsfors-Hill in the musical My Fair Lady by F. Loewe.
His repertoire covers the parts of: Max (Der Freischütz, C. M. von Weber), Cavaradossi (Tosca, G. Puccini), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, G. Puccini), Manrico (Il trovatore, G. Verdi), Steuermann (The Flying Dutchman, R. Wagner), Stefan (Straszny Dwór, S. Moniuszko), Gaston (Traviata, G. Verdi), Ismaele (Nabucco, G.Verdi), G. Barinkay (The Gypsy Baron, J. Strauss).
He is a laureate of the 1st Festival of the Italian Opera Music Belcanto Per Sempre.
Dominik Sutowicz has worked with the following stage directors: Waldemar Zawodziński, Mariusz Treliński, Krystyna Janda, Janina Niesobska, Wojciech Walasik, Jacek Gąsiorowski, Laco Adamik, Herbert Adler and conductors: Tadeusz Kozłowski, Łukasz Borowicz, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Jose Maria Florencio, Tadeusz Wiencek, Dariusz Różankiewicz, Piotr Wujtewicz, Michał Kocimski, Bassem Akiki, Sławomir Chrzanowski, Tomasz Tokarczyk, Krzesimir Dębski.
He participated in the vocal courses led by Helena Lazarska, Kaludi Kaludow and Piotr Kusiewicz.
Dominik Sutowicz cooperates with the Krakow Opera where he performs Manrico in Il Trovatore by G. Verdi and the Grand Theatre National Opera in Warsaw where in the season 2015/16 he shall perform the part of Stefan in Haunted Manor by Stanislaw Moniuszko directed by David Pountney and conducted by Andriy Yurkevych.
The baritone Iordache Basalic has been a soloist of the Bucharest National Opera since 1995. A finalist of the first edition of the National Canto Competition „Hariclea Darclée” from Brăila, in the same year Iordache Basalic was distinguished with the Special Prize of the „Hariclea Darclée” Foundation at the competition’s first international edition in 1997. In 1999 he was awarded the special prize of the jury at the International Canto Competition „Hariclea Darclée” from Brăila, and in 2002 he won the casting for the „Macbeth” opera by Giuseppe Verdi at the Spoleto Festival.
The baritone Iordache Basalic has performed tours in England, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Holland, Thailand.
During his career he has collaborated with numerous lyrical theatres both at home and abroad such as the Cluj Romanian Opera, the „Elena Teodorini” Lyrical Theatre in Craiova, the „Nae Leonard” Musical Theatre in Galaţi, the „Oleg Danovski” National Opera and Ballet Theatre in „Moldova”, the State Philharmonic in Iaşi, Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, De Doelen – Rotterdam, Chasse Theater – Breda, Bunkamura Theater – Tokyo etc.
The Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera is an european rank cultural institution, which has affirmed itself as a valuable contributor of Romanian culture and a scene which has sustained and promoted a whole gallery of exceptional artists which have later developed notorious and universally appreciated careers. The institution is one of the main promoters of universal lyrical and coreographical values, creating valuable artistic productions, of local, regional national and international relevance, for the benefit of music amateurs and the general public.
The artistic path of the conductor Adrian Morar reflects a careful preoccupation for the artistic act, objectified in the numerous concerts he conducted both at home and in France, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Germany, Spain and Thailand.
He studied at the Gheorghe Dima Musical Academy in Cluj-Napoca, where he benefitted from the guidance of professors Florentin Mihăescu – coral conducting, Emil Strugaru and Alexandru Fărcaş – canto, and later on during his master degree studies from the guidance of professors Aurel Stroe and Victor Dumănescu.
He had the opportunity of participating in conducting masterclasses with remarkable musicians such as Peter Eötvös, Eri Klass, Eric Ericsson, Ton Koopman, Zoltán Pesko, Helmuth Rilling. In 1994 he won 1st prize in the Gheorghe Dima Competition, in 2002 he was distinguished with the Ludovic Spiess Prize, in 2009 he received the Lia Hubic Prize and in 2014 he received the prize for performance offered by the “Actualitatea muzicala” magazine.
At the present artistic director for the Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera, Adrian Morar collaborates with opera houses from Timişoara, Iaşi, Brasov, Constanta, Craiova and Bucharest – where he worked as artistic director from 2006 to 2007. Adrian Morar sustains concerts with the National Radio Orchestra and the Radio Chamber Orchestra and numerous symphonic orchestras such as those from Iasi, Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca, Ploiesti, Botosani, Braşov, Craiova, Târgu-Mureş, Sibiu, Oradea, Satu-Mare.
The Children’s Comic Opera commenced its activity in 1998, originally launched as an independent company, which created in record time numerous titles; a company which proved that it si an original and unique voice in the Romanian and international artistic landscape. This type of ensemble is the only one of its kind in the world, the institution fulfilling both a cultural-artistic role and an educational one.
Since 2003, the Children’s Comic Opera has become a public institution, a subsection of the capital Town Hall. At the debut of its activity (1998), the Children’s Comic Opera offered 12 performances a year, in 2013 it reached 200 performances, including the summer season representations and the tours, and in 2014-2017 it will reach a total number of 230-250 performances, organized in current seasons, festivals, summer season and tours.
The Children’s Comic Opera is the main cultural institution in Romania dedicated exclusively to children. Its aim is to dedicate itself to educational activities and promoting high quality performances to children in order to create consistent consumers of cultural products. The informal and interactive environment makes the institution’s performances a pleasant means through which parents may enjoy themselves with their children.
The Children’s Comic Opera has a vast repertoire, perfectly adapted to a musical performance institution which tackles education aspects by cultivating the taste for perennial values.