The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra ( ro, Filarmonica George Enescu) is a musical institution located in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Founded on 7 May 1868 under the supervision of Eduard Wachman, the Romanian Philharmonic Society had as purpose the creation of a permanent

symphonic orchestra A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

in Bucharest. Its first concert took place on 15 December of the same year. After the palace of the

Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Român) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall an ...

was built in 1888, the orchestra inaugurated that building with a concert on March 5, 1889, and the Athenaeum became the new home of the orchestra, as it has remained ever since. Wachman, who conducted the first permanent orchestra until 1907, was followed by Dimitrie Dinicu (1868–1936), and himself was followed as the principal conductor, starting in 1920, by

George Georgescu George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associ ...

, a student of both

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Br ...

and

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biog ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the institution diversified its activity by creating the Academic Choir, a nucleus of soloists (such as Maria Kardas Barna who was a permanent piano soloist until 1971), and several chamber ensembles. After the death of George Enescu in 1955, the Philharmonic was renamed ''George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra'' in his honour. Likewise, the Orchestra is, by tradition, the first to play at the

George Enescu Festival The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition hel ...

. The Philharmonic's principal conductors have included

Constantin Silvestri Constantin-Nicolae Silvestri (; 31 May 1913, Bucharest – 23 February 1969, London) was a Romanian conductor and composer. Early life Silvestri, born of Austro-Italian-Romanian stock, was brought up mostly by his mother, his father dying fro ...

, Mircea Basarab, Dumitru Capoianu,

Ion Voicu Ion Voicu (; October 8, 1923 – February 24, 1997) was a Romanian violinist and orchestral conductor of Romani ethnicity. In 1969 he founded the award-winning Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, which is now conducted by his son Mădălin Voicu. Life ...

, Mihai Brediceanu, and Cristian Mandeal. Since 2010, the general director has been Andrei Dimitriu and, as of 2015, the artistic director is the pianist Nicolae Licaret. Founded in 2010, th
George Enescu Foundation
aims to support, promote and integrate Romanian Culture into the international artistic circuit.

References

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External links

George Enescu Philharmonic – Official Website

George Enescu Foundation – Official Website
{{authority control Romanian orchestras Musical groups established in 1886

See also

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External links