The emblematic Romanian Athenaeum, renowned for its extraordinary acoustics, will also host these two important concert series within the George Enescu International Festival: the Athenaeum Concert Series (afternoon) and the Midnight Concert Series. Subscriptions are on sale on the eventim.ro platform.

The Athenaeum Concert Series includes 28 concerts with works by renowned composers from universal musical literature, performed by symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and soloists active on the most important stages of international classical music. Scheduled from 5:00 PM – Monday to Thursday – and from 4:30 PM from Friday to Sunday, the concerts will be performed by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra in Lausanne, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, together with Les Ambassadeurs - La Grande Écurie and the Chamber Choir of Namur, the Latvian Radio Choir, making their Romanian premiere, Les Siècles, the Belcea Quartet, the Arcațional Quartet, the Radio Quartet, the Arcațional Orchestra, the "George Enescu" National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Chamber Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova, the Orchestra and Choir of the "Transilvania" State Philharmonic from Cluj-Napoca, on the 70th anniversary of the years of activity, and the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra of Iași.

At the podium will be prestigious international conductors, such as Charles Dutoit, Lahav Shani, Kazuki Yamada, Gianandrea Noseda, Sigvards Kļava, Cristian Mandeal, Pierre Bleuse, Franck Ollu, Ustina Dubitsky, Emmanuel Resche-Caserta, Arnaud Arbet, Gabriel Bebeșelea, Maxim Emelyreanau, Emmanuel T. bagheta questara recognized virtuosos will perform: cellists Augustin Hadelich, Isabelle Faust, Ilian Gârneț, Simone Lamsma, Daniel Lozakovich, Valentin Șerban and Hyeonjeong Lee - winners of the Enescu Competition, cellist Sol Gabetta, pianists Nelson Goerner, Daniel Ciobanuis Colțuș, arrangers Vlad Curțion, violist Răzvan Popovici, sopranos Sarah Aristidou, Pretty Yende or Lucy Crowe.

Renaud Capuçon, David Grimal, Jan Lisiecki and Sir András Schiff will take to the Athenaeum stage in a dual role – both as soloists and as conductors – offering the audience, together with the orchestras they lead, an authentic play-conduct experience.

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes invite the audience to a chamber recital in which, alongside music by Mozart, Brahms or Ravel, they will present a first-time work by the South Korean composer Donghoon Shin.

The last recital of the afternoons at the Romanian Athenaeum will be given by the renowned Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

Cristian Mandeal will conduct the Orchestra and Choir of the "Transilvania" Philharmonic from Cluj-Napoca and soloists Lucy Crowe, Jess Dandy, Benjamin Hulett and Alastair Miles in the Missa Solemnis, considered by Beethoven as one of the most valuable works in his creation. This masterpiece, which combines spiritual depth with symphonic grandeur, will resound on the stage of the George Enescu International Festival, offering its audience an unforgettable musical experience.

The Athenaeum Concert Series also includes two concert operas: Dardanus (1774 version) by Jean-Philippe Rameau, performed by Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie and the Namur Chamber Choir, conducted by Emmanuel Resche-Caserta, soloists: tenor Ne Reinoud van Mechelen, Ed. Macleod; End of the Game by György Kurtág, together with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Arnaud Arbet, with bass Frode Olsen, baritone Leigh Melrose, contralto Hilary Summers, tenor Leonardo Cortellazzi in the roles of Hamm, Clov, Nell and Nagg.

Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 5:00 PM, under the title Breaking Bach, the famous choreographer Kim Brandstrup and the Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment will present a unique fusion between Bach and hip-hop on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, in an unconventional collaboration.

The Midnight Concert Series will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, starting at 10:30 PM, including 11 concerts that will combine a variety of styles and periods, from Renaissance and Baroque music to traditional Italian folklore and moments of improvisation.

Sinfonia Vașovia, together with the Preludiu Chamber Choir – Voicu Enăchescu, will perform Requiem For My Friend by Zbigniew Preisner, under the baton of Constantin Grigore (August 29, 2025), a work of rare intensity, dedicated to director Krzysztof Kieślowski; the Royal Camerata, led by the young American conductor Alex Amsel, will present Enescu's Third Suite, and pianist Evgeny Konnov, laureate of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition, will perform Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor for piano and orchestra op. 23 by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (August 30, 2025); the great soprano Asmik Grigorian, together with pianist Lukas Geniušas, will sing works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Enescu and Ravel (August 31, 2025); The long-awaited Accademia Bizantina Orchestra, led by one of the most important conductors and harpsichordists specialized in Italian Baroque, Ottavio Dantone, will perform two concerts on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum – the first, on September 5, 2025, together with the Purcell Choir, when it will perform Il trionfo della fama by Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, with Benedetta Mazzucato, Sophie Rennert, Nicolò Balducci, Martin Vanberg, Riccardo Novaro, and the second on September 6, 2025, entitled The Gold of Naples, which includes works by Pergolesi, Ragazzi, Conforto, Caballone, Barbella, etc.; The O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Maxim Belčikov, with Evelyn Glennie on marimba, will present a fusion program of styles from 1100 (Hildegard von Bingen) to the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell, combining the music of the American minimalist Philip Glass, Symphony no. 3, with reinterpretations of well-known songs by the band Nirvana, such as Smells Like Teen Spirit (September 7, 2025); the beloved Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital will delight the audience with works originating from southern Italy, together with the Between Worlds Ensemble and Alessia Tondo, one of the most important voices in the music scene in the Apulia region (September 12, 2025); the beloved conductor Giovanni Antonini returns to the podium of the Il Giardino Armonico ensemble and the NFM Choir from Wrocław, for a program with works by Mozart and Beethoven (September 13, 2025); violinist Mihaela Martin will perform Barber's violin concerto with the Berlin Academy of American Music, conductor Garret Keast in a program with music by Gershwin, Copland, Dorman or Bernstein (September 14, 2025); The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and cellist Anja Lechner, will perform compositions by Bach, Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninov and the rarely scheduled choral work by George Enescu “Waldgesang” (September 19, 2025).

The Midnight Concert Series will conclude with a recital by one of the world’s greatest harpsichordists: Skip Sempé (September 20, 2025), premiering in Romania at the George Enescu International Festival.

Subscriptions for these concert series can still be purchased until Friday, February 14, 2025, midnight.

For the Athenaeum Concert Series (28 concerts), there are category I subscriptions – price 5,390 lei and category II – price 4,290 lei (2,755 lei with a discount for pupils, students and pensioners).

The Midnight Concert Series includes 11 concerts. The price for Category I subscriptions is 2,300 lei, and for Category II – 1,850 lei (1,100 lei with a discount for pupils, students and pensioners).

From February 15, 2025, at 12:00, individual tickets will be available for purchase for each concert.

Tickets are on sale on the Eventim platform: https://www.cts.eventim.ro/artist/festivalul-george-enescu

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About the George Enescu International Festival
The George Enescu International Festival is one of the most important classical music events at an international level, organized since 1958. The XXVII edition of the festival takes place between August 24 and September 21, 2025 and will mark 70 years since the death of the great composer and musician George Enescu. The theme of this year's edition is "Anniversaries / Celebrations", and the festival program will feature over 95 concerts performed by over 4,000 of the world's most renowned artists, which will bring to the fore both Enescu's artistic legacy and his profound impact on universal classical music.

The George Enescu International Festival is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.

A cultural project financed by the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Culture.

Organizer: ARTEXIM
Co-organizer: ArtProduction Foundation
Co-producers: Romanian Broadcasting Society, Romanian Television Society, Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB - Cultural Center of Bucharest
Main partners: Rompetrol – KMG International, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, JTI – Immersive Experience: innovation partner, Lexus: mobility partner
Partners: Purcari, One United Properties, Mobexpert, Nazzuro Aqua, L’OR, Althaus, Fun