Legendary pianist Martha Argerich will perform two concerts at this year 's George Enescu International Festival
One of the world's most acclaimed and appreciated pianists, Martha Argerich returns to the stage of the George Enescu International Festival for two concerts of high artistic quality .
Sunday, August 31, 2025 , from 7:30 PM, Martha Argerich will perform, at the Great Hall of the Palace, Concerto No. 1 in C major for piano and orchestra , op. 15 by Ludwig van Beethoven , together with the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome , under the baton of conductor Daniel Harding. This evening's program is completed by Pastoral Fantasy by George Enescu and Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 by Johannes Brahms.
On Monday, September 15, 2025 , at 4:30 PM, Martha Argerich will return to the Enescu Festival stage, this time at the Romanian Athenaeum, to perform Maurice Ravel 's Piano Concerto in G major , under the baton of the well-known conductor Charles Dutoit , together with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra . This will be one of the main events through which the Enescu Festival celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great French composer. The evening's program also includes the suites Ma Mère l'Oye and Valsuri nobile et sentimentale M.61 by Ravel, along with the symphonic triptych La Mer L. 109 by Claude Debussy.
For Martha Argerich, the piano is second nature. The spiritual fusion with the keyboard is intrinsic, the sonic fluid seems to spring from the artist's very soul and the message is communicated with charm. These are feelings that engulfed the audience in the reception of a smooth and floating version, sustained with a touch of genius, of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C major, op. 15 by Beethoven.
Costin Popa, musicologist
Legendary pianist Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Considered a child prodigy, it wasn't long before she began giving concerts and recitals regularly. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna and Switzerland with Bruno Seidlhofer, Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Madeleine Lipatti and Stefan Askenase. In 1957 she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions, and in 1965 she went on to win the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since then, she has been considered one of the world's foremost pianists, both in terms of artistic ability and popularity.
Although her temperament often led her to the virtuoso masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries, Martha Argerich masters a vast repertoire, which includes works by Bach, Bartók, Beethoven and Messiaen, as well as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.
Martha Argerich has recorded for EMI, Sony, Philips, Teldec and DGG, many of her performances being broadcast on television around the world . She has also been awarded numerous Grammy Awards, including the Gramophone Award for Artist of the Year in 1999.
The celebrated conductor Charles Dutoit has received two of the highest honours in the music world: in 2017, the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, becoming the 103rd recipient since the medal was established in 1870, on the centenary of Beethoven’s birth, and the “Premio una vita nella musica 2022” from the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. In 2014, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the International Classical Music Awards, and in 2017, the Gold Medal of the city of Lausanne, his birthplace, and his more than 200 recordings have earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards.
When he was only 20, Charles Dutoit was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Vienna State Opera. He went on to conduct at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Opera in Rome and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
Charles Dutoit was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, of the Orchestre National de France from 1991 to 2001, and of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003, currently remaining conductor emeritus of the ensemble. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London from 2009 to 2018, he was also Principal Guest Conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
Along with an artistic collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra that spanned 32 years and over 700 concerts, he has performed frequently with orchestras in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles and is also a regular guest on stages in London, Berlin, Paris, Munich , Moscow, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
The renowned conductor Daniel Harding He is the musical director of the Orchestra and Choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. Harding is also the artistic and musical director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He made his debut at the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1994 as assistant to Sir Simon Rattle, and the following season was assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic. From 2007 to 2017 he was principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and from 2016 to 2019 he was music director of the Orchestre de Paris.
Harding He was appointed Conductor Laureate for life of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with which he has worked for more than 20 years. He collaborates constantly with the most important orchestras in the world, including the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra , the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the London Symphony, the Filarmonica della Scala, and in the USA he conducts the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston, Chicago and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic Orchestras. His recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin EMI and BR-Klassik have been highly acclaimed by the critics.
Conducting the Orchestra and Choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Daniel Harding made his debut with Verdi's Tosca and Requiem , both recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.
The Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia was the first orchestra in Italy to dedicate itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, premiering major masterpieces of the 1900s, such as Respighi 's Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome . Founded in 1908, the orchestra has been led by some of the most important musical figures of the 20th century : from Mahler, Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Hindemith, Toscanini, Furtwängler , de Sabata, Solti, Mengelberg, Karajan, Carlos Kleiber and Abbado, to the most acclaimed maestros of our own time, including Thielemann, Dudamel, Blomstedt and Kirill Petrenko, while Bernardino Molinari, Franco Ferrara, Fernando Previtali, Igor Markevitch, Thomas Schippers, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Daniele Gatti, Myung-Whun Chung and Antonio Pappano have been its music directors. Leonard Bernstein was honorary president between 1983 and 1990.
After partnerships with some of the largest international record labels that have produced recordings that have since become legendary, the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia collaborates predominantly with Warner Classics. Among the discography achievements, under the direction of Pappano, are Madama Butterfly by Puccini, Requiem by Verdi, Le Carnaval des animaux with Martha Argerich, the Symphonies by Bernstein, Otello by Verdi with Jonas Kaufmann, Strauss: Ein Heldenleben/Burleske with Bertrand Chamayou (2021), Messa di Gloria by Rossini, Insieme. Opera Duets , Cinema , with Alexandre Tharaud on piano, and in March 2023 Turandot by Puccini with Sondra Radvanovsky, Jonas Kaufmann and Ermonela Jaho.
The Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia will be present with two concerts during the current edition of the Enescu Festival, the XXVIIth edition, the first being on Saturday, August 30, 2025, at 7:30 PM, at the Palace Hall. Alongside the orchestra and London Voices, the beloved soprano Magdalena Kožená will perform, with a program that includes Sinfonia and Folk Songs by Luciano Berio, along with Marea L. 109 by Claude Debussy.
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra , founded in 1856 in the Principality of Monaco, it has a long musical tradition, and its repertoire includes works by renowned composers from universal musical literature.
Over the years, the orchestra has collaborated with renowned conductors and famous soloists from all over the world. Since 2016, conductor Kazuki Yamada has been the musical and artistic director of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra will have two concerts during the current edition of the Enescu Festival, the first scheduled for Sunday, September 14, at 4:30 PM, at the Romanian Athenaeum.
Under the baton of conductor Kazuki Yamada, Nelson Goerner – piano and Vlad Vișenescu – organ will perform , along with the Preludiu Chamber Choir – Voicu Enăchescu , and the evening's program is composed of Isis by George Enescu (posthumously completed by Pascal Bentoiu), the Concerto in D major for the left hand by Maurice Ravel and Symphony No. 3 in C minor op. 78, with organ by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Tickets for the concerts within the George Enescu International Festival can be purchased both online, from the Eventim.ro platform, https://www.cts.eventim.ro/artist/festivalul-george-enescu , and in physical format, from the Carrefour hypermarket network and the Cărturești and Humanitas bookstore chains.
Tickets for the concert at the Palace Hall are divided into six categories: VIP – 280 lei, Category 1 – 250 lei, Category 2 – 200 lei, Category 3 – 150 lei, Category 4 – 120 lei, reduced tickets for pupils/students/pensioners – 90 lei.
Tickets for the concert at the Romanian Athenaeum can be purchased in 3 price categories: Category 1 – 280 lei, Category 2 – 250 lei, discounted tickets for pupils/students/pensioners – 120 lei.
The organizers reserve the right to modify the programs. Please visit the George Enescu International Festival website, http://www.festivalenescu.ro/ , to stay up to date with the latest information.
About the George Enescu International Festival
George Enescu International Festival is one of the largest classical music events in the world, organized since 1958. The 27th edition takes place between August 24 and September 21, 2025 and marks the 70th anniversary of the death of the great Romanian composer and musician, George Enescu. This year's theme is " Anniversaries / Celebrations ", and the program includes 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.
Cultural project funded by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Culture.
Organizer: ARTEXIM
Co-organizer: ArtProduction Foundation
Co-producers: Romanian Broadcasting Company, Romanian Television Company, 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, Liliana and Peter Ilica Foundation, Senia Music
Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST
Details for the press:
For additional information, interviews or images from the event, please contact the festival's communications department by sending an email at