Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, the artistic director of the George Enescu International Festival, has curated an extraordinary series of 27 concerts at Sala Palatului, now brought to high acoustic standards. These events will feature 16 prestigious orchestras from Romania and around the world, in an edition that commemorates 70 years since the passing of the great Romanian composer and musician George Enescu. True to the festival’s tradition, the program will include numerous works by Enescu alongside celebrated masterpieces by Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Bruckner, Dvořák, Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Debussy, Richard Strauss, and Bartók, as well as several world premieres.

Among the Enescu compositions featured in the Sala Palatului program are Poema română Op. 1, performed in the opening concert conducted by Cristian Măcelaru with the George Enescu Philharmonic (August 24, 2025, at 20:00); Fantasy – Concert for Piano and Orchestra, presented by the Philharmonia Orchestra of London under the baton of Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with pianist Alexandra Dariescu as the soloist (August 28, 2025, at 20:00); Pastorale-Fantaisie, performed by the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, conducted by Daniel Harding (August 31, 2025, at 19:30); the Prelude to the Opera Oedipe, conducted by the great Paavo Järvi with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich (September 2, 2025, at 20:00); Symphonie Concertante in B minor Op. 8, in a rendition by Manfred Honeck, leading the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra with soloist Yo Kitamura, the winner of the Cello Section of last year's George Enescu International Competition (September 7, 2025, at 19:30); Suite No. 2 in C major Op. 20, conducted by Alain Altinoglu with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (September 9, 2025, at 20:00); the Concert Overture on Romanian Popular Themes Op. 32, performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Maestro Daniele Gatti (September 11, 2025, at 20:00); Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major Op. 13, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko (September 12, 2025, at 19:30); Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 in D major Op. 11, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru with the Orchestre National de France (September 18, 2025, at 19:30); Enescu’s final symphony, Symphony No. 4 in E minor, completed posthumously by Pascal Bentoiu, performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Petr Popelka (September 4, 2025, at 20:00); and Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major Op. 11, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by the renowned Klaus Mäkelä in the festival’s closing concert on September 21, 2025, at 19:30.

This year as well, some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras will be heard in Bucharest, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, alongside Romania’s leading ensembles—the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Romanian Youth Orchestra, and the National Radio Orchestra—as well as the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. These concerts will be conducted by some of the most prominent maestros of our time: Cristian Măcelaru, Paavo Järvi, Vasily Petrenko, Klaus Mäkelä, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Petr Popelka, Manfred Honeck, Christian Reif, Iván Fischer, Alain Altinoglu, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Keri-Lynn Wilson.

The festival will feature world-class soloists, including pianists Martha Argerich, Alexandra Dariescu, Kirill Gerstein, Rudolf Buchbinder, Alexandre Kantorow, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simon Trpčeski, and Bruce Liu; violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alexandra Conunova, Renaud Capuçon, Nemanja Radulović, and Julian Rachlin; cellists Alisa Weilerstein, Gautier Capuçon, Kian Soltani, Andrei Ioniță (winner of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition), and Yo Kitamura (winner of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition Cello Section); sopranos Magdalena Kožená, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, and Jennifer Holloway; baritone Iain Paterson; and bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas.

The 2025 festival edition will also feature seven operas in concert, including two performances at Sala Palatului: Salome Op. 54 by Richard Strauss, performed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru, with soprano Jennifer Holloway in the title role, baritone Iain Paterson as John the Baptist, and mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Herodias, in a multimedia staging by Nona Ciobanu and Peter Košir (September 1, 2025, at 20:00); and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Op. 29 by Dmitri Shostakovich, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, performed by the National Radio Orchestra and Academic Radio Choir (choir director: Ciprian Țuțu), featuring soprano Kristine Opolais as Katerina Izmailova, bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas as Boris Izmailov, tenor Nikolai Schukoff as Zinoviy Izmailov, and tenor Pavel Černoch as Sergei, in a multimedia staging by Carmen Lidia Vidu (September 14, 2025, at 19:00).

Contemporary dance returns to the festival program, as the renowned Eva Duda Dance Company from Hungary will join forces with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, to present two of Béla Bartók’s iconic works: the ballet The Miraculous Mandarin Sz. 73 and the opera Bluebeard’s Castle Sz. 48 (September 17, 2025, at 20:00).

Special highlights include concerts by the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra on August 25 and 26, 2025, at 20:00, under the baton of its founder, Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson. Established in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the orchestra serves as a cultural initiative to safeguard Ukraine’s heritage. It comprises Ukrainian musicians from around the world and is supported by the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Polish National Opera, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.

Multimedia projections will accompany five festival events: the opening concert on August 24, 2025; the concert performances of Salome (September 1) and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (September 14); the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s concert with the Eva Duda Dance Company (September 17); and the second concert of the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru (September 19). The multimedia productions will be designed by Carmen Lidia Vidu, Nona Ciobanu, and Peter Košir.

Subscriptions for the Sala Palatului concert series are available for purchase until February 14, 2025, at 24:00, after which individual tickets will go on sale starting February 15, 2025, at 12:00.

Various subscription categories are available for the Sala Palatului concert series, with prices starting at 2,350 RON.

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

About the George Enescu International Festival

The George Enescu International Festival is one of the world’s foremost classical music events, founded in 1958. Its 27th edition, taking place from August 24 to September 21, 2025, commemorates 70 years since the passing of George Enescu. Under the theme "Anniversaries / Celebrations," the festival will present over 95 concerts featuring more than 4,000 of the world's leading artists, celebrating Enescu’s artistic legacy and profound impact on classical music.

The George Enescu International Festival is held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and is a cultural project funded by the Romanian Government, through the Ministry of Culture.

Organizer: ARTEXIM

Co-organizer: Fundația ArtProduction

Co-producer: Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune, Societatea Română de Televiziune, Primăria Municipiului București prin ARCUB – Centrul Cultural al Municipiului București

Principal parteners: Rompetrol – KMG International Romania, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, JTI – Immersive Experience: partener de inovație, Lexus: partener de mobilitate

Parteners: Purcari, One United Properties, Mobexpert, Nazzuro Aqua, L’OR, Althaus, Fundația Liliana și Peter Ilica, Senia Music

Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST