RadiRo Festival: the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra played Enescu's Rhapsody No.1

Saturday, September 20th , at the Romanian Radio Hall, has been inaugurated the 2 nd edition of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo , the only musical event in Europe dedicated exclusively to radio symphony ensembles, organized by Radio Romania .

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra , who played for the first time on a Romanian stage, performed the opening concert of the Festival, together with two young musicians with an outstandingly ascending career: conductor Joshua Weilerstein and pianist Jonathan Biss .

The sensitivity and refinement of interpretation, doubled by the remarkable diversity of programme – four composers have been played during the evening: J. Sibelius, L. van Beethoven, E. Grieg and R. Strauss –have been the clue elements to create a true “chemistry” between the orchestra and the audience. The atmosphere of the evening culminated with the thrilling surprise that the ensemble prepared to the audience, by playing Rhapsody No. 1 by George Enescu in the encore of the concert.

“ A unique event in Europe and, as far as I know, in the entire world, the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo, organized by Radio Romania, is about to start. I would like to thank all artists who will perform on the stage of the Romanian Radio Hall, to our listeners and music lovers for the wonderful evenings ahead. I would also like to thank all media organizations, either public or private, who promote this exceptional cultural act, initiated and supported by Radio Romania! It is thanks to them, either they are the Romanian Television, cultural media, online platforms or international organizations – and here I would like to mention the EBU, the ABU or EURONEWS, that this extraordinary event reaches billions of people around the world ”, stated Ovidiu Miculescu, President Director General of Radio Romania.

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra was established in 1927, a year after the Finnish public radio broadcaster was founded. Today, it is one of the most appreciated symphony ensembles in its country of origin, which counts more orchestras per capita than any other country in the world. There are currently 99 musicians who activate in the orchestra and they approach a wide range of programmes, from classical composers to contemporary compositions. Joshua Weilerstein is assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and guest conductor of several prestigious orchestras in the US and Europe, with a special affinity for Scandinavian orchestras. He has drawn the attention of international audience when he won simultaneously the 1 st Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 Malko Competition for Young Conductors. He is also a passionate violinist and he was the first foreign soloist to be appointed by Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra from Venezuela.

The first RadiRo evening has brought in front of the Romanian audience pianist Jonathan Biss , who, at only 34, holds an impressive repertoire and record. He has worked with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel and Antonio Pappano, he is invited to perform regularly at Carnegie Hall and gives recitals with prestigious orchestras in the US and Europe. In partnership with Coursera, the well known producer of online courses, he was the first pianist to provide an online teaching course on Beethoven's Sonatas. The project enjoyed a huge success and attracted more than 30,000 people between September – October 2013.

RadiRo Festival , organized by Radio Romania , holds a unique profile among the similar international musical events and is mainly focused on bringing to foreground the extraordinary variety of programme and the artistic performances of European radio symphony ensembles.

The 2 nd edition of RadiRo takes place from September 20 th - 27 th 2014 at the Romanian Radio Hall and hosts 5 renowned European orchestras, from Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, France and Romania. The honorary director of the Festival is the Romanian conductor Cristian Mandeal.

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