Marvelous Duo Alexandru Tomescu and Sînziana Mircea Opens the 2024 Romanian Cultural Program in the United States

At the RCI, the new year literally begins on a high note with a two-event celebration of Romania’s National Culture Day (marked on January 15), featuring the hottest performing couple in Romanian classical music: virtuoso violinist Alexandru Tomescu and dashing concert pianist Sînziana Mircea. The fabulous pair, already a darling of the European chamber music circuit, will offer - in New York at the Institute and in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center - a carefully curated program of Romanian musical gems anchored in some of George Enescu’s immortal compositions.

The project is jointly organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and the Embassy of Romania to the United States.

Friday, January 12 @ 7 PM | RCI New York | SOLD OUT

Monday, January 15 @ 7 PM | The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. | RSVP at washington.press@mae.ro

PROGRAM

Jules Massenet, Méditation from the Opera Thaïs 

Fritz Kreisler, Schön Rosmarin

Fritz Kreisler, Caprice Viennois

George Enescu, Balada (Ballade)

George Enescu, Lăutarul (The Fiddler)

George Enescu, Hora Unirii (Union Dance)

Constantin Dimitrescu, Dans țărănesc (Romanian Peasant Dance)

Niccolò Paganini, Centone di sonate, Op. 64, MS 112: Sonata No. 1 in A Minor for violin and guitar (transcription for violin and piano)

Camille Saint-Saën, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Alexandru Tomescu is the artist for whom music has no limits: ready to play the most difficult scores in marathon concerts, in month-long tours, the violinist is unanimously appreciated by the audiences all over the world. A masterful violinist, the impressive and charismatic Alexandru Tomescu plays on the famed Stradivarius Elder-Voicu violin built in 1702 - Antonius Stradivarius Cremonesis Faciebat Anno 1702. After graduating from the Bucharest Conservatory where he was taught by Ştefan Gheorghiu, he continued his studies abroad with Igor Oistrakh, Ruggiero Ricci, Tibor Varga, and Eduard Schmieder. Winner of prestigious prizes in competitions such as Marguerite Long – Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu, Paganini or Sarasate, he has performed on the world’s most renowned concert stages: Carnegie Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris), Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). In 2007, Alexandru won the right to play the Stradivarius Elder-Voicu 1702 violin, which belongs to the Romanian State and promised to make its sound heard by all Romanians. Violinist Alexandru Tomescu has been decorated by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, with the highest distinction - "NATIONAL ORDER OF MERIT IN THE KNIGHT'S GRADE" for supporting and promoting classical music and culture.

Sînziana Mircea, Young Steinway Artist, carries out an international career spanning over Europe, North America, and Asia. The Romanian pianist made her debut at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater (Japan) and St Martin-in-the-Fields London (UK) when she was only 20. Four years later, she made her debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York in a sold-out recital, rewarded by the American public with standing ovations. Soon after, Sînziana undertook her first China tour. Her recent appearances include Carnegie Hall, Bucharest Radio Hall, Stockholm Philharmonic, Tallinn Philharmonic, Harvard Club New York, Bucharest Philharmonic, London Steinway Hall, Tokyo Steinway Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall, Nanjing Arts Center, Harbin Concert Hall. Her performing career started from a young age. The first public appearance on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum took place at the age of 7, followed by numerous concerts in Romania and Europe and also in the USA - where she debuted at the age of 11. She started touring soon after, including the first tours in the USA (aged 14), Japan (aged 19), and China (aged 24). Sînziana Mircea won the 1st Prize at the "Golden Classical Music Awards" International Competition 2019 and the First Prizes "Salzburg” and “Amsterdam” at the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition 2019 Edition. In 2020, Sînziana was awarded the prestigious “Bratianu Scholarship” for Music, offered by the Romanian Ministry of Culture for outstanding results in the classical music field. In 2018, she founded her own start-up music school in Bucharest, MuseArt Academy and has worked within the Cremona Conservatoire Development & Educational Department.