CelloVision Project - The Image of Sound

Our next event of the Enescu Soirees series presents one of the most active and acclaimed Irish-Romanian musicians, cellist Adrian Mantu, a darling of the international stage, whose seductive interpretation is brilliantly served by visual artist Mihai Cucu’s videography, as demonstrated by this unmissable online recital. The program features works by rarely performed Romanian composers Constantin Dimitrescu and Vasile Jianu alongside compositions by Paganini and Marcello.

Watch on our Facebook, YouTube, IGTV and website on Thursday, July 1 at 2 p.m. EST or anytime later!

Program:

Constantin Dimitrescu - "Dans Țărănesc" (Peasant Dance), five cellos multiplicity & visuals

Nicolo Paganini - "Variazioni di Bravura on A String", three cellos multiplicity

Benedetto Marcello - Sonata no 6, two cellos multiplicity & visuals

Vasile Jianu - "Joc" (Dance), two cello multiplicity & visuals

CelloVision Project, created by Adrian Mantu and Mihai Cucu, aims to connect different art forms and artists through the use of avant-garde videography. Bringing live & prerecorded music on stage, together with the visual element, it engages the audience in an unforgettable experience, as a musical journey from classical to contemporary, blended with the play of figurative and abstract imagery.

Ireland-based Romanian cellist ADRIAN MANTU is the founder of the RTÉ Contempo Quartet, Ireland’s National Broadcaster’s Quartet in Residence since 2014, and cello/chamber music teacher at RIAM. He has won 16 International Prizes in Cello & Chamber Music Competitions (London, Munich, Berlin, Prague, Bucharest, Graz, Hamburg, Sofia, Rome). He has performed over 2000 concerts around the world in 46 countries in venues such as Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonic, Tel-Aviv Opera, Carnegie Hall, Gedai Tokyo, and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Adrian Mantu had the honour to perform in front of great personalities such as Michael D Higgins, Prince Charles, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Nobel Prize Winners & Hollywood Stars. He has composed and arranged the music for the “Trop Tard” film (selected for Cannes Festival) and recorded the music for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hank’s “Band of Brothers”. The cellist celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the RTÉ Contempo Quartet through over 100 concerts in Ireland and abroad (including appearances in NCH, Wigmore Hall and Tours in UK, Finland, Romania, Italy & Sweden). Mantu performs equally on baroque, modern and electric cellos. His latest album “New Airs” went straight to no 3 in the iTunes classical charts, and his recordings can be found on the Universal, Sony, Quartz, Deutsche Schallplatten & NMC labels.

Romanian visual artist MIHAI CUCU has a degree in art restoration and conservation from the "George Enescu" University of Fine Arts in Iași and studied ceramics at Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall. Since 2010 he has been working intensely as a video artist in numerous festivals in countries such as Romania, Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, France, Greece, Belgium, and others. He has created and presented live videos for various composers and performers: International Festival Week of New Music, Meridian Festival, InnerSound Festival, Museum Night - Bucharest, Music for Galway Festival, National Tour ‘Different trains’ - Ireland, Theater of Sound Festival - Dublin, New Music New Audiences - Galway City Museum, De Nieuwe Regentes Theater - Netherlands, Porta Theater - Greece, Schwankhalle Arts Center - Germany, and Kino Corso St.Vith - Belgium among others. He was an artist in residence at the Áras Éanna Art Center Inis Oírr, Ireland and at Hilltown Studio Theater, Westmeath, Ireland. Between 2012-2019 Cucu created the graphic and video promotional materials for InnerSound Festival - Bucharest, Catsheuvel Festival - The Hague and Music Current - Dublin. Since 2015 he has collaborated in various video projects initiated by the Museum of Bucharest.