Romanian Masterpieces with Outstanding Dana Ciocarlie

The spring and summer musical tour de force of the Enescu Soirees finishes after 17 exclusive online recitals with a collection of great Romanian scores presented by DANA CIOCARLIE, one of today’s most acclaimed pianists. The France-based Romanian musician describes her program, which features works by Violeta Dinescu, George Enescu and Horațiu Rădulescu, as being unified by “the sound of bells, a symbol of Romania's spirituality.” The Enescu Soirees Online will resume in September so see you in a month for a new season of memorable musical encounters.

Watch on our FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE and BLOG from Thursday, August 6, 7 p.m. EDT or anytime later.

Program:

Paul Constantinescu: "Dance" & "Song"

Horațiu Rădulescu: "Music Older than Music" from Sonata No. 4

George Enescu: "Pavane" and "Bourrée" from Sonata No. 2, "Carillon nocturne" from Sonata No. 3

Violeta Dinescu: "Echo" No. 1

In 2018, DANA CIOCARLIE was nominated on the short list of the "Victoires de la musique" annual National Award in France for her live recording of the complete Schumann piano works. This monumental production was recorded in 15 concerts in Paris between 2012 and 2016. It was released in September 2017 for the French label La Dolce Volta / Harmonia Mundi and received numerous prizes: The International Critics Award, "Choc de l’année" grand prize of Classica Magazine in France, the "Joker" distinction from Crescendo Magazine in Belgium.

Dana Ciocarlie's piano-playing comes from the great Romanian tradition of Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti and Radu Lupu. After a first degree in Bucharest, she studied in Paris with Victoria Melki at the Ecole Normale de Musique and attended Dominique Merlet's and Georges Pludermacher's classes at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. Her meeting with the German pianist Christian Zacharias was a decisive factor for her career, stimulating her to delve deeply into Franz Schubert's piano music. Endowed with a quick-witted and mercurial temperament, combined with generosity and commitment, Dana Ciocarlie has a vast repertoire ranging from Johann-Sebastian Bach to contemporary composers. 

Her experience and her talent were rewarded with prizes in prestigious international competitions: a second prize at the Robert Schumann International Competition in Zwickau, the Sandor Vegh Special Prize at the Geza Anda Competition in Zurich, the Pro Musicis International Prize, the Young Concert Artist European Auditions Award in Leipzig, a prize at the Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Italy. In January 2017, she became a Yamaha Official Artist. Dana Ciocarlie currently teaches at Lyon Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (National Academy of Music in Lyon) and at Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris. Her numerous recitals and concerts with orchestras throughout the world have taken her to the United States (Boston, New York, Houston and Los Angeles), Canada, Russia, Indonesia, Philippines, and China. She is a much appreciated guest of France Musique radio channel where between 2001 and 2015 she had a regular show together with musicologist Jean Pierre Derrien.

Photo credit: Bernard Martinez