Join a string quartet of Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians in this trip through the eerie and magical classical music of Transylvania in the 20th century, featuring Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5 and Ede Terényi’s String Quartet No. 1.
Join a string quartet of Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians for the chamber music concert "Crossroads" at Steinway Piano Gallery for the music of Bartók, Barber, and Glass all took a different tack in their works with a very distinct personal voice. Their styles are at crossroads.
Join a string quartet of Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians for the chamber music concert "Crossroads" at Sala Perian, Colegiul National de Art “Ion Vidu” in Timisoara, Romania performing the music of Bartók, Barber, and Terényi. All composers took a different tack in their works with a very distinct personal voice. Their styles are at crossroads.
Join a string octet of musicians for the chamber music concert "Opposites" performed at Sala Capitol, Filarmonica Banatul in Timisoara, Romania. This concert is given as part of the Romanian concerts as part of this season’s American Romanian Festival.
The Romanian Cultural Institute's popular online music series will feature one of the most important Romanian-American collaborative projects, the American Romanian Festival String Quartet (ARF Quartet), featuring: Sujin Lim - violin, Marian Tănău - violin, Michael Chen - viola, and Jeremy Crosmer - cello. The program features a rarely played piece, “On the River Argeș” by Theodor Grigoriu (1926–2014), an important composer and a musicologist in Romanian of the second half of the 20th century. Watch on Romanian Cultural Institute's FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and WEBSITE from Thursday, March 11, 2 p.m. EST or anytime later!
Join us on March 5, 2023, at The War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms for the chamber music concert “Passionate Enescu: & Martin String Octets” featuring compositions by George Enescu as well as a commissioned work by American composer Colin Martin.
Join us on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at Steinway Piano Gallery Detroit for the chamber music concert “featuring compositions by Dvořák, Crosmer, and Dumitrescu.
Join us for a concert and workshop on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Shaver Music Recital Hall. Romanian cimbalom virtuoso Alexandru Şura performs.
Join us on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Steinway Piano Gallery Detroit. Romanian cimbalom virtuoso Alexandru Şura performs.
The American Romanian Festival celebrates its 20th-anniversary season with an evening of works centered around the subject of travel and different geographic locations. First on the program is the recently commissioned piece by Ionica Pop, Impressions from Romania, reflects through music the joy of celebration and the need for human communion and peace. In The Seven Dreams of Frida Kahlo for Clarinet and String Quartet, composer Ovidiu Marinescu takes us on an imaginary journey of dreams, from Mayan ritual dances, to mariachi music, to be-bop jazz—which Frida Kahlo heard in New York in her travels with partner Diego Rivera, to an Arabic dream, as well as a pagan dance of Russian character. Steven Reich’s Different Trains for String Quartet and pre-recorded performance tape, expresses the basic idea that carefully chosen speech recordings generate the musical materials for musical instruments. The piece is inspired by the composer’s childhood when he travelled back and forth by train frequently between New York and Los Angeles from 1939 to 1942. While the trips were exciting and romantic at the time Steven Reich is looking back as an adult realizing that if he had been in Europe during this period, as a Jew he would have had to ride very different trains.
Mozart’s String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465, is nicknamed “Dissonance” due to the unusual, dissonant counterpoint found in its slow introduction. It is perhaps the most famous of his quartets. The 22-bar Adagio opens with quiet eighth-note Cs in the cello. The viola then joins on A-flat and the second violin on E-flat. The first dissonance is created once the first violin enters on an A, thus creating tension between the A-flat and A that will be a recurring feature in the entire quartet. This introduction presents the major ideas that will recur throughout the piece. Almost two hundred years later, Romanian composer Pascal Bentoiu’s String Quartet No. 2, “Consonance,” is an example of very tonal music in an age when dissonance is taken to exaggerated levels and reigns in much music of the time. Bentoiu believed that perhaps the consonant chords in his work will provoke the same unpleasantness as Mozart’s dissonant chords did in his String Quartet No. 19.
The American Romanian Festival celebrates its 20th-anniversary season with a wonderful collaboration with the University of Michigan Residential College and the Stearns Collection. The Lecture-Recital will feature Romanian folk tunes for cimbalom as well as other arrangements by virtuoso cimbalom player Alexandru Șura, who will also speak about the art of cimbalom playing.
The American Romanian Festival celebrates its 20th-anniversary season with an evening of works centered around travel that’s sure to cure the wanderlust in us all. First on the program is a recently commissioned piece by Ionica Pop, Impresii din România, that reflects the joy of celebration and the need for human communion and peace through music. In The Seven Dreams of Frida Kahlo for Clarinet and String Quartet, composer Ovidiu Marinescu takes us on an imaginary journey of dreams, from Mayan ritual dances to mariachi music to bebop jazz—which Frida Kahlo heard in New York in her travels with partner Diego Rivera—to an Arabic dream and pagan dance with Russian flair. Lastly, Steve Reich’s Different Trains for String Quartet and Pre-Recorded Performance Tape expresses the basic idea that carefully chosen speech recordings can generate musical materials for musical instruments. The piece is inspired by the composer’s childhood: When he was only 1 year old, Reich’s parents separated. His mother moved to Los Angeles while his father remained in New York. He traveled back and forth by train frequently between New York and Los Angeles from 1939 to 1942, accompanied by the governess. Different Trains is a reflection of Reich’s realization that as a Jew, had he been in Europe during those years, he easily could have been riding a very different kind of train.
Join the American Romanian Festival for Romanian Musical Colors, an intimate chamber music concert with Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians. The program features Ionica Pop’s Impresii din România, Theodor Grigoriu’s On the River Argeș, Ciprian Porumbescu’s Ballad, and Ion Dumitrescu’s String Quartet in C Major No.1.
Join the American Romanian Festival for an intimate chamber music evening featuring Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians. From Afar: Quartets by Grigoriu, Smetana, and More offers a unique blend of tradition and innovation, including Ionica Pop’s new commission Impresii din România, Theodor Grigoriu’s folk-inspired On the River Argeș, Ciprian Porumbescu’s Ballad arranged for string quartet, and Bedřich Smetana’s evocative String Quartet in E Minor, “From My Life.” Experience music that bridges cultures with heartfelt nostalgia and bold expression.