Showing posts with label ioan holender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ioan holender. Show all posts

Concertgebouw Amsterdam-Mariss Jansons-Johannes Moser-Sostakovich-Beethoven-Palace Hall-20.09

Breakfast with Sostakovich & Beethoven, delivered by Concertgebouw and Jansons
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Palace Grand Hall
Series "Great Orchestras"
ROYAL CONCERTGEBOW ORCHESTRA AMSTERDAM
Conductor: MARISS JANSONS
Soloist: JOHANNES MOSER
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Program:
Shostakovich – Concerto no. 1 for cello and orchestra in E flat Major op. 107
Beethoven – Symphony no. 3 "Eroica" in E flat Major op. 55
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......Concertgebouw was the highlight of the Festival. Everybody talked about them and wanted to listen to them. Gramophone Magazine listed them as the best orchestra in the world. They tour everywhere. I listened to them performing at the Proms in London this year and I was impressed. I was and still am very proud that the concert master of this magnificent orchestra is a Romanian and his name is Liviu Prunariu.
......There were two concerts scheduled. First one on September 19th at 7:30pm (and I could go. the program was: Weber – "Oberon" overture, Haydn – Symphony no. 100 in G Major and Dvorak – Symphony no. 8 in G Major op. 88) and the second one on September 20th at 11am, with the program mentioned above.
......It was that concert that makes you wonder if it was real. I listened to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Saint-Saens, Lalo and Ravel and I said "wow". I listened to Radio France Orchestra with Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, "even better", then Brits again (Philharmonia) under Vladimir Ashkenazy with Sostakovich and it was a dream. And now, Concertgebouw Amsterdam under Mariss jansons. Unreal, unbelievable and still they were there, in front of me. Since the beginning I could feel like detaching from the ground, spiritually lifted by music only. The softness, roundness not only of particular sounds but of the orchestra as a whole was spectacular. There was no sound misplaced, everything was very well taken care of.
......What amazed me was that nobody seemed to have dificulties in rendering the proper sound. it was something natural, something they do every day. This is how well trained they are.
......Mariss Jansons led them through the difficult, beautiful and sad concert of Sostakovich, skilfully supporting the voice of the cello. What I heard was a lament, a deep sorrow that has to come out for the soul to find it's peace.
......Beethoven's 7th Symphony brought new feelings, goosebumps every minute, 100% attention to the sound. If anybody complanis about the acoustics of the Palace Hall, let me tell him/her it's not the acoustics but the orchestra. It was pure magic. They are for sure among the best. I had the same opinion about Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which I listened to twince, with Barenboim and Rattle conducting. It's hard to compare or try to find the weak points. They're both good and they can prove it at any time.
......Two encores rewarded the audience who appaluded ceaselessly.
......Concertgebouw left, but Mariss Jansons returns this week (if he ever left) to conduct Bayerichen Rundfunks Symphonic Orchestra. As if he didn't know the program, when giving him the "Cultural Merit" (that medal that many artists received during the Festival), the Director of the Festival, Mr Holender, made Mr Jansons promise he'll return soon. How soon? In 5 days :).
...
......Mariss Jansons ranks among the most outstanding podium personalities of our time. His orchestral accomplishments are not only recognized world-wide by his vigorous concert and touring activities along with television and radio broadcasts but also documented on a sizable number of recordings.Mariss Jansons has been Chief Conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Bavarian Radio Chorus since the 2003/2004 concert season, following Eugen Jochum, Rafael Kubelík, Sir Colin Davis and Lorin Maazel as the fifth Chief Conductor of these two renowned Bavarian Broadcasting ensembles. In 2004 Mariss Jansons additionally assumed the position of Chief Conductor of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam.
......Born in 1943 in the Latvian capital of Riga, he grew up in the Soviet Union as the son of conductor Arvid Jansons, studying violin, viola and piano and completing his musical education in conducting with high honors at the Leningrad Conservatory. Further studies followed with Hans Swarovsky in Vienna and Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. In 1971 Mariss Jansons won the Conducting Competition sponsored by the Karajan Foundation in Berlin. His work was also significantly influenced by the legendary Russian conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky, who engaged Mariss Jansons as his assistant at the Leningrad Philharmonic in 1972. Over the succeeding years, Mariss Jansons remained closely linked with this orchestra, today’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic, as a regular conductor until 1999 as well as conducting the orchestra during that period on tours throughout the world.
......From 1979 to 2000, Mariss Jansons set standards as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, which he shaped into an international top orchestra. Besides this, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1992-1997) and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1997-2004).
......On January 1, 2006, Mariss Jansons first conducted the Vienna Philharmonic’s tradition-rich New Year’s Concert, which was telecast by 60 stations on every continent and seen by more than fifty million televiewers.
...
......German-born cellist Johannes Moser came to international attention in 2002 when he won the 12th Tchaikovsky Competition and was awarded the Special Prize for his interpretation of the Rococo Variations. Since then Johannes has performed with many of the highest level orchestras in Europe and throughout the world. Highlights include performances with the Chicago Symphony under Pierre Boulez, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti, and the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev.
......His most recent success came in 2007 with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst at the Blossom Festival, where the Cleveland Plain Dealer described Johannes as having "played with agile brilliance and vast expressive character."In the coming season, Johannes continues with a busy recital schedule and performances with the Tonhalle Orchestra, Malmo Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.
......International highlights of Johannes’ previous seasons include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Deutsche Symphony Orchestra, SWR Stuttgart, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Saarbrücken and a tour of Italy with Riccardo Muti and the Cherubini Orchestra.He has also performed at many festivals including the Verbier Festival, Schleswig-Hostein Festival, Kissinger Summer Festival, Gstaad Festival, and the Rheingau Music Festival.
......Born in Munich in 1979, Johannes began studying the cello at the age of 8 and became a student of Professor David Geringas in 1997. He won first prize in the 2000 Davidoff Competition in Riga and the 2001 Mendelssohn competition in Berlin.His first recital disc was released by Hänssler Classics in summer 2006 with sonatas by Shostakovich, Weinberg and Boris Tchaikovsky and was awarded the ECHO Klassik 2007 award for Young Artist (cello). A second disc, Brahms and his Contemporaries Vol. 1, features sonatas by Brahms, Fuchs and Zemlinsky and was released in summer 2007.
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Palace Hall - outside
Mariss Jansons and Johannes Moser







Mariss Jansons, Ioan Holender (the Director of the Festival) and Mr Paleologu (the Minister of Culture)

For you, Mr Jansons. Thanks for the beautiful moments!

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......Listen to Concertgebouw conducted by Jansons playing Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka (compelet ballet, 1947 version) - Osaka/Japan - 2004

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This is an interview with Johannes Moser by Monica Bojin published in Cotidianul.
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Violoncelistul Johannes Moser: „Când studiez, sunt ca un detectiv“
.....Violoncelistul Johannes Moser, care a interpretat Şostakovici duminică, la Sala Palatului, îşi justifică alegerea programului prin apropierea dintre compozitor şi profesorul său, Mstislav Rostropovici. Moser mărturiseşte că ascultă jazz, pop şi muzică electronică şi că studiază ca un detectiv care caută indicii.
...Aţi ales să cântaţi primul concert pentru violoncel de Şostakovici. Care este locul lui în repertoriul dvs în termeni de „îmi place“, „îl consider o provocare“, „îl cânt cât de des pot“, „îl cânt doar pentru că fiecare violoncelist care se respectă o face“?
......Oh, am de unde alege dintre toate aceste variante! Culmea e că nici una nu se potriveşte, ci explicaţia este că profesorul meu i-a fost elev lui Rostropovici, de unde şi legătura foarte strânsă cu Şostakovici. Cred că secolul XX a fost mult mai aventuros decât ne-am putea da seama din acest concert, muzica lui Şostakovici este mult mai accesibilă, mai uşor de înţeles într-un fel decât cea a lui Elliott Carter sau a lui Pierre Boulez. Însă e foarte plăcut să cânţi o piesă de secol XX atât de plină de emoţie de tip romantic. Eu, unul, consider că Şostakovici aparţine mai mult perioadei romantismului.
....Cine vrea să devină muzician studiază mult. Dvs, ca violoncelist profesionist, găsiţi bucurie în a exersa? Este de fapt studiul sinonim cu interpretatul?
......Mie îmi place foarte mult să studiez. Pentru mine, asta nu înseamnă doar a-ţi mişca degetele deasupra coardelor, ci a înţelege mai bine piesa respectivă, structura ei, ce poţi face din ea, care au fost intenţiile compozitorului. Am sentimentul că sunt un detectiv când studiez. Caut şi găsesc indicii pentru rezolvarea misterului.
....Şi aveţi ajutoare? Există vreun Watson alături de dvs în acest proces? Cărţi despre piese, înregistrări cu diverşi violoncelişti, să spunem?
......Nu, de fapt am încetat să mai ascult imprimări pentru că mă împiedică să-mi menţin propria idee asupra lucrării. Toţi interpreţii au idei grozave, dar sunt ideile lor! Citesc însă biografii, sunt un mare fan... dacă vreau să aflu ceva despre un anume compozitor, nu citesc doar biografia lui, ci şi a altor muzicieni în legătură cu el. De exemplu, am vrut să cunosc mai multe despre Richard Strauss, deci, fireşte, am citit biografiile lui Gustav şi Alma Mahler – ba chiar şi a lui Franz Kafka, un contemporan al său. Aşa afli multe despre o felie de viaţă, de istorie. Revenind la studiu, obişnuiesc să mă înregistrez şi apoi să mă ascult ca să-mi dau seama la ce mai am de lucrat. Imprimarea este şi video, ca nu cumva să mă strâmb sau să fac mişcări ciudate în timp ce cânt. Mai obişnuiesc să cânt pentru prieteni şi să-i întreb cum li s-a părut. Cel mai interesant este să cânţi în faţa unor oameni care nu cunosc deloc muzica, pentru că ei reflectă şi publicul din sala de concert: majoritatea nu sunt profesionişti, ci persoane cărora le place pur şi simplu muzica. De aceea mi se pare important să cunosc părerea lor.
....În afara muzicii clasice mai cântaţi şi altceva? Jazz, poate muzică tradiţională germană?
......Da, chiar acum mă ocup de muzică electronică şi folosesc un violoncel electric pe care l-am conectat la computer şi încerc să găsesc noi sunete, noi moduri de exprimare. Am încercat să cânt şi jazz, dar am recunoscut că trebuie să fii un savant într-ale muzicii ca să poţi face jazz. Aici sunt realmente un începător... Afirm însă că muzica nu înseamnă doar muzica clasică: muzica pe care o ascult eu este jazz, pop, muzică electronică – nu neapărat genuri dansante precum house, ci mai avangardistă.
....Sunteţi şi profesor şi aţi predat unor copii destul de mici. De ce este atât de importantă muzica pentru copii, de ce credeţi că le place atât de mult?
......În primul rând, consider pedagogia o investiţie; media de vârstă a publicului creşte din ce în ce mai mult, în ultimii 30 de ani mi se pare că muzica a cam lipsit din educaţia copiilor, mai ales de când cele mai multe mame au serviciu, deci nu se mai pot ocupa de copii lor şi sub acest aspect: să le arate ce este muzica, să le pună muzică. Cred deci că misiunea noastră, a interpreţilor, este să umplem acest gol prin astfel de cursuri. De ce le place copiilor muzica? Eu cred că ei trec dincolo de acest stadiu: „muzica este antrenantă, simpatică, plăcută la ureche“. Îşi dau seama că muzica face mult mai mult: îţi angajează emoţiile, dar îţi îmbogăţeşte şi intelectul. Iar asta e un lucru nou pentru ei. Descoperă că muzica clasică înseamnă mai mult decât „e duminică dimineaţă, ne luăm micul dejun şi în timpul acesta avem radioul deschis“. Eu asta încerc să le arăt atunci când merg prin şcoli: că muzica este mai importantă decât atât.
....Dacă cineva ar veni la dvs şi v-ar spune: aş vrea să ascult muzică clasică, dar nu ştiu cu ce să încep, ce i-aţi răspunde?
......Cred că aş recomanda o combinaţie între Bach, Schumann şi Lutoslawski; mi se pare că aceşti compozitori au cele trei calităţi pe care le consider esenţiale: structură, emoţie, legătură puternică şi neîntreruptă cu fiinţa umană. Le-aş spune deci să înceapă cu asta, apoi să treacă la Gustav Mahler, care şi el provoacă mereu o emoţie intensă. Cred că, indiferent de cultura ta muzicală în termeni muzicologici, critici, etc., tot poţi înţelege foarte bine muzica prin sentiment, prin trăiri. După aceea poţi, desigur, să descoperi că muzica nu înseamnă doar emoţie, ci şi structură, dar asta vine mai târziu, e al doilea pas. Deci, ca să atragi pe cineva în a asculta muzică clasică, consider că trebuie început prin a-i arăta că muzica este emoţie.



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Oedipe in Bucharest_George Enescu Festival_30.08.2009

......The 19th edition of George Enescu Festival started yesterday, August 30th, in Bucharest. For Romania it's a big thing. This festival is important in South Eastern Europe as the ones in Salzburg and Lucerne and the proof is the the big number of important soloists, orchestras and conductors. I can't say who's better. I can just be extremely happy that they are all coming here. It takes place between August 30th and September 26th 2009. At the same time with the Festival there is also the International Music Competition (piano, violin and composition). You can read more about the competition here.
......The Festival is organized under the high patronage of the President of Romania. Event organized by Romanian Government through Romanian Ministry of Culture, Religion and National Patrimony and it has as Co-producers: Romanian Radio Society, Romanian TV Society, Romanian Cultural Institute, Bucharest City Hall. Artistic Director: Ioan Holender
......The program includes lots of Enescu. Each big orchestra ro chamber orchestra has to play something by Enescu. But also pieces from Baroque to Contemporary music. Acutally the first week of Festival is dedicated to contemporary music.
......Some of the highlights of the Festival, in no particular order:
  • Royal Concertgebow Orchestra (considered number 1 in the world by Gramophone) conducted by Mariss Jansons
  • Bavarian Radio Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons
  • Martha Argerich/Charles Dutoit/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Joshua Bell/Horia Andreescu/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Roberto Abbado
  • George Enescu Philharmonic conducted by Maxim Vengerov
  • Il Giardino Armonico
  • Christian Zacharias and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
  • Murray Perahia and Saint Martin in the Fields
  • Helene Grimaud/Yuri Temirkanov/Sankt Peteresburg Orchestra
  • Nelson Freire/orchestre du Capitol de Toulousse
  • Elisabeta Leonskaya - recital
  • Monte Carlo Ballet
  • Daniela Dessi and Marco Armiliato in Manon Lescaut
  • Frank Ferrari in Oedipe
  • Franco Farina and Alberto Gazale in Otello
  • Lado Ataneli in Machbet
......The opening of the Festival took place at the Romanian Opera. Before the grand opening with Oedipe by George Enescu there was a press conference. Ioan Holender, Theodor Paleologu (the Minister of Culture), Catalin Ionescu Arbore (the Director of the Romanian Opera), Liliana Staicu (Romanian Radio Society) and Daniela Zeca Buzura (Director of TVR Cultural) took part. A lot of journalists from TV and Radio both Romanians and from abroad were present, which is a very good thing.
......The first one to talk was Mr Holender. He's also the Director of Vienna Operahouse and thanks to him the artists agreed to come to Bucharest in the first place. He talked about the highlights of the Festival. That he's sorry that Nicolas Joel can't be present due to illness (I don't know what the cause is) but he already saw the production in Toulousse (Mr Joel is the ex Director of the Operahouse in Toulousse and also the Director of Opera de Paris and those who attended the Met HD series know that he directed several of the operas). Then Mr Holender stressed upon the importance of the presence of the first two most important orchestras in the world (according the Gramphone Magazine), Royal Concertgebow and Bayerishe, both conducted by the great Mariss Jansons.
......One new things is the presence of Joseph Calleja, on September 20th, in an open air concert (this one is for free). The tenor is well known for his roles in Rigoletto and Traviata in Vienna of Les Contes D'Hoffmans (the future production at the Met). If the weather is bad on that particular day, the concert will take place inside Palace Hall.
......Speaking of the Palace Hall (one of the venues that host the Festival along with the Athenaeum and Opera House), mr Holender certified that the capacity was reduced with 1000 seats in order not to use mics anymore. Jansons had this as a condition of his coming to Bucharest. So there are 3100 seats insted of 4100.
......Another premiere is "Celan", opera in concert. Celan was a Romanian poet and this opera is composed by Peter Ruzicka. You can see this opera in concert on September 24th at the Romanian Opera House.
......The Director of the Opera House, Mr Catalin Ionescu Arbore said it's the first time when the Festival is opened at the Opera House and it's a great honor for this institution.
......The Director of TVR Cultural, Mrs Daniela Zeca Buzura, said that 85% of the concerts will be broadcasted live or after being recorded. Every night at 09:30pm there'll be an Agenda of the Festival on TVR Cultural. 3 channels will broadcast the event: TVR (The Romanian Television), TVR Cultural and TVR International, with a total of 16000 minutes (267 hours) of broadcasting (compared to 11000 minutes (184 hours) two years ago).
......The Chief Editor for Radio Romania, Mrs Liliana Staicu, said they'll broadcast live 59 concerts and recitals. You can listen live on both stations. Please see Radio Romania Cultural and Radio Romania Muzical for details of the program. They'll also have an Agenda of the Festival, every day after the News at 1pm. Radio Romania is member of the European Union of Radio Stations and will broadcast live everywhere in Europe 5 concerts (please note: it's local time - Bucharest is GMT+2):
- the Gala of the George Enescu International Competition - September 6th - 5pm
- Cristian Zacharias and Lausanne Chamber Orchestra - all 3 concerts - September 11th, 12th and 13th - 10:30pm
- Orchestre Philrmonique de Radio France with Remus Azoitei (violin) - September 9th - 07:30pm
......There were also some other facts about the Festival and Competition, mentioned by Mr Holender and by Mr Constantinescu, the Director of Artexim, the company that organized the event.
- for the Competition there are 51 people in violin contest, 49 in piano contest and 181 in composition contest
- there are 89 people from foreign press, including CNN, Mezzo, RFI, Duetsche Welle.
- Mezzo TV will broadcast 5 recorded concerts/operas: Oedipe (it was filmed yesterday, August 30th), Gala Concert of the Competition, Bayerischen conducted by Mariss Jansons on September 24th (and 2 more but I missed them) and 2 live concerts - Royal Concertgebow conducted by Mariss Jansons on September 19th (at 07:30pm local hour and 08:40 France time - see the schedule on Mezzo TV. This broadcast is followed by an interesting program - "Voyage musical en Roumanie: les vampires n'existent plus") and 20th (11:00am).
- there are 17 concerts sold out before the start of the Festival. Among others: Martha Argerich on September 11th, Joshua Bell on September 12th, Murray Perahia (both concerts), Christian Zacharias (all 3 concerts)
- the contract with CNN is worth 100000 USD and involves broadcasting the promo spot for 450 times (1 spot broadcasted during the live transmission of the ceremony of investment of President Obama)
......This was the press conference. Hope I got interesting information for you and determine you to listen to some of the concerts. And if you're in Bucharest, buy a ticket. They're extremly cheap compared to what you could pay to see the same concert abroad. The cheapest ticket for all 3 venues is 50 lei (12 euro).
George Enescu

Two posters of the Festival - 1958 and 1967


From the press conference: Ioan Holender and Theodor Paleologu


......The Festival was opened with Oedipe by George Enescu. It's not very well known becuase it's rarely performed. It's difficult. And to my surprise there's little about it on the internet. Mostly in French. I find the music beautiful. The premier was at Palais Garnier, in Paris, in 1936 and Philippe Gaubert conducted the orchestra. Then it was performed in Bucharest, years later. During the years there were several productions but I think this one is the best (speaking of sets/costumes/general idea). The best Oedipe remains David Ohanesian. There are some video clips on You Tube, short but it's enough to have an idea
.......The plot is a combination of Sofocle's play and "Oedipe at Colonus" (the final act). There are 4 acts and one interval. Here's the libretto, in French (original). Many people compare this work with Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex" (more details here). But our Oedipe is more than that. You have to listen. I don't know who to explain. Philosophically and musically it's a masterpiece. The conception of the opera was interesting. Grey people (clothes and faces) moving in a Greek Theatre. The only colors came with the Sphinx and in the end, when Oedipe goes to "the other world".
......10+ for Mr Ferrari, for the orchestra, the choire, the conductor, the director, EVERYBODY.

....
Series "Opera and Ballet"
OEDIPE by George Enescu
Coproduction Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse - Bucharest National Opera
Director: NICOLAS JOEL
Sets: EZIO FRIGERIO
Costumes: FRANCE SQUARCIAPINO
Lights: VINICIO CHELI
Conductor: OLEG CAETANI
Conductor of the choir: STELIAN OLARIU
Orchestra and choir of the Bucharest National Opera
....
Soloists:

Oedipe - FRANCK FERRARI
The great priest - STEFAN SCHULLER
The Shepard - VALENTIN RACOVEANU
Iocasta - OANA ANDRA
Laios - MIHAI LAZAR
Tirésias - HORIA SANDU
Phorbas - POMPEIU HARASTEANU
Mérope - ADRIANA ALEXANDRU
Antigone - CRINA ZANCU
The guardian - MIHNEA LAMATIC
The Sphinx - ECATERINA TUTU
Théseu - VICENTIU TARANU
Women of Thebe - SIDONIA NICA
Creon - IONUT PASCU
....

Oedipe - season 1958 - 1959 at Romanian Opera

Scenes during the first act - the celebrations to honor the birth of the heir of the King Laios


Scenes from the second act - Oedipe asks himself about his faith




Scenes during the third act - the dialogue with the Sphinx - Oedipe has the right answer for the Sphinx's question. The man is more powerful than Destiny. The city is now saved and Oedipe is the hero. He doesn't know that his brave act will kill him.













Scenes from the last act. Oedipe goes away from the city with his daughter. In the end he dies.






Curtain call - the conductor of the choire


















......There are several recordings available on amazon.com:
- Enesco - Oedipe / van Dam · Hendricks · Lipovsek · Bacquier · Gedda · Courtis · Hauptmann · Quilico · Aler · Vanaud · Albert · Taillon · Foster by Georges Enesco, Lawrence Foster, José van Dam, and Barbara Hendricks (Audio CD - Sep 4, 1990)
- George Enescu: Oedipe by Davide Damiani, Egils Silins, Goran Simic, and Peter Koves (Audio CD - Jan 17, 2006)
- Oedipe by George Enescu, Lawrence Foster, Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Barbara Hendricks (Audio CD - Sep 16, 2008)
- And 2 more recordings, with Brediceanu as conductor with David Ohanesian in the title role and another with Ian Hobson as conductor and Stefan Ignat in the title role

There are some reviews and informaton in the press, about the press conference and Oedipe:
- Evenimentul Zilei
- Mediafax - I forgot to mention that our President attended the opening. there are several pictures on these web sites
- Cotidianul
- Jurnalul National
- Realitatea.net

......I'll go again on September 2nd. See you there.




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