Foreign orchestras performing at George Enescu International Festival to use double basses made in Reghin
The double basses built by the luthiers of the Romanian town of Reghin, members of the Association of Romanian Luthiers (AALR), will be used in the concerts of the 2023 edition of the George Enescu International Music Festival that will take place on August 27 – September 24 in Bucharest, told Agerpres.
„We are happy that we somehow manage to secure continuity for the idea we had in 2019. Since then, we have participated in every edition of the George Enescu International Festival. Our contribution is a major one. We are mounting an exhibition this year at Sala Palatului – last year we even had an exhibition at the Romanian Athenaeum for the entire duration of the festival – which will last 30 days. And another important aspect is some of the instruments built in Reghin – double basses in particular because they are instruments that are more difficult to move around, and some orchestras coming from abroad ask for double basses to be made available to them to perform in the events in Bucharest – will be played in the event. We are happy that in the past years they were satisfied with our instruments and continue to ask us for them,” Deputy Chairman of the Association of Romanian Luthiers Claudiu Mare said on Tuesday.
The number of instruments from Reghin for the George Enescu International Festival varies with concerts.
„There are orchestras that need three, five double basses; in the smaller events at the Athenaeum, smaller orchestras will often play the baroque double bass, which we also provide – a rarer, more atypical instrument – and we are glad that the instruments made in Romania are somehow recognised. In the exhibition we will have almost the entire range of bowed string instruments, starting with the violin, viola, cello and double bass. This annual participation is designed for us to try to somehow create a habit for the people in the capital city and also all areas of the country, to know that every September, the Association of the Reghin Luthiers will go there, will mount an exhibition for the 30-day duration of the entire festival,” said Mare, adding that the instruments on display are for sale.
He believes that the exhibition is a good way for young students to try instruments and accessories made in Reghin.
„We also have bows for each instrument category. So it’s a wide offer and a very good quality-price ratio, I’d say. (…). We are lucky to participate in this great festival, which is one of the most prestigious classical music festivals in the world. It is a royal event that takes place over 30 days, there will be three – four concerts every day, for all tastes and preferences,” said Mare. AGERPRES (RO – author: Dorina Matis, editor: Antonia Nita; EN – author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)