Academia Sighişoara at its 24th edition,Aug 1, 2017

Already at its 24^th edition, Academia Sighișoara Academy reopens its gates between the 1st and 14^th of August to welcome the professors, guest artists and young musicians enrolled in the summer school classes, as well as to present, to the general public, a series of musical events of the highest standard.

Academia Sighișoara is an international festival aimed towards young musicians from all over the world, providing up and coming artists with a medium to meet and converse, a platform for contemporary art and bringing new talents face to face with internationally acclaimed mentors. The academy was founded in 1993 by Romanian born Swiss violinist Alexandru Gavrilovici together with Swiss flautist Heidi Indermühle. What began as a modern masterclass for musicians studying in Switzerland or Romania set in the romantic scenery of the Sighișoara Citadel, soon became an important music festival, receiving extensive worldwide mass-media attention. As per tradition, Academia Sighișoara starts on the 1st of August, Switzerland’s National Day, with the classes and interactive workshops for students taking place between the 2^nd – 13^th of August. During the course of the festival, every day will end with a concert held by the professors invited to the summer school as well as the guest artists. On the last two days, it will be the young musicians’ turn to take to the stage and present their solo and chamber works or to premiere the new music written during the composition class held by the academy.

In 2017, 18 mentors from countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Canada and Romania, joined by 16 artists from Spain, Switzerland and Romania and an ensemble of traditional Romanian folk music will on the one hand hold masterclasses and workshops for composition, voice, piano, fortepiano, violin, cello, double bass, harp, clarinet, chamber music and Alexander Technique, on the other hand they will perform in the evening concerts of the festival. Over 60 students are expected to arrive from all over the world, 6 of them being beneficiaries of scholarships for exceptionally promising young Romanian artists.

With each edition, the organisers of the festival strive to approach a new musical programme, each completely different from the previous ones. Moreover, each year a new activity or idea is introduced in hopes that it will prove a valuable addition and can become tradition, as was the case of the tribute concerts (with a different theme every year), the Alexander Technique course (inaugurated in 2014 to great success) or the fortepiano class (first held in 2016). The novelty during this year’s edition lies in the compendium of new music produced by young Romanian composers and presented in the concert entitled Muses and Fairies and Icoane Ensemble’s performance of traditional Romanian music in a special event.

Every night, the organisers of the festival offer music lovers a number of concerts with varied themes and repertoires. This year’s edition celebrates Sándor Veress and Dinu Lipatti, composers born on Romanian soil but who have achieved artistic mastery in their adoptive country – Switzerland. Alexandru Gavrilovici, artistic director of the summer school captures the essence of the artistic events: „With the performance of Icoane Ensemble or the Opera in the Citadel we aim to present, the art of traditional Romanian singing and that of the vocal performance in the context of lyric theatre one next to the other. Many musical masterpieces that are part of the Russian heritage are still unknown to the public. True musical jewels will be presented on a night dedicated to Russian classical music. Pianoforte, harp and other traditional instruments will shine through the performances of various pieces in a special repertoire dedicated to each of them. A very special musical encounter of “the highest level” is guaranteed by an encounter between Benjamin Engeli with Arcadia Quartet. The works of the composition class will also be performed alongside Spanish composer Joaquín Turina’s Las Musas de Andalucia, a cycle of chamber music pieces. A very essential chapter of Academia Sighișoara are the chamber music classes. A profounde, what is more, philosophical concert programme is created by the chamber music coordinator Vladimir Lakatos for the concert on the 10th of August. Concerts in which masters perform together with their disciples are a longstanding tradition, characteristic of the Academia Sighișoara. These special events will take place after the final student concerts, as guiding young instrumentalists in their journey towards the “spotlight” of the stage is the primary (and a sacred) objective of Academia Sighișoara.

The entrance is free to all the concerts.

This project was realised with the support of the Municipality of Sighișoara and the Sighișoara City Council.

A cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN).

Organisers: Verein Cultura Viva Sighișoara, Cultura Viva Sighișoara Association

Sponsors and parteners: Azomureş, Embassy of Switzerland in Romania, Swiss Sponsors’ Fund Romania, ProHelvetia, Embassy of Spain in Bucharest, Şcoala din Deal and the „Josef Haltrich” High School Sighişoara, Gaudeamus Cultural-scientific Foundation Sighişoara, Gheorghe Dima Music Academy Cluj-Napoca, Jewish Community Târgu Mureş, Miron Neagu Primary School Sighişoara, Hotel Sighişoara

Parteneri media: Agerpres, Radio România Muzical, TVR Târgu Mureş, Deutsche Zeitung, the weekly newspaper of Mureș Punctul, Radio Son, Făclia de Cluj, Erdély.ma

Conținutul acestui proiect nu reflectă neapărat poziția Municipiului Sighișoara și nu implică nici o responsabilitate din partea acestuia.

Proiectul nu reprezintă în mod necesar poziţia Administraţiei Fondului Cultural Naţional. AFCN nu este responsabilă de conţinutul proiectului sau de modul în care rezultatele proiectului pot fi folosite. Acestea sunt în întregime responsabilitatea beneficiarului finanţării.