| music by Alexander Balanescu
video and additional music by Klaus Obermaier Conceived and created by Alexander Balanescu and Klaus Obermaier music Alexander Balanescu video and additional music Klaus Obermaier featuring the Balanescu Quartet with Steve Arguelles (drums) Alexander Balenescu violin Kristie Wilkinson viola James Shenton violin Nick Cooper cello a project by ArCuB / Arts & Culture of Bucharest
with the support of Bucharest City Hall
artistic coordination Change Performing Arts "A jewelled gateway into the tragicomedy and poetry of Romanian culture" This project was inspired by the life and voice of legendary Romanian folk singer Maria Tanase. Born in 1913, Tanase achieved mythical status in Romania both during her lifetime and after her untimely death in 1963. She came to represent the soul and spirit of Romanian popular music and her deep, rich voice made a lasting contribution to the folk tradition of her country and people. Her dramatic style of performance reflected perfectly the cosmopolitan culture of the 30s and 40s in Bucharest (frequently described as the Paris of the East) and she is revered by her Romanian fans as their own Edith Piaf. | Tickets:
I sector €40
II sector €30
Alexander Balanescu - violin virtuoso and visionary composer who has collaborated with all the most important contemporary composers such as Philip Glass and Michael Nyman - delves deeper into his musical and cultural roots. Taking Tanase´s songs as a starting point, Balanescu has created new compositions with a very personal language, filtering the East European flavour of the originals through his sensibility to contemporary and pop music.
The performance features striking visuals by Austrian video artist and composer Klaus Obermaier presenting archive footage, alongside images of Romania´s troubled past, from before the Second World War, to the transition to communism and later during the sixties.
Balanescu and Obermaier have designed a visual and musical performance, evoking something of the noise, smells and colours of Bucharest, the beating hearth of Romanian Culture.
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