Gabriel Croitoru and Horia Mihail at the Haus de Musik - Vienna

Visiting one after the other the floors of the Haus der Musik in Vienna, I discovered new and new stories woven among the lives of composers whose fate was common at some point with that of Vienna. A museum telling the history of music so that it is attractive to young people who are more familiar or less familiar with classical music is something we lack in Romania at present.

I discovered upon the same occasion an exciting subjective guide of Vienna, written by Gabriel Kohn and Peter Schubert, Romanians on Ringstrasse – Yesterday's Routes in Today's Vienna, published in the Vienna Romanian Cultural Institute Editions, where out of the 15 personalities mentioned, most are musicians, from Eusebie Mandicevski and Maria Cebotari to Ioan Holender. Here's another story familiarising the Romanian visitor with Vienna, looking at it through the eyes of the Romanians who lived here, presented in a modern and attractive graphic design.

Contemporary audience need a story, a reality which we felt ever more acutely of late in musical life. The offer is so varied at present that, in order to be noticed, it is not enough to be competitive, but you must also know how to advertise it in the most original and convincing manner.

Trying to build a story of different relations with the city where the concert took place, on celebrating 130 years since the birth of George Enescu, a student more than a century ago of the Vienna Conservatory, in full progress of the 20^th edition in the “Enescu” Festival in Bucharest, and during the year of Franz Liszt's bicentenary, the RCI Vienna continues the series of concerts Klein und fein, organised in collaboration with der Musik in Vienna, with a special event. The program of the evening, featuring violinist Gabriel Croitoru and pianist Horia Mihail included three works for violin and piano, as well as piano solo works by Dvořák, Franck, Liszt, Kreisler or Heinz Provost, the artist of the evening trying to select music directly or indirectly related to Vienna.

If we can tell a story about the legendary instrument which is the Guarneri del Gesu violin – “The Cathedral” - that George Enescu played at and which is now played by Gabriel Croitoru at the  George Enescu Museum, another about the Romanian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt, on the occasion of this recital I had the opportunity to communicate the audience the histories of two national projects initiated by Radio Romania Cultural and the Cultural Association Accendo, which include among their heroes both pianist Horia Mihail, and violinist Gabriel Croitoru, who could be heard in the concert hall of the Haus der Musik.

The first story is called The Travelling Piano, and took place in the spring of 2011, residing in a national tour of piano solo recitals with a program including only Liszt, visiting 12 cities in Romania, the last five recitals being held on a piano which travelled together with the pianist. After five concerts held every evening in a different city in Transylvania, this instrument was given for the use of the local community in Mediaș. This first chapter in the story The Travelling Piano was concluded when the Radio House Publishing House released these past days a CD including the live recital of Horia Mihail called Franz Liszt's Tracks, and which was also launched in Vienna, where the artist gave autographs at the end of the recital.

The second story begins on the 26 of September, in Targu Mureș, again in Transylvania, and is called the Violin Duel: Stradivarius versus Guarneri. Next to pianist Horia Mihail, witness and referee of this project, two violinists and two violins which were never on the same stage before will enter a friendly competition. It is basically a game of duel between Liviu Prunaru – Stradivarius and Gabriel Croitoru - Guarneri, where the winner will be the audience.

On the stages of 6 cities in Romania – Targu Mureș, Brașov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova – will simultaneously walk this autumn three Romanian born musicians. One of them left the country and continues to live and work in Europe – Liviu Prunaru, another left for a while and then returned – Horia Mihail and the third left Romania only for brief periods of time, for classes, competitions or concerts, working mainly in his native country - Gabriel Croitoru.

As a promoter among these stories with musical themes, I had the chance to attend in Vienna a preview of the Violin Duel project, the recital Gabriel Croitoru - Horia Mihail, after having seen Liviu Prunaru and Horia Mihail only one week before on the stage in the Enescu Festival Square. Next week we will see them in direct confrontation.

Music, in its vagueness, may take everyone's imaginations on the route of personal stories.