Cellist Arto Noras is the new President of the Jury for the Cello Section

Cellist Arto Noras is the new President of the Jury for the Cello Section of the George Enescu International Competition, with Maestro Dan Prelipcean joining the jury. This change is due to the fact that, for medical reasons, Maestro David Geringas is unable to travel to Bucharest.

Arto Noras (b. 1942, Turku, Finland) is a true master of his instrument and is considered one of the most outstanding cellists of his generation recognized internationally.

At the age of six, Arto Noras began studying with Professor Yrjö Selin at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. After completing his studies, he worked with Professor Paul Tortelier at the Paris Conservatory, where he graduated in 1964 with a Premier Prix diploma. Two years later, he won Second Prize at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition, which quickly paved the way for performances in major concert halls across Europe, North and South America, and later Asia. From 1970, Arto Noras was a cello professor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he taught for 40 years before being invited to teach at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. He has also conducted masterclasses worldwide and served on the juries of the most prestigious international cello competitions. He founded the Naantali Music Festival in 1980, which he coordinated for over 40 years, and in 1991, he founded the Paulo International Cello Competition, where he serves as Artistic Director. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Sibelius Academy Quartet.

Arto Noras’s repertoire includes all significant works written for the cello, as well as those by contemporary composers. He has performed as a soloist with the most prominent orchestras and conductors worldwide, and as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with some of the most notable musicians of our time. Arto Noras has closely worked with many composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki, Aulis Sallinen, and Jeajoon Ryu, performing Penderecki’s works under his baton on four different continents. He has also made numerous recordings, including several works dedicated to him.

Dan Prelipcean studied at the George Enescu Conservatory in Iași and, after graduation, worked with the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra and as a faculty member at the Iași Conservatory.

He attended interpretation courses with masters of the chamber music genre, including George Hamza, Wilhelm Berger, Vilmos Tatrai (Budapest), Nicolaus Delius (Freiburg), Uzi Weisel (Bayreuth), Friedrich von Haussegger (Hanover), Miaceslav Horzowski, Hans Leygraf, members of the British Amadeus Quartet, and Boris Pergamencikov (Cologne Academy of Music).

Since 2005, Dan Prelipcean has been a tenured professor at the George Enescu National University of Arts in Iași, specializing in instrumental interpretation and chamber music. Since 2007, he has also served as the Scientific Coordinator for Doctoral Studies at the same faculty. Additionally, Maestro Prelipcean is an Honorary Professor at the Gheorghe Dima National Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca and the Würzburg Conservatory of Music (Germany).

Dan Prelipcean is the cellist of the Voces String Quartet, founded in Iași in 1973. Since 1990, Voces has been an ensemble of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company in Bucharest.

A laureate of several international string quartet competitions, including those in Colmar and Bordeaux (France) and Hanover (Germany), Dan Prelipcean has made numerous recordings on disc, radio, and TV, including the complete George Enescu chamber works (1981) and the complete Beethoven (live recordings in Würzburg, Germany).

Dan Prelipcean has published books and studies and has given lectures on instrumental interpretation techniques.

The cello section stages will take place from September 1 to 10, 2024. The jury, composed of cellists Arto Noras (Jury President), Leonid Gorokhov, Meehae Ryo, Valentin Răduțiu, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo, and Dan Prelipcean, will be joined by Charlotte Lee—one of the top 14 executive directors in artist management—and Raimund Trenkler, cellist and chairman of the Kronberg Academy Foundation, starting from the semifinals. They will award three prizes, with a total prize fund of 30,000 euros: First Prize – 15,000 euros net; Second Prize – 10,000 euros net; Third Prize – 5,000 euros net.

The first two stages of the competition will take place at the National University of Music from September 1-3 (Stage I) and September 5-6 (Stage II).

The semifinal will take place on September 8, and the final is scheduled for September 10, both at the Romanian Athenaeum.

The first two stages of the competition, as well as the semifinal, have free entry without prior registration.

The recital on September 4 will be performed by the same pianist, Mikhail Mordvinov, with the participation of cellist Enrico Dindo, a jury member.

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The George Enescu International Competition is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.

Cultural project funded by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Culture.

Organizer: ARTEXIM

Co-organizer: ArtProduction Foundation

Co-producers: Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, Romanian Television Society, Bucharest City Hall – ARCUB

Main partner: Rompetrol

Partners: Purcari, ONE, SANADOR, Mobexpert, Senia Music, La Mama, Althaus, RetuRo, Nazzuro Aqua, L’Or, Electrecord, Motivation Romania Foundation, Special Olympics Foundation, Climb Again

Institutional partners: George Enescu Philharmonic, National University of Music Bucharest, Romanian Cultural Institute, George Enescu National Museum, National Center for Youth Art Tinerimea Română, Italian Cultural Institute Bucharest, French Institute Bucharest, Arad Philharmonic, Mihail Jora Philharmonic Bacău, Lyra – George Cavadia Philharmonic Brăila, Transylvania State Philharmonic, Oltenia Philharmonic Craiova, Moldova Philharmonic Iași, State Philharmonic Oradea, Pitești Philharmonic, Paul Constantinescu Philharmonic Ploiești, Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic Râmnicu Vâlcea, Dinu Lipatti State Philharmonic Satu Mare, Banatul Philharmonic Timișoara, Theodor Costescu Culture Palace Drobeta – Turnu Severin, Romanian Chamber Orchestra, Dinu Lipatti National College of Arts Bucharest, George Enescu National College of Music

Legal services partner: Țuca Zbârcea & Associates

Mobility partner: Blue

With support from: Romanian Luthiers Association, Paradigma Film, Bucharest Airports National Company, Casa de Flori

Monitoring partner: MediaTRUST