Bucharest, Romania. A Night at the Symphony

Our hotel in Bucharest is just a few steps from Calea Victoriei (Victory Avenue) in the downtown area.  It is about a three block walk to the Athenium concert hall.


Our tour guide, Edward, from Medieval Tours was able to find tickets for us to the Thursday evening concert there.

Now, ordinarily, I wouldn't spend an evening at home listening to Beethoven and Brahms.  But, what's that old saying?  When in Romania, do as the Romanians do!

The soloist on the piano, Dan Grigore, is a well known Romanian and received much applause from the crowd.

My favorite though was director Misha Katz, a native Russian who resides in Paris.  (A couple of YouTube videos show Katz.  His enthusiasm comes through around 1:24 on this one.)  He was by far the most enthusiastic and animated director that I have ever seen.  He expressed joy and enthusiasm throughout the concert.  Following the applause and a few curtain calls at the end, he spoke to the audience in French, a language well beyond my skills but which Linda would translate for me later.


I'm not sure we totally understand the protocol for behavior at a concert like this.  I couldn't find anyone smiling during the performance.  During the movements, which were about fifteen minutes in length and immediately thereafter there was total silence.  Then, simultaneous coughing and clearing of throats for about fifteen seconds, fading quickly to perfect silence again.

While I enjoyed the show, I'll still choose John Fogerty the next time he's in town.  To which I should add, Elvis Costello will be here in Bucharest on November 3rd.