The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra announced today the appointment of Robert Treviño as its Principal Conductor from 2026-27 Season. The appointment of an internationally well-established Principal Conductor marks a new strategic phase in the evolution of the GEP, with a focus on showcasing the Orchestra's unique and distinctive sound, and on strengthening its international standing through continued artistic excellence and bold musical projects. The 41-year-old American conductor will commence his tenure in October 2026, initially for four years. The offer was made after Treviño's thrilling debut with the Orchestra in November 2025, with Mahler's Symphony No. 3, a performance considered by music critics as 'a musical achievement of great days' for its grand, memorable, and passionate delivery. Marin Cazacu, General Director of the George Enescu Philharmonic, said: "After the exceptional experience we shared not long ago, when the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, together with conductor Robert Treviño, delivered one of the most sensitive and convincing interpretations of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, it is a great pleasure to invite him to join the George Enescu Philharmonic family as Principal Conductor. We see his tenure as a period in which we very much wish to evolve, both as an orchestra and in the very idea of collaboration with a conductor of Robert Treviño’s stature and prestige. The appointment of Maestro Robert Treviño as Principal Conductor of the GEP comes naturally, as it directly advances the strategy we launched in 2022, for GEP's development and communication at the highest level, both nationally and internationally." Robert Treviño, currently in the UK conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, says: "It’s my enormous joy and privilege to join the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra as the next Principal Conductor from the 2026-27 Season. From the first moment the Orchestra and I started to make music together, it was overwhelmingly clear that we speak the same musical language, and seek a common goal on aesthetic and expression. Being offered the position of Principal Conductor directly following my debut this Season is a testament to the shared chemistry and commitment to music-making.” Paying tribute to the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Robert Treviño adds: "This Orchestra has a history of over 150 years, continuously making music in this amazing, beautiful theater, the Romanian Athenaeum, which is its home. Their sound is a marvel, at once highly distinctive and redolent of rich European musical traditions. It’s an enormous privilege and honor to be part of their continued heritage, and to bring the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra forward in their legacy as a musical treasure, both with its own public in Bucharest and the world at large." The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Romania's premier orchestra and one of the leading ensembles of Eastern Europe, dates back to its founding in 1868. Major conductors to have figured in its history include George Enescu himself, George Georgescu, Constantin Silvestri, Sergiu Celibidache, and Cristian Mandeal. With its unique and defining sound, a sound of vibrancy devoid of any stridence, rich, warm, and deep in its clarity like amber, the GEP Orchestra comes across as a mature and well-balanced ensemble, completely at ease and full of imagination. Resident at the Romanian Athenaeum since 1889, GEP strives to provide the ideal place where we fulfil through music our identity as citizens of humanity. For over 150 years, through times of peace and war, concerts have been held uninterrupted at the Romanian Athenaeum. It is there that the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra creates and nurtures music and grace. Robert Treviño, who is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, regularly conducts many of the world's leading orchestras. This Season also sees him on the podium with the London Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Filarmonica della Scala, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Osaka Philharmonic and others. He will reunite with the GEP in August, leading the Orchestra at the Ravello Festival, in Italy. The Orchestra's plans with Robert Treviño include developing and further refining the identity of the Orchestra, enriching its repertoire, extensive international touring, and several recordings with Ondine Records, with whom Treviño has a long-running association and where he has won many awards and accolades (including 'Record Of The Year' from Presto Music and a Gramophone Award nomination). More details to follow at a later date.  About Robert Treviño Robert Treviño is the incoming Principal Conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. Recently praised in a New York Times profile for his “exquisite…frankly gorgeous conducting”, Robert Treviño is much in demand by many of the world’s leading orchestras throughout the world. Regularly to be seen on the podiums of top ensembles, from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to the London Symphony Orchestra, from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig to the Baltimore Symphony, from the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich to the Orchestre dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Treviño has been named the incoming Principal Conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra – after an enormously successful debut with them earlier this Season – and he is Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. The 2025/26 season also sees Treviño with the London Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Wiener Symphoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Osaka Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestra della Svizzeria Italiana, La Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México. Other regular collaborators include the Münchner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Dresdner Philharmonie, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, NDR Hannover, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Orchestre dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Helsinki Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic. He has also conducted a wide variety of orchestras in North America – also among them the symphony orchestras of Cleveland, Baltimore, Minnesota, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Utah, Toronto and Detroit. He has conducted at many leading festivals, including the Mahler Festival Leipzig, Milan Mahler Festival, MITO Festival, Puccini Festival and Enescu Festival. Treviño’s opera work has included productions at Opernhaus Zurich, La Fenice, Washington National Opera and the Bolshoi Theater He has led many international tours, including of Germany and Italy with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI; of Austria, Germany, France, and Turkey with the Basque National Orchestra; of South America with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra; Germany and Italy with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra; Italy with the SWR Symphonieorchester; Turkey with the Wiener Symphoniker, Italy and Azerbaijan with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and Romania with the MDR Sinfonieorchester. For eight years, he was Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra, a period that was transformational in the orchestra’s history. There were award-winning recordings, a thriving digital presence, and non-stop activity even during the Covid period. On tour, he brought the orchestra to major venues such as the Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg, Herkulessaal Munich, and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris. Alex Ross in The New Yorker noted Trevino’s raising of the orchestra’s international profile, while Gramophone commented, “Trevino has revitalised the 40-year-old ensemble”. He was also Chief Conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, where highlights included highly successful Beethoven and Stravinsky festivals, non-stop activity during the Covid period, and highly innovative outreach projects. His recording contract with Ondine has resulted in a ‘Recording Of The Year’ award from Presto Music for his album “Americascapes”, also shortlisted for a Gramophone Award; a widely-praised complete Beethoven symphonies cycle, two much-acclaimed Ravel albums, a Rautavaara album, Respighi’s Roman Trilogy, and “Americascapes 2 – American Opus”. Additionally, a complete cycle of Bruch symphonies with the Bamberger Symphoniker was released by CPO, and is now regarded as the modern reference recording. Between them, Robert Treviño’s recordings have garnered more than 16 accolades from respected review publications around the world. Treviño burst into the international spotlight at the Bolshoi Theater in December 2013, leading a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo at short notice. The Russian press wrote, “There has not been an American success of this magnitude in Moscow since Van Cliburn.” He was subsequently nominated for a Golden Mask award for “Best Conductor in a New Production” and appeared every year at the Bolshoi for five seasons. Robert Treviño has commissioned, premiered, and worked closely with many leading composers, among them John Adams, Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina, George Walker, Jennifer Higdon, Andre Previn, Augusta Read Thomas, Shulamit Ran, Ramon Lazkano, and John Zorn.  About the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra Founded in 1868, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the oldest permanent orchestras in Europe and the world. With a distinctive, original sound, the GEP Orchestra's mission is to give life to music of universal value, in soul-enriching performances that bring together the best conductors and soloists, and make room for growth and grace, for musicians and audiences alike. Renowned musicians, including Eduard Wachmann, George Enescu, George Georgescu, Constantin Silvestri, Sergiu Celibidache, Cristian Mandeal, Horia Andreescu, and Christian Badea, have ensured the continued excellence of the Romanian art of conducting. The Orchestra has worked with a family of artists that includes some of the world's greatest musicians. In its interwar glory years, there was not a major international conductor or soloist who did not grace the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum. Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Arthur Rubinstein, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Pablo Casals are just a few of the illustrious names in question. The Orchestra’s professional standard has always been at the level of European culture as a whole, in which the Philharmonic has always felt at home. Once the borders of Romania reopened after the communist period, the Philharmonic was able to re-join the international orchestral circuit: conductors Sergiu Comissiona, Lawrence Foster, Heinrich Schiff, Seiji Ozawa, Christian Badea, Cristian Măcelaru, Thomas Sanderling, Leonard Slatkin, Gabriel Bebeșelea, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Jin Wang, Camil Marinescu, Charles Dutoit, and soloists Elisabeth Leonskaja, Nelson Goerner, Katia Buniatishvili, Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capuçon, Martha Argerich are just a few of the names who restored the concert hall of the Romanian Athenaeum to its former glory. Today, the same as in the past, musicians from all over the world are regularly invited to take part in the Athenaeum’s seasons alongside the Philharmonic, in concerts that more often than not are sold out. GEP’s 2024-2025 Season, featuring 95 distinguished Romanian and international conductors and soloists, presented the most ambitious and diverse program in the last three decades. Its impressive roster featured great names such as conductors Vasily Petrenko, Mikhail Pletnev, Kristjan Järvi, Arnaud Arbet, Renaud Capuçon, Maxime Pascal, Nabil Shehta, Paul Goodwin, Gergely Madaras, José Luis Gomez, Lionel Bringuier, Julian Rachlin, Andrei Boreiko, Alexandre Bloch, Alexander Liebreich, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Roberto Forés Veses, Samy Rachid, Jérémie Rhorer, Dmitri Liss, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Dmitri Jurowski, Jesko Sirvend, Ana Patino Osario, Robert Farkas, Courtney Lewis and soloists Bruce Liu, Eva Gevorghyan, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Alexandre Tharaud, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Daniel Hope, Liza Ferschtman, Alexandra Conunova, Vadim Repin, Alena Baeva, Tine Thing Helseth, to mention just a few. The 2025-2026 Season continues GEP’s bold vision of becoming a major player on the international classical music scene, while reaffirming the Romanian Athenaeum as the cultural heart of Bucharest. Its rich program features world-class conductors and soloists such as Kent Nagano, Gidon Kremer, Leonidas Kavakos, Lawrence Foster, Leonard Slatkin, Matthias Goerne, Nikolai Lugansky, Kirill Gerstein, Gautier Capuçon, Ton Koopman, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Daniele Rustioni, Dennis Russell Davies, Leo Hussain, as well as some of the most talented Romanian artists. The Orchestra’s rich activity is as naturally on display in the recording studio as it is in the concert hall. Besides its over three hundred annual concerts at the Athenaeum, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded dozens of LPs and CDs and conducts numerous tours of Europe, Asia, and the Far East. Main Sponsors: Garanti BBVA, Rompetrol, RCI Holding | Sponsors: URSUS, ENEVO, Groupe SNEF | Supporters: Symphopay, Aqua Carpatica, Intercontinental
Main Media Partners: RFI România; Radio România Muzical Media Partners: stirileprotv.ro, Radio România Cultural, Observator Cultural, Actualitatea Muzicală, Deutsche Zeitung Romania, PressHub Artistic Partner: Fundația Art Production | Communication Partner: OMA Vision
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Tudor SicomasJurnalist teatral si critic de arta (si aici includ cam orice tine de acest domeniu, al frumosului, al esteticului: opera, balet, dans contemporan, pictura, muzee, manifestari artistice de tot soiul si de toate genurile). Am absolvit UNATC „I.L. Caragiale”, din Bucuresti, Facultatea de Teatru, Departamentul Teatrologie, Management cultural, Jurnalism teatral. Stiu, suna pompos. Si chiar si e, caci aici am invatat cam tot ce stiu acum – critica comparata, istoria teatrului romanesc, istoria teatrului universal si inca multe multe altele. Archives
February 2026
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