11/12/2018 @ Institut français du Royaume-Uni, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT

Henri Mathias Berthelot (1861–1931), often referred to as the French general with a Romanian heart, is remembered this December at London’s Institut français, as part of the Ciné Lumière programme. Join us for the UK premiere of the “General Henri Mathias Berthelot. The Battle for Romania” documentary, a film that speaks about Romania’s national hero during World War I!

“General Henri Mathias Berthelot. The Battle for Romania”

With an introduction on the French-Romanian relations during WWI by historian Marius Turda (Oxford Brookes University)

Followed by Q&A with director Mihaela Natalia Poenaru and producer Petru Mihalea

Romania | 2018 | 68 mins | in Romanian & French with English subtitles

Berthelot arrived in Bucharest in the midst of a demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Central Powers in 1916. The World War I general’s invincible will to resist energized the Romanian political and military leadership and, with his assistance, the Romanian army was rebuilt. Berthelot was one of the most consistent supporters of Greater Romania and, when King Ferdinand, Queen Marie and Crown Prince Carol II entered Bucharest on 1 December 1918, he was the only military to accompany them.

The documentary, produced by Trinitas TV with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute, sheds light on the life of Romania’s friend, an important actor of the post-war European reconstruction. The film features interviews by Prof. Ioan Aurel-Pop - President of the Romanian Academy, Prof. Adrian Cioroianu - historian and UNESCO Ambassador, prestigious historians and authors from Romania and abroad, as well as an exclusive interview with Berthelot’s nephew Jean Claude Dubois, who speaks about his life outside the battlefields.

“My being among the Romanians across the mountains (in Transylvania) convinced me that their soul is the same as that of the Romanians in Bucharest and Iași. I was, at the same time, moved by the unanimous manifestations of love and respect for France, by the sincerity and delicacy of their expression.” – H. M. Berthelot, Commander of the Allied Armies of the Danube, in a letter to Iuliu Maniu, President of the Governing Council of Transylvania, Banat and the Romanian territories in Hungary (31 Dec 1918 /13 Jan 1919)

The event marks Romania’s Great Union Centenary (1918-2018) and is organised in partnership with the Institut français in London and the Embassy of Romania.

When: Tuesday 11 December 2018, 18:30

Where: Ciné Lumière, Institut français du Royaume-Uni, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT

Tickets: https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/cine-lumiere/whats-on/special-screenings/general-henri-mathias-berthelot-the-battle-for-romania/

12/12/2018 @ Elwick Place, Ashford, Kent

As a legacy for generations to come and an ongoing effort to promote the most important bridge-personality between Romania and the UK, the Romanian Cultural Institute, on behalf of the Romanian Government, unveils in Ashford, Kent, a statue of the exceptional Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen Marie of Romania (29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938). The monument will be erected in Ashford, as Queen Marie was born in Eastwell Park, a former stately home in the immediate vicinity of the town. Following a public contest in Romania, the statue is created in bronze by young sculptor Valentin Duicu, a graduate of the National University of Arts Bucharest. 

This project was made possible through the joint effort of the Romanian Cultural Institute, with a grant by the Government’s Centenary Funding Scheme, and the Ashford Borough Council. 

The statue will be unveiled in a ceremony at Elwick Place, Ashford, on 12 December 2018, and it represents the highlight of the Romanian Cultural Institute’s programme dedicated to the Great Union Centenary in the UK. 

The future Queen was born on the 19th of October 1875 at her family estate in Kent, as the daughter of Alfred Ernest Albert de Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Victoria’s second son. Her mother, Maria Alexandrovna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia, was the only surviving daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. On the 15th of December 1875, in the presence of her royal grandmother, Marie was baptised in the Anglican Church at Windsor Castle.  In 1889, after three years spent in Malta, Marie’s father became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and moved with his entire family to Coburg. A projected marriage between Marie and her cousin, George of York, the future George V, encouraged by Queen Victoria and supported by their fathers, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales, failed because of the opposition of the young heirs’ mothers, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Wales. Instead, on the 10th of January 1893 at Sigmaringen, after a brief engagement, Marie married Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the heir to the Romanian throne. In 1914, after the death of King Carol I, Ferdinand and Marie became Romania’s monarchs. In the summer of 1916, Romania entered the First World War as part of the Entente. 

From the first day of the war, Queen Marie undertook an active role that would soon transform her into a role model. Beautiful, full of wit and intelligent, cultivated and possessing a strong personality, the queen caught the imagination of her contemporaries, Romanian and foreign alike. The Queen devoted all her indefatigable energy to the war effort. She tirelessly visited the camp hospitals, set up relief schemes, managed the medical support, attended military and civilian ceremonies, raised money for the wounded, the war prisoners and the widows, and kept the British and French allies closer. She later became a central character at the Paris Peace Conference, which recognized the unification of all Romanian provinces in one, democratic state, where the Queen used her brilliant diplomatic skills and her vast array of connections to secure a favourable outcome. “From My Heart to Theirs”, an article published during the war, summoned an entire way of life, dominated by the unconditional love for her adoptive country. And her Romanian subjects reciprocated with equal passion. After her son, King Carol II, succeeded to the throne of Romania in 1930, Queen Marie’s role in the public realm slowly faded although her popularity at home and abroad remained very high. Endowed with a great artistic flair, she devoted her time to writing, architecture design as well as various social and cultural causes, which made her one of the most admired royalties of her time. She died at the 18th of July 1938 at Pelișor, Sinaia, her beloved mountain retreat, built under her guidance. 

An Alexandru Tomescu Concert in aid of Pro Patrimonio with the kind support of the Embassy of Romania and the Romanian Cultural Insitute.

„Alexandru Tomescu makes uncommon music out of Paganini’s Caprices, playing up contrasts, letting each phrase live and breathe. I expected an evening of champagne bubbles. Tomescu serves up whiskey.” (David Larsen – Metro Magazine, New Zealand).

The Violinist is not just playing before his public, but cultivates an intense dialog with it, whether on stage, TV or the Radio, he talks about the music and explains what being an artist in XXIst century Romania is, what nurtures his inspiration and why classical music deserves a chance.

Of major interest to Alexandru Tomescu is Romania’s built and natural heritage which unfortunately is so much neglected and generally in desperate need of restoration. Alexandru joined the Board of Pro Patrimonio, the Romanian National Trust, three years ago to assist in Pro Patrimonio’s mission of returning to active life beautiful and important heritage buildings all over Romania. He is most passionate about this aim and generously gives of his time, his Stradivarius and his unique talent whenever possible in his very full international concert schedule, dedicating all proceeds of ticket sales and funds raised to support the work of Pro Patrimonio. He does so knowing that the very existence of Pro Patrimonio and the work it undertakes is in severe jeopardy due to lack of funding. Probably the leading violin soloist of Romania today Alexandru Tomescu’s concerts are not to be missed – simply ask anyone who has experienced one!

Join us on 13th of December from 18:30 at the Romanian Cultural Institute, No 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1 where Alexandru Tomescu will perform compositions from Bach, Enescu, Filip and Porumbescu.

Tickets :  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-george-enescus-world-tickets-52525933481 

16 - 18/12/2018 @ Barbican Centre

We are proud to partner up for the first time with internationally-acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra and legendary conductor Sir Simon Rattle to present Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 at the Barbican Centre on 16 and 18 December. For this specific concerts in the ‘Roots and Origins’ Series, Sir Simon Rattle brings together Debussy, Brahms and Enescu – rarely performed jointly but each inspired by the folk tradition. Brahms’ Violin Concerto is one of the most impressive violin concertos and a perfect match for the talents of virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos. Inspired by free-spirited Hungarian playing techniques, it brims with energy – a homage to the Gypsy heritage of Joseph Joachim, the renowned violinist for whom it was created. Alongside Brahms, the programme features Debussy’s evocative travelogue Images, which ventures from English and French folk tunes to the unmistakable dancing rhythms of Spain and the Iberian peninsula, and ends with Enescu’s vivid Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, which draws on Romania’s folk tradition with scurrying violins and triumphant brass fanfares.

Programme:

BRAHMS - Violin Concerto

Interval

DEBUSSY - Images

ENESCU - Romanian Rhapsody No 1

Sir Simon Rattle conductor

Leonidas Kavakos violin

London Symphony Orchestra

The concert on 16 December will be preceded, between 17.00-18.00, by a talk on the life and work of George Enescu in the company of conductor Alexandru Solonaru. This is an invitation-only event, if you wish to attend, please call 020 77520134.

Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. For some years Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, in 1980 he became Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, stepping up to Music Director from September 1990 until August 1998.  He is also Founding Patron of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and since the early 1990s, has been a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In September 2002 Sir Simon became Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he remained until June 2018. In September 2017, Simon took up the position of Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra.

From its first days the London Symphony Orchestra has been defiantly different and proudly pioneering. It was the first British orchestra owned by its players, and its fiercely independent ethos has never waned. It was one of the first orchestras to make gramophone records and film scores; today it has more recordings to its name than any other orchestra in the world. It was the first to have its own peak-time television series. And more than a century on, the revolution continues. Now in its twelfth decade, the history of the LSO contains many of the important developments of British orchestral life, including premieres of now-popular works and relationships with some of the greatest conductors.

When: Sunday 16, 7pm and Tuesday 18 December, 7.30pm

Where: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Tickets: £ 56 - £ 16 - HERE