Winners of the 2017 "George Enescu" International Festival Contest

This year’s edition of the George Enescu Festival was hosted by Bucharest and 7 other cities in Romania over September 2 and 24. Having reached its 23rd edition, the festival brought together prestigious artists and orchestras from all over the world. Prizes for this contest consist in CDs with Romanian and foreign classical music, as well as other promotional items. The contest was organized jointly with the Bucharest City Hall, the Nicolae Tonitza Fine Arts High School in Bucharest and Casa Radio Publishers. The mailing deadline for entry submission was September 30, 2017.

Information about the festival was available on our website, on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. But before we announce the winners and, let’s recap the questions and the correct answers:

Which edition of the George Enescu International Festival is held in 2017? Correct answer: the 23rd edition.

Who are the artistic director and the honorary president of the 2017 edition? Correct answer: the artistic director of the festival is the famous conductor Vladimir Jurowski, while the honorary president of this year’s edition was another famous conductor, Zubin Mehta. 

How many artists are taking part in this year’s edition of the George Enescu Festival? Correct answer: Over 3,000.

 In how many cities does the 2017 George Enescu Festival take place? Correct answer: 8 cities.

 And now let’s see who the winners are.

30 honourable mentions went to the following listeners or Internet users: Andrea Tucci and Elio Arpino from Italy, Mari Francesca Santos Gomes from Brazil, Vladislav Vinogradov from Russia, Calvin Knott and Michael Lindner from Germany, Adriel  Amaya  Armas from Cuba, Guillermo Klapka from Venezuela, Emilio Sahuquillo Dobón, Luciano Jesús Gutiérrez Puig and Enric Ballester Burcet from Spain, Hans-Martin Friedrich from Switzerland, Horst Quitzau and Wolfgang Waldl from Austria, Arthur Nyirongo from Malawi, Christer Brunstrom from Sweden, Salim Akhtar, Abid Hussain Sajid and Amir Jameel from Pakistan, John Cooper from the USA, Mitul Kansal, Nafisa Najim, Najim Uddin, Radhakrishnan Pillai and Jayanta Chakrabarty from India, Alan Holder, Brian Kendall and Grant Skinner from Great Britain, Jakiya Parvin and Ruhul Amin from Bangladesh.

One of the recipients of these honorable mentions, Nafisa Najim of India, wrote to us the following in connection to the “George Enescu” Festival:

“I listen to RRI via Internet amongst many others radio stations. I have become so much inquisitive about Romania after following RRI’s content online. I have a strong desire to visit this great country and meet its people. I am convinced that there is so much to see and learn in Romania which cultural history is very remarkable. In this regards the event of 2017 George Enescu Festival. Whenever I come across a quiz about Romania I immediately take part in it irrespective of winning or not. I just like competing, especially when it gives me an opportunity to explore new ideas, new lands and their history, culture and events. I particularly like to follow Romania on all the various media because of the beauty and diversity of its cultural landscape and the uniqueness of its people”.

We also awarded 20 3rd prizes to the following listeners or Internet users: Rachid Dahmani from Algeria, Stefano Citterio from Italy, Iurii Gavrilov from Tajikistan, Oleg Voronov from Russia, Wael Chebbi from Romania, Xue Fei, Ji Kuang and Zhi Yanjiao from China, Alexandru Radu Matei from Romania, Andreas Fessler and Bernd Seiser from Germany, Antonio Morilla and Miguel Ramón Bauset from Spain, Davi Lucas Pinto da Sousa from Brazil, Troy Valentino Riedel from the USA, Hans Verner Lollike from Denmark, Naved Raiyan, Muhammes Nayim and Golam Hossain from India and Mahfuzur Rahman from Bangladesh.

From Denmark, our long-time listener and friend Hans Verner Lollike commented on his participation in the contest: “I find it most interesting every time you arrange a new contest! It is always a great pleasure to participate. When you are hooked on Romania, you would like to follow life and events in Romania. RRI broadcasts and homepage is, where I find informations to be updated for more than 25 years. To take part in contests are like going to a test, you collect infos enough to pass the test, and to bring with you in your future life”.

The winners of the 15 2nd prizes are the following: Zoran Vrucinici from Bosnia Herzegovina, Nouri Abdel-Razzak from Algeria, Dino Antonio Rossetto from Italy, Egor Aushev from Russia, Gilles Gautier from France, Jamila Bekkai from Morocco, Liu Fajian from China, Rodica Martin from Romania, Beate Hansen from Germany, Yusimi Gómez Gálvez from Cuba, Constantin Criţkii from the Republic of Moldova, Deepita Shakrabarty and Mahesh Jain from India, Ian Evans and Alan Roe from Great Britain.

The latter listed the reasons that prompted him to take part in our prize-winning contest: “I enjoy a wide range of music, however, classical music is one that I know least about and there is so very little of this genre of music on shortwave.  This is my way of supporting the Festival. Also - I quite like the idea of receiving a CD of Romanian classical music!”

In turn, Ian Evans also from Great Britain wrote to us: “I am entering this competition because I want to support R.R.I. I listen to R.R.I. because the quality of the programs is very good. The one hour broadcast in particular offers a well balanced mix of content, topical, cultural, musical and literary. At the sound of The Romanian Rhapsody a smile breaks out on my face because I know I am about to enjoy the next hour. I particularly enjoy Listeners Letterbox, listening to the letters and emails from R.R.I. listeners from all corners of the globe is heartwarming for those of us who still love our shortwave radios”.

Finally the time has come to announce the winners of the 10 1st prizes: Vitali Efimenko from Belarus, Mohamed Nazih from Morocco, Simone Perico from Italy, Alvydas Alijosaitis from Lithuania, Jean Michel Aubier from France, Ma Shaobo from China, Vladimir Bodrug from the Republic of Moldova, Konstantin Derham from Germany, Yosir Manuel Quijada León, from Venezuela and Mofizur Rahman from Bangladesh.

Among them, Mofizur Rahman of Bangladesh, a listener of the English-language programs, commented on his decision to take part in the contest: “The primary reason for listening to RRI or follow RRI’s website is to connect myself with the most friendly voice of a proud and resurgent nation that is seeking its rightful place in the comity of nations.  I like RRI for what it is - its open policy of projecting not only the positive attributes but also highlighting its deficiencies which is rather rare in the world of broadcasting. This bold exercise reaffirms my faith in the transparency and integrity of the Romanian people which serves as a model for the world to follow. RRI give us latest updated news and reviews that are presented in a balanced, unbiased manner, and for educating us on the current developments in the country's music, art, cinema, culture, politics, sports, economy and science and technology. As for the Radio Romania programs in English, I found them very well organized and very well produced. I have listened to them in many opportunities and the cultural and informative aspects they all have has been a feature that I appreciate very much about Radio Romania International. It's always a pleasure to tune into RRI and know you'll find out something new about Romania, its history or its people, every time. RRI as the Voice of Romania has ensured that it is heard even in the remotest corners of the globe by continuing on its shortwave transmission when most of the world's leading radio stations have curtailed it. The programmes are always informative and enjoyable, and I always feel that I've learned a lot about your country and culture, so you are definitely doing something right, and long may you continue.”

We also awarded 5 special prizes that went to Oleg Panko of Belarus, Shan Jinhai of China, Martina Pohl of Germany, Ceferino Campmajo of Argentina and Ashik Eqbal Tokon of Bangladesh, the latter a listener of the English Service. Here is what our listener wrote about the motive for his participation: “About the encouraging factors for me to get involved in this contest, simple discover more on George Enescu, who was not a ray just for his family, also the delighting stars of the music world. As like as the last contest on George Enescu (2013) my motivation is to explore the unknown facts of Romanian Classical music and its international influencing power that spread all over Europe and beyond.  Radio Romania International, is my only source to learn more and more about Romania, even from my childhood. Information are now on finger-tips, but it was not so easy in 1980’s. Thanks to all the inventors of radio communication make it easy for me to create a virtual Romania into my mind throughout the elctro-magnetic wave, which comes from Romania, travelling thousands of miles through the Ionosphere”.

We would like to thank all of you who participated in this competition. Your prizes and honourable mentions will be mailed by post within the coming months. Please confirm receipt of the prizes and their content by letter or email.