The Athenaeum Summer Festival (ASF) throws wide the doors of the Athenaeum to music lovers young and old at the end of June, a moment that coincides with both the close of the concert season and the beginning of the summer holidays. It is therefore no accident that the concerts are more relaxed, featuring music for every taste, with performances by orchestras, Baroque and wind instrument ensembles, choirs, and jazz bands. You can listen to the music not only inside the concert hall but also in the open air, on the Athenaeum Esplanade.
Every edition of the Festival has left audiences with fond memories. Ariel Ramirez’s exotic Missa Criolla in 2022 and Carl Orff’s famous Carmina Burana in 2023, performed by the Philharmonic Choir, enjoyed both a resounding success, in sold-out concerts.
Recitals by members of the Orchestra, such as concertmasters Rafael Butaru and Valentin Șerban or wind ensembles, have likewise brought joy to audiences. A high point in Bucharest’s musical life in 2023 was the jazz evenings featuring legendary American trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Orchestra from New York. Romanian Athenaeum’s Grand Auditorium was packed and the audience responded with overwhelming enthusiasm.
In 2024, the Thessaloniki State Symphonic Orchestra provided another memorable event, performing in Romania for the first time, with a rendition of Harilaos Perpassas’ monumental Christus Symphony.
