Discover Moldova’s iconic Mărțișor international music festival
Every spring in the Republic of Moldova marks the beginning of the "Mărțișor" International Music Festival, the most significant and long-standing festival in the country.
The event takes place from March 1st to 10th, in concert halls in Chișinău, other cities across Moldova, and even abroad.
Editor Anatol Caciuc produced a special program focusing on the history of this significant event, highlighting that the "Mărțișor" festival was founded by Alexandru Fedcu, director of the Chișinău State Philharmonic, and Gleb Ceaicovschi-Mereșanu, its artistic director.
It was 1966, a time when the former Soviet republics started organizing large-scale cultural events. It is important to note that, over time, this festival became a way to showcase and promote not only Soviet musical culture but also the national cultures of the 15 Soviet republics. Starting with the second edition in 1967, when it became a union-wide and later international festival, some of the most important representatives of musical art from that era performed in Chișinău. These were artists who were not only famous and appreciated within the former Soviet space but also internationally, and the concert programs featured works from various genres, said musicologist Svetlana Bivol, director of the "Serghei Lunchevici" National Philharmonic, where the festival was founded.
Composer Constantin Rusnac, who has followed the event since its earliest editions, also emphasized the festival’s importance and its impact on promoting national musical art. The "Mărțișor" festival has become the most significant cultural event in the Republic of Moldova, with international impact, as many renowned artists performed on the stages of Chișinău and made sure to return to Moldova by including this event in their schedules. With its distinctive color palette and always rich, varied concert programs, the "Mărțișor" festival, now international, has become a beautiful tradition, a musical celebration of spring.
For nearly six decades, concert halls in Chișinău and other cities across the country have opened their doors wide during the first ten days of March, inviting the public to experience a true outpouring of talent and artistry," said composer Constantin Rusnac.
In the program "Mărțișor Woven with Love and Longing: Reflections on the 'Mărțișor' International Music Festival," you'll also learn that in 1977, a creative evening dedicated to the renowned composer Eugen Doga, born on March 1st, premiered as part of the festival. Selections from Radio Moldova’s sound archive include excerpts from the program "Chronicle of Musical Life," in which this important event is discussed. You'll also hear the impressions of composer Eugen Doga and his guests: Maria Bieșu, Ion Suruceanu, and Maria Codreanu.
The program can be heard on Saturday, March 1st, at 16:05, on Radio Moldova.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
