The national Duel of Violins tour returned in 2023 for its eleventh edition with a series of recitals that took place in Bucharest (2 December), Brașov (3 December), Ploiești (4 December), Timișoara (5 December), and Craiova (6 December), with a preview in The Hague on 27 November.
On stage were Liviu Prunaru, the concertmaster of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, playing the Stradivarius Pachoud violin, made in 1694, and Gabriel Croitoru, the concert soloist of the Cluj and Ploiești Philharmonics and professor at the National University of Music Bucharest, playing the Guarneri del Gesu Cathedral violin, made in 1731 and made available by the Georges Enesco National Museum. The duelling violinists were accompanied by Horia Mihail on piano.
The concert in The Hague on 27 November was in honour of Romania’s National Day and provided a preview of the latest edition of the Duel of Violins National Tour, which has been going on for more than a decade in both Romania and abroad. The longevity of the duels between Liviu Prunaru on Stradivarius and Gabriel Croitoru on Guarneri del Gesu, accompanied by Horia Mihail on piano, which began in 2011, has exceeded the expectations on many.
All those years ago, the two violinists accepted the challenge of playing out an imaginary battle for supremacy between the two great Italian families of luthiers: Stradivarius and Guarneri, and have met again every year since, with the exception of 2020 and 2022. In 2023, they played concerts before packed houses, with audiences thrilling to the attractive programme of pieces and superlative musical performances.
The pleasure of performing before a Romanian audience is beyond compare. This duel is always a good reason to come back to Romania.
Liviu Prunaru
Over the years, Liviu, Horia and I have been able to cover a wide range of works. I think we have fulfilled our task of showcasing two instruments of exceptional worth: the Stradivarius Pachoud of 1694 and the Guarneri de Gesu Cathedral of 1731. Few people have the opportunity to listen to two instruments of this quality at the same time.
Gabriel Croitoru
Itinerary
27 November – The Hague
2 December – Bucharest, Romanian Athenaeum
3 December – Braşov, Patria Concert Hall
4 December – Ploieşti, Philharmonic Concert Hall
5 December – Timişoara, UPT Conference Centre, Auditorium
6 December – Craiova, Philharmonic Concert Hall
Duel of Violins video
Duel of Violins five years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGChzSyPzEU
For further details, see: www.duelulviorilor.ro
