Classical Music and Artificial Intelligence on the Romanian Athenaeum Stage in the Recital of Pianist Sînziana Mircea

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Wednesday, July 12th, the Summer Magic Festival presented an innovative concert on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, featuring musicians from Romania, Italy, and Ukraine, accompanied by live video mapping projections. In the second event of the prestigious festival, now in its 12th edition, pianist and composer Sînziana Mircea presented the chamber concert "Imagine Baroque – Quasi una fantasia," a concept where classical music was accompanied by Artificial Intelligence.

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Innovation was the trademark of pianist Sînziana Mircea, who once again surprised the audience with a concert that brought together piano, organ, and flute, visually accompanied by live video mapping projections. The novelty lay in the rare combination of these three instruments, in a repertoire specially composed by Sînziana Mircea for them. The concert began with the famous Moonlight Sonata by L.v. Beethoven and Clair de Lune by C. Debussy, followed by Toccata by J.S. Bach, Passacaglia by G.F. Handel, Tango by I. Albeniz, as well as original compositions by the pianist, such as Anonimul Venezian, Insieme, and Aurora Suite for piano and organ. Over two hours of music, the piano was joined by the organ – the most representative instrument of the Baroque period – and the flute, in an extremely rare concept.

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“This project is the result of teamwork and friendships built over many years, where organizers, artists, content creators, and technology producers come together to present classical music in a new light to the Romanian audience. This was the fourth time I returned to the stage of the Summer Magic Festival, and I felt extremely happy and grateful for this opportunity. It is a privilege for any musician to present their works in such a prestigious festival, and I wholeheartedly thank Mr. Director Dorin Ioniță for all the trust and artistic freedom granted in creating truly unique programs, year after year. Together with Mrs. Carmen Mihai and their partners, the Lanto team transforms Bucharest summer evenings into truly magical nights.”

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The International Tour "Imagine Baroque – Quasi una Fantasia" represented the continuation of the project launched by the Romanian pianist and composer in 2022, as part of the "Imagine" tour series that began in 2019 with the International "Imagine Chopin" Tour. In 2023, the series of innovations continued with the presentation of an equally unusual and fascinating duo: piano and organ, with the flute joining in later. Worldwide, piano and organ recitals are very rarely presented due to the lack of literature for such a duo. To bring this project to the stage, Sînziana Mircea created her own transcriptions and compositions for piano-organ duo and piano-organ-flute trio.

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“The entire concert speaks about God, about the dialogue between man and divinity, in the deepest Baroque spirit. Equally, it is about a journey through a spiritual universe, led by music, in an increasingly technologized world, visually illustrated by the imagination of artist Adistu, with the help of Artificial Intelligence, which introduces another dimension of the contemporary world – the virtual one. Thus, after previous editions, where we presented works for solo piano or two pianos, as well as the combination of piano with classical guitar, live electronics, synthesizer, nature sounds, or the human voice, this year I aimed to bring back to the audience the grandeur of the Baroque era through extremely rare timbral combinations between piano, organ, and flute.”

Sînziana Mircea’s guest on this tour was Italian organist Davide Mariano, one of the most talented and active young organists internationally, with performances on stages such as Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Notre Dame in Paris, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

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“After the concerts in Timișoara and Sardinia with my colleague and good friend Sînziana Mircea, I was honored to have the chance to debut at the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest in such a prestigious festival. This tour was also a premiere for me, being the first time I performed chamber recitals for an organ and piano duo. Each of the two instruments is a universe in itself, being very beloved by audiences everywhere. Therefore, the sound combination of the two is a regal in itself, while also being a true challenge for any musician due to the unequal volume ratio between the two instruments. Moreover, in previous concerts on the tour, I stood with my back to Sînziana, at a distance of 10 meters, even on different levels, as was the case in Timișoara. Therefore, in the absence of direct visual contact, all that matters is the almost telepathic coordination, in an exceptionally complex repertoire, where sound balance is very hard to achieve, but the result is overwhelming,” declared Italian organist Davide Mariano.

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A special work composed by Sînziana Mircea for this tour was the Aurora Suite for piano and organ, resulting from her research at the Library of the Conservatory in Venice regarding Italian Baroque.

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"The suite is composed of three parts – Genesis, Zephyr, and Aurora, inspired by Greek mythology and the Renaissance paintings of Sandro Botticelli. The work represents a journey through millennia of universal art and spirituality. Thus, the goddess Aurora is the daughter of the Titans, sister to the Moon and the Sun, and heralds the dawn. At the same time, she is the mother of the evening star and the winds, among which is Zephyr, the gentle wind that brings spring. The figure of Aurora has fascinated poets and philosophers for millennia, including Homer, Ovid, and Shakespeare. The 'Aurora' suite reflects this complex symbolism, combining Greek mythology with Italian Renaissance art, in the musical sounds of the 21st century. The sound combination of the Baroque era's symbolic instrument – the organ – and the piano is meant to reflect the duality of divinity/human or light/darkness. The work concludes with the triumph of Light brought by Aurora over darkness, and, like Botticelli's 'Primavera,' it represents a new beginning, a cosmic rebirth. I couldn't wait to perform it on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum on July 12!" said Sînziana Mircea.

As a special guest, Ukrainian-born Romanian flutist Maria Velia joined the concert. A student at the National University of Music in Bucharest, Maria Velia received the "Youth of Music - Prețuiește viața" award granted by the MuseArt Association, coordinated by Sînziana Mircea, and the Prețuiește Viața Foundation coordinated by Andreea Marin.

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As in previous years, the concert combined classical music and technology through live video mapping projections created by visual artist Adistu with the help of artificial intelligence.

"The collaboration with visual artist Adistu began on the stage of Sala Radio in 2019, during the Imagine Chopin Tour, out of a desire to enrich the audience's experience through the synergy of the arts. Since then, the music of each tour in the 'Imagine' cycle has been visually illustrated by Adistu's art, which year after year brings new elements of innovation, incorporating the latest video mapping techniques. It is a very complex process carried out live, where sound impulses picked up by the microphone are coordinated with the images, reflecting the live sound pulses. I would like to thank our partner Epson Romania, who joined us for the second time in such an innovative project, brought to life with the help of powerful, state-of-the-art projectors. I couldn't wait to meet the audience at the Romanian Athenaeum for a true celebration of music and light!" concluded pianist and composer Sînziana Mircea.