18th “George Enescu” International Festival and Competition, Bucharest, Sept. 2007 - Accession and ascension With the recent accession of Romania to the European Union, this year’s “George Enescu” International Festival and Competition – embracing over 100 events and involving over 3,000 performers – acquires a particular cultural importance. Launched in 1958, the festival continues to draw its inspiration from the eponymous composer, who died in 1955 but remains an icon for his homeland. The Artistic Director of the Festival is Ioan Hollender, born in Romania, but long resident in Austria and now Director of the Vienna State Opera. The opening gala, with the Orchestra of the Bucharest National Opera, features a number of Romanian singers with established and growing reputations in the world’s opera houses; they include Nicoleta Ardelean, Roxana Briban (a former winner of the Enescu Competition), Doina Dimitru, Elena Mosuc, Adina Nitescu, Liliana Nikiteanu, Carmen Oprisanu and Alexandru Agache. The gala is followed by several days of concerts in Bucharest and other Romanian cities which emphasise Romanian musicians and modern Romanian music; among the performers are orchestras from Bucharest, Iasi and Cluj, the principal city of Transylvania.