Infinite Strings Duo: Multi-Awarded Irina Mureșanu and Dana Ciocârlie in a Stunning Recital

Violinist Irina Mureșanu and pianist Dana Ciocârlie, accomplished performers with exceptional European and American careers, come together for an outstanding project, conceived as homage to two titans of modern art: composer George Enescu and sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. The celebrated duo will present Tuesday, February 27 from 8 until 10 pm a program of little known Romanian musical gems, entitled “Infinite Strings”, at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Performing Arts Center, Gildenhorn Hall located at 8270 Alumni Drive in College Park, Maryland.

The event is organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York with the support of the Embassy of Romania to the United States. Free entry. No tickets required. No RSVP needed. Seating is available on a first-come-first-served basis.

Irina Mureșanu and Dana Ciocârlie formed their musical partnership when they both independently and concomitantly won the Pro Musicis International Award. They have toured since internationally and performed on prestigious stages such as New York City`s Carnegie Hall, Boston`s Jordan Hall and Longy School of Music, Bucharest`s Romanian Radio Hall, the Hong Kong Performing Arts Center in Hong Kong, and the Salle Cortot in Paris.

Program

Violeta Dinescu (b.-1953), Satya I for solo violin
Vasile Filip (1900-1983), Caprice in Romanian folk style și Lento. Vivace
Paul Constantinescu (1909-1963), Sonatina / I. Allegro moderato / II. Andante / III. Allegro assai
George Enescu (1881-1955), Impromptu Concertant
Solo piano “medley”: Ciocârlia
George Enescu, Carillon Nocturne
Violeta Dinescu, Echo de Carillon
Paul Constantinescu, Joc Dobrogean
Tiberiu Olah (1927-2002), Sonatina / I. Pesante / II. Andante / III. Allegro con brio
Stan Golestan (1875-1956), Berceuse și Laoutar

Irina Mureșanu, violinist

Internationally renowned Romanian violinist Irina Mureșanu continues to stretch the boundaries of classical music. A sought-after soloist and chamber musician who has appeared throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and South Africa, Mureșanu has also developed a reputation as a compelling and elegant interpreter in the contemporary music world. A regular guest artist in prestigious festivals and venues, she is acclaimed for her elegant, passionate performances and compelling stage presence.

Mureșanu’s 2023-24 season features concerto appearances with orchestras, recitals and chamber music concerts in the United States, France, North Macedonia, Spain, Austria, Republic of Moldova and Romania. The season also features her acclaimed solo recital “Four Strings Around the World,” – a multi-media program including works by composers from five continents. She is a champion of new music, having had dozens of works written and dedicated to her. She has recently released on Métier label a solo violin album with works by Violeta Dinescu, and an album titled “Hybrid, Hints and Hooks”, of solo and violin/piano works by Dan Dediu. Irina Mureșanu has also recorded for such respected labels as BMOP, Avie, Centaur, Albany, and AR RE-SE.

A laureate and winner of top prizes in several prestigious international violin competitions including the Montreal International, Queen Elisabeth International, UNISA International String, Washington International, and the Schadt String Competition, Mureșanu achieved international acclaim early on as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Mureșanu’s awards also include the Creative and Performing Arts Award at the University of Maryland, a prestigious New Music USA Grant, a Pro Musicis International Award, the Presser Music Award, and the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association. Mureșanu has recently been awarded the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar 2024 award, the Independent Scholarship, Research and Creativity Award from the University of Maryland, and the “Enescu grant” by the Romanian Cultural Institute, for her project “Infinite Strings” – a platform designed to promote Romanian music written for the violin in the past 150 years. She is also the recipient of a three-year National Science Foundation grant and a “Grand Challenges” grant from the University of Maryland for the “Music Education for All through AI and Digital Humanities” research she is conducting at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, which involves new technologies in instrumental pedagogy.

Irina Mureșanu holds the Associate Professor in the School of Music and Affiliate Faculty in the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies positions at the University of Maryland and has a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory. She plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin with an Étienne Pajeot bow.

Dana Ciocârlie, pianist

In 2018, Romanian pianist Dana Ciocârlie is finalist nominated in “Victoires de la musique” annual National Award in France, for her live recording of the complete Schumann piano works. This monumental production has been recorded in Paris between 2012 and 2016. It was released in September 2017 for the French label La Dolce Volta and received numerous prizes: The International Critics Award, “Choc de l’année” grand prize of Classica Magazine (France), “Joker” distinction from Crescendo magazine in Belgium. Top 10 Classical Choices of the year for Billboard Japan, the 2018 Award from “Romania Cultural” radio channel. In 2022 she began the live recording of the Mozart piano concertos with the Open Chamber Orchestra.

The first source of Dana Ciocârlie’s piano-playing was the Romanian piano school wherefrom also have emerged Clara Haskil and Dinu Lipatti. After a first degree in Bucarest, she then later attended the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris for an Artist Diploma program. Her meeting with the German pianist Christian Zacharias was a decisive factor for her career, stimulating her to delve deeply into Schumann and Schubert’s piano music. Endowed with a quick-witted and mercurial temperament, combined with generosity and commitment, Dana Ciocârlie has a vast repertoire ranging from Johann-Sebastian Bach to contemporary composers. Some of these, including Horațiu Rădulescu, Karol Beffa, Dan Dediu, Jacques Lenot and Helena Winkelman have written specially for her. Her talent was rewarded with numerous prizes: the Grand prize at the R. Schumann International Competition in Zwickau, the Pro Musicis Prize, the Young Concert Artist European Auditions Award in Leipzig. Since January 2017 she had been endorsed Yamaha Official Artist by Yamaha Music Europe GmbH. Dana Ciocârlie currently teaches at the faculty of the Lyon’s Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique.

Dana Ciocârlie’s numerous recitals and concerts with orchestras throughout the world have taken her to the Japan, United States, Canada, Russia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and she is annually touring in China since 2007. She has performed in most European countries and in France – her country of residence—, concerts have taken her to in Paris: Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, L’Olympia, Salle Gaveau, Cité de la Musique, the Auditorium du Louvre; and in La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival, Radio-France Festival, La Folle Journée in Nantes… In Germany she performed in Gewandaus Leipzig, in Schumann Festsiepe in Zwickau, in Schloss Elmau’s Chamber Music Week, in WDR concert season. In the U.S. she played in New York Lincoln Center, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, in Boston Jordan Hall. In Russia: Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Transsiberian Arts Festival in Novosibirsk. Among her favorite musical partners figure the conductors Horia Andreescu, Lawrence Foster, Yoav Talmi, Frédéric Chaslin, pianists Christian Zacharias, Anne Quéffelec, violonists Irina Mureșanu, Gilles Apap, Nicolas Dautricourt, Laurent Korcia, the string quartets Diotima and Talich, the Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet. She is a much appreciated guest of France Musique radio channel, where she had a regular emission going with musicologist Jean Pierre Derrien between 2001 and 2015. Her 19 recordings were highly acclaimed by the specialised musical press who recognised in her the humility of the great and compared her musicality even to that of Wilhelm Kempff and Clara Haskil.