In 2023 Timișoara is the European Capital of Culture and, on December 16th, we will commemorate 34 years since the anti-communist Revolution began in our city and spread throughout Romania.

Seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe had, more or less violently, gone through Revolutions in 1989, that transformed them from communist dictatorships into democracies.

For this event, our orchestra, the Banatul Philharmonic, would like to commission a collective Requiem in memory of the victims of communism and the '89 Revolution. Following Giuseppe Verdi’s example with Messsa per Rossini, we would like to have each movement written by a composer from one of these countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania), as a sign of a unified message against tyranny, especially during these difficult times.

The initiative for this beautiful project belongs to maestro GABRIEL BEBEȘELEA, who is the Banatul Philharmonic’s Conductor is Residence in 2023, and who will also conduct the Requiem’s premiere in Timișoara, on December 16th 2023.

Since the Missa prodefunctis consists of 7 key moments, exactly the number of countries whose destiny changed after 1989, we thought it appropriate to choose the order of the parts of the Requiem in the chronological order of the beginning of the uprisings/revolutions, starting with Poland and ending with Romania: ZYGMUNT KRAUZE (Poland) - Introitus, MARTIN SMOLKA (Czech Republic) - Sequentia, IRIS SZEGHY (Slovakia) - Offertorio, SVEN HELBIG (East Germany) - Sanctus, LÁSZLÓ TIHANYI (Hungary) – Agnus Dei, DOBRINKA TABAKOVA (Bulgaria) - Communio, DAN DEDIU (Romania) – Responsorium.

The conductor of the concert will be maestro GABRIEL BEBEŞELEA.
Soloists: LUIZA FATYOL - soprano
MARTINIANA ANTONIE - mezzo-soprano
MARIUS BUDOIU - tenor
ADRIAN SÂMPETREAN - bass
Choir conductor: IOSIF TODEA

Before listening to the wonderful work, two emblematic guests - Emil Hurezeanu - publicist, writer, diplomat, former deputy director and director of Radio Europa Liberă, together with Neculai Constantin Munteanu - publicist, journalist, former senior editor of the show „Actualitatea românească” at Radio Europa Liberă will hold a pre-concert discussion at the Capitol Hall.

Tickets can be found on the website of the Banatul Philharmonic, at the cashier and on myticket.ro: https://t.ly/man-k