Saturday, September 6, 2014

Romania: Concert Hall




Romania issued this mini-sheet in 2011. It comes after the scope of my Scott catalog, so I don't have a catalog number. There are three stamps in the sheet. The top one depicts Enescu as conductor; the second a musical score; and the bottom stamp shows the exterior of the concert hall facility. The stamps include a "tab" which can be separated from the stamp itself. Each tab shows a picture of Enescu at three ages during his lifetime. The selvage shows the interior of Enescu concert hall, including the state and the organ at the rear. The mini-sheet was issued to commemorate the 20th Enescu International Festival and Competition in 2011.

I found this information at Hans Timmerman's site:
Rechts onder het Walcker-Orgel in de muziekzaal van het Atheneum in Bukarest
Gebouwd in 1939,Opus 2654,III/P 52 registers en 4 transmissies SW-Ped
In 1964 uitgebreid met 2 registers in SW.
De laatste restauratie was in 2007 en uitgevoerd door Gerhard Walcker/Kleinblittersdorf.

With that clue (it's a Walcker Organ) I was able to find more information at the GE Walcker site. This page includes a remarkable reflection on the hall and organ.


Here is wiki-information on the hall:
The Romanian Athenaeum (Romanian: Ateneul Roman) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's main concert hall and home of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic and of the George Enescu annual international music festival.

The building was designed by the French architect Albert Galleron, built on a property that had belonged to the Văcărescu family and inaugurated in 1888, although work continued until 1897. A portion of the construction funds was raised by public subscription in a 28-year long effort, of which the slogan is still remembered today: "Donate one leu for the Ateneu!"

On December 29, 1919, the Atheneum was the site of the conference of leading Romanians who voted to ratify the unification of Bessarabia, Transylvania, and Bukovina with the Romanian Old Kingdom to constitute Greater Romania.

Extensive reconstruction and restoration work has been conducted in 1992 by a Romanian construction company and restoration painter Silviu Petrescu, saving the building from collapse.


Another mini-sheet has been issued by Romania in 2013, commemorating the 125 anniversary of the hall itself. I don't have the stamp yet, but will create a post on it when I track down an example for myself.

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