A concert of the Romanian Radio National Orchestra, with maestro Nir Brand conducting opened, on Wednesday evening, the series of festivities dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, on which occasion Ambassador Reuven Azar emphasized the strengthening of diplomatic relations between his country and Romania, according to Agerpres.

„Over the course of 75 years, the ties between Romania and Israel have strengthened. Our countries share a common cultural heritage, as well as common values and visions. The partnerships we have concluded in key areas, such as Defense, Energy, renewable energy, Agriculture and Health, are remarkable. We are grateful for the collaboration between our countries, which we are determined to intensify,” said the Israeli diplomat, in a beautiful Romanian language.

The Minister of Culture, Lucian Romascanu, characterized the event as „a special evening”.

„There are only 75 years of diplomatic relations because that is how old the State of Israel is. Our relations are much older, deeper. The mutual contribution is indisputable in all fields, and in culture, in art, as well as in medicine, and in professorship and in everything. The union between Jews and Romanians, here and in Israel, is something that is beyond any kind of doubt. (…) Happy anniversary to the friendship between Romania and Israel!,” Romascanu said, at the opening of the evening .

An accomplished artist, maestro Nir Brand, an Israeli conductor dedicated to humanitarian causes, but also a talented soloist, as he has proved, confessed, in Romanian, that he has „Romanian roots”, his parents, born „at 500 meters from the Radio Hall”, emigrating to Israel in 1951.

„I was born in Israel. I’m 61 years old and I’ve never been to Romania because I waited for a special occasion. Once my uncle and aunt came from Bucharest and brought a record in Romanian. And the singer’s name was Gica Petrescu,” said the conductor.

He offered the audience present at the Radio Hall a real treat of symphonic music, with the program including musical pieces such as „Sanie cu zurgalai” or famous Afro or jazz songs, performed by him with the orchestra or on the piano.

The music program, which debuted with the Die Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss, included, among others, works such as Hungarian Dance No. 1 by Johannes Brahms or the symphonic poem Vltava (or Die Moldau) by Bedrich Smetana, as well as pieces such as Jerusalem, performed by Blanca Maria Simion, student of the Lauder Reut School, or the musical leitmotif from the film Schlinder’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Agerpres