Business Review

Blowers ensemble London Winds led by clarinet player Michael Collins, the Ten Tors Orchestra, Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI will be in Bucharest starting October as part of the second edition of the ICR Camera Music Season at the Athenaeum, a partnership project between the Romanian Cultural Institute and the George Enescu Philharmonic.

A painting by Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu is described by New York Bonhams auction house as a “true highlight.” The painting is “The Bull Cart,” featuring day-to-day peasant life with the backdrop of a rural landscape. The painting is estimated at USD 100,000-USD 150,000.

After the live broadcast of London’s Covent Garden Faust, the Bucharest Opera House will host a live broadcast of the same opera from the Paris National Opera. The event will take place Monday, October 10^th, and will feature Roberto Alagna (pictured) in the leading role.

Divan, Franceza 46,
Lipscani, tel 021 312 3034
Michael Barclay
There is a somewhat ambivalent expression in the English language: “he was a victim of his own success”. This applies perfectly to Divan, and the customers are the victims. For 16 months ago it was the most dynamic and successful new restaurant of the year, but alas no more!

Leaving, a recent film directed by Czech writer and politician Vaclav Havel, will be shown in Bucharest on October 5^th during a series of events marking his 75^th birthday. The day’s program includes representations of Citizen Havel, a photography exhibition by Oldrich Skacha, and a conference about Vaclav Havel.

The Night of the Libraries takes place tomorrow, October 1^st, and will see libraries all over the country open throughout the night. The organizers of the event say the idea came on a statistical thought: if at least a quarter of those who have ever stepped into a library over the past ten years would come back at least once a year into a reading hall, the mood in Romania’s libraries would change significantly.

The Romanian Palace of Justice will be lit in pink, this Saturday, at 19:15, reminding women that they have the right to proper information and health care.

Total sales after Artmark’s Romanian impressionism and postimpressionism art bid reached EUR 1.29 million. Two paintings by Nicolae Grigorescu sold for a combined value of EUR 460,000. Ciobanas pe Valea Doftanei (Shepard on the Doftana Valley) sold for EUR 250,000, while Intoarcerea din targu (Return from the fair) sold for EUR 210,000. A third paining sold by Grigorescu, Tarancuta cu fuior (Peasant woman with tow) sold for EUR 105,000.

This year's collection of 25 one-minute films in the Filminute festival will be screened tomorrow, September 28, between 8 and 10 pm, on the Big Screen.  Besides this year’s selection, some other former and never-been-seen before 60-second format films will be shown.

The Czech Center in Bucharest is bringing to Romania a representation of Economics of Good and Evil of the National Theater in Prague. Based on leading Czech economist Tomas Sedlacek’s bestseller, the one-hour, English-language performance features Tomas Sedlacek, Lukas Hejlik and Alan Novotny. The Bucharest representation is part of an international tour, whose first stop is Bucharest.