13May 2014
HRH Prince Charles, to be guest of honour at the " Transylvania Festival" in London
For three days, between the 13th and 15th of May 2014, 1 Belgrave Square, the prestigious Romanian address in central London, will become the scene of the “Transylvania Festival”, a major initiative of the Anglo-Romanian ADEPT Foundation, an event organized with the support of the Romanian Embassy and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.
A large project - including exhibitions, lectures, concerts, culinary demonstrations and a gathering of prestigious Romanian and British personalities, the “Transylvania Festival” aims to celebrate the natural beauty and cultural heritage of one of the most diverse and attractive historic areas of Romania.
The guest of honour, HRH Prince Charles, is known for his appreciation of the landscapes and traditions of Transylvania and is a constant promoter of initiatives for the conservation of natural and built heritage of Transylvania.
Prince Charles will be at the Embassy and the Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square on May 13, the first day of the Festival, at the exhibition “British Painters in Transylvania”, which includes the works of many artists who participated in September 2013 on a painting expedition to Romania with his support. The paintings, which can be purchased for the benefit of future projects of the ADEPT Foundation bear the signatures of Tim Scott Bolton, Patrick Cullen, Tom Hoar, Susanna Lyell, Flappy Lane Fox, Richard Foster, Clare Inskip, Lucy Portman, and Paul MacDermot.
His Royal Highness will be received by HE Dr. Ion Jinga, Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom, Mrs Daniela Jinga, Dorian Branea, Director of RCI London, and the organizing committee members of ADEPT Foundation, including Nicolae Ratiu, Nat Page, and Libby Simon. The visit will last approximately one hour, including a planned tête-à-tête between the Romanian Ambassador and the Prince of Wales.
Another event of great interest will be a concert on the evening of May 14 with the violinist Alexandru Tomescu and pianist Alexandra Dariescu, two leading young Romanian musicians who will present the British premier of "Sonatina for Violin and Piano" by Dinu Lipatti and "Sonata for Violin and Piano" by Tiberiu Olah, in addition to a carefully calibrated series of "Caprices" for solo violin by Niccolo Paganini, "Preludes" for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin and "Romanian dances" of Béla Bartók .
The Festival program includes a series of lectures given by Dr. John Akeroyd, the well- known botanist and one of the founding members of ADEPT Foundation (“Cultural Landscapes and Ecology”), Lucy Abel Smith, historian and author of travel books (“Transylvania – Every turn of the road offers fresh surprises”), Satish Kumar, environmental conservation activist and journalist (“Soil, soul and society”), and writer Artemis Cooper (“Patrick Leigh Fermor: The Gift and the Giver”).
The program concludes with a performance by the Romanian band Monooka’s Caravan and a genuine “Transylvanian feast” prepared by Gerda Gherghiceanu who arrives in London directly from Viscri, where Prince Charles has himself a residence in traditional style, to cook unmatched Transylvanian dishes, accompanied by a wine tasting of exceptional wines offered by the acclaimed winemaker “Prince Ştirbey” which has successfully revived an old family winemaking tradition at the vineyards of Drăgășani.
For ADEPT Charitable Foundation, the initiator and main organizer of the festival, this series of events celebrates the colourful sounds and flavours of Transylvania following a decade of work, dealing with biodiversity conservation and community development in the Târnava district in the heart of Transylvania. The Foundation has worked there for the past 10 years, achieving spectacular results in the protection of the pastoral ecosystem in the area, preserving the richness and diversity of its natural heritage and sustaining the farming communities living in the Saxon villages around the towns of Brașov-Sibiu-Mediaș-Sighișoara.
The “Transylvania Festival” is also supported by the Ratiu Foundation and the Romanian Cultural Centre in London, “Prince Ştirbey” Wines, Vestra Wealth and Lebara Mobile.
More details at
londra.mae.ro;
Romanian Cultural Institute
1 Belgrave Square, SW1X 8PH, London
T: +4420 7752 0134; F: +44 20 7235 0383; M: +44 7919 022 796; E: