FESTIVAL: The National Chilean ballet company, choreographed by Gigi Caciuleanu, is one of the headliners at this year’s Enescu music festival »page 12
ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY
September 5 - 11, 2011 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 30
FMCG companies store up
FMCG producers are investing in opening their own retail and restaurant networks to increase brand awareness and generate additional revenue Courtesy of Scandia Food
»pages 8-9
RESTAURANT Business Review’s restaurant critic returns to Villa Rodizio to sample the house’s reshuffled Mediterranean menu and summer location » page 12
NEWS Costs continue to fall on the local construction market, with hopes pinned on affordable housing developments, according to a new report by EC Harris » page 6
LINKS Telecom operators have taken to revamping their outlets with the aim of attracting more of their techsavvy customers to the ‘candy store’ » page 10
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
BUSINESS AGENDA September 5 10:00 Generali PPF Holding organizes a press conference to mark the approval of a merger between Generali Insurance and Ardaf at the Hilton Hotel. By invitation only.
NEWS 3
NEWS in brief PROPERTY Hilton opens first DoubleTree in Romania The first DoubleTree by Hilton has opened in Bucharest’s Unirii Square. Located next to the Bucharest City Business Center complex, the 88-bedroom hotel features a 24-hour business center and 200 sqm of flexible meeting and conference space. Leisure and recreation facilities include a fitness center, sauna and a spa treatment room. On the top floor of the premises, the Avantgarde restaurant can accommodate up to 120 people. The hotel is also home to the Amber bar and a Gloria Jean's Coffee Shop. The hotel is operated under a franchise license agreement by VIS 7 Import Export SRL with a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide. The conversion property joins the Hilton Worldwide portfolio as its third hotel operating in Romania, alongside Hilton Athenee Palace, which opened in 1997, and the Hilton Sibiu, which opened in 2009.
September 6 12:00 Rombat organizes a press conference to mark the launch of a new heavy duty battery for transport vehicles at LevOr hotel. By invitation only. September 8 12:00 The Romanian Peasant Museum organizes a press conference to mark the launch of the Peasant Museum Days at Carturesti MTR. The Peasant Museum director, Virgil Nitulescu, will attend the event. By invitation only. September 8-10 17:00 The US Embassy in Romania organizes the international conference 9/11: Ten years after. By invitation only.
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
September 8 - 11 The International Fair for Services and Public Utilities, which focuses on infrastructure design and public utilities development at a local and regional level, will be organized at the Romexpo Exhibition Centre.
IMAGE of the week WEEK in numbers
92.3 points is the measure of Romanians’ trust in the local economy, as assessed by the EC, against 97.3 in the EU
3.5 percent is the economic growth Romania could see in 2012, according to prime minister Boc
32.55 billion euro is the value of the foreign currency reserves of the Central Bank (BNR) at the end of August
The sound of music The 20th George Enescu classical music festival kicked off in Bucharest last week, starting three weeks filled with over 160 musical events bringing together national and international names, orchestras, ballet and opera companies. For next week’s festival program please check this issue’s city section.
MACRO Romania could see 3.5 percent economic growth in 2012, says PM Romania could see 3.5 percent economic growth in 2012, although this depends to a large extent on the evolution of the global economy, said Prime Minster Emil Boc last Wednesday. "Right now there are the premises that if we maintain the pace of reform, if we attract investments and improve the absorption of funds, we will have economic growth of about 3.5 percent in 2012. Obviously a lot depends on what happens in the euro area in Europe, America and elsewhere. I say this because in the context of existing turbulence in international markets, in June we reported a slight slowdown in exports and industrial production," said Boc. The PM commented that both the Romanian authorities and the international institutions have set a 1.5 percent economic growth target for this year and
3.5 percent for 2012. He added that these growth rates are close to those of other EU economies in the present economic context.
Romanians’ economic sentiment continues to worsen – EC survey Romanians’ trust in the local economy continued to decline in August, according to the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) survey released this week by the European Commission. The indicator sank to 92.3 points in August, from 93.6 the previous month, remaining below the 97.3 points average at European level. This also fell 5 points in August. Economic sentiment was down in both the EU and the euro zone. The highest declines were reported by Germany (-5.7 points) and the UK (-5.6), followed by Poland (-3.6), the Netherlands (-3.0) and, Italy (-0.7). Romania recorded its lowest level in September 1992, at 71.7 points, while the country’s maximum, 123, came in June 1996.
RETAIL Billa puts EUR 1 million into redesigning a store in Ploiesti Billa Romania has invested over EUR 1 million in modernizing one of its stores in Ploiesti, the retailer has announced. Following this process, the entire interior store architecture was redesigned with a focus on the fresh food area, which was extended by over 70 percent. The store is located on the Libertatii Blvd in Ploiesti. Part of German Rewe Group, Billa has been present in Romania since 1999. Its local network consists of 55 supermarkets countrywide.
H&M to open two stores on September 15 International fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) will open its first two stores in western Romania on September 15 in Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca. Both shops are located in Iulius Mall shopping centers. The firm previously announced plans to open several shops in Romania this year. So far, the retailer operates five units in Bucharest and one in Brasov. H&M will expand in three new cities and will open its sixth store in the capital. After the openings in Timisoara and Cluj, a new store will begin trading in Bucharest in November in Sun Plaza Shopping Center, and the fourth will be in Constanta, in Shopping Maritimo Center.
AIRLINES Qatar Airways starts Bucharest-Sofia flights Qatar Airways will operate flights from Bucharest to Sofia starting September 14. The flights will be operated four times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Bucharest-Sofia route
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
4 NEWS
NEWS in brief is currently served with direct flights by Bulgaria Air and Tarom.
LEGAL Musat & Asociatii to advise OPSPI in Oltchim privatization Musat& Asociatii has been selected by the Economy and Commerce Ministry to provide legal consultancy to the Office of State Participations in Privatizations and Industry (OPSPI) in the privatization of Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea. The firm will provide legal assistance to OPSPI on all aspects related to privatization, including preparing the task book and launching the bid, selecting the consultant, analyzing the regulatory aspects, structuring the transaction and providing legal assistance throughout the entire privatization process.
BANKING NBG Group reports EUR 1 mln losses in Romania in H1 The Greek NBG Group, which controls Banca Romaneasca, has reported losses of EUR 1 million for the first semester of 2011, from a EUR 14 million profit in the first six months of 2010, according to
NewsIn newswire, quoting data from the group’s official financial reports. The profit before provisions dropped by 47 percent, from EUR 34 million in the first semester of 2010 to EUR 18 million. Banking provisions increased by 12 percent to EUR 22 million. Net interest income fell by 17 percent from EUR 54 million in the first semester of 2010 to EUR 45 million, while commission income also dropped by 55 percent to EUR 7 million. NBG holds an 89.07 percent stake in Banca Romaneasca.
Piraeus Bank Romania sees 28 percent drop in profits in H1 Piraeus Bank Romania registered a gross profit RON of 43.7 million, a 28 percent decrease on the same period of 2010. The bank's assets increased by 1 percent to RON 8.9 billion in the first semester of 2011. The volume of loans totaled RON 6.7 billion, on the back of a 71 percent increase in the corporate loans segment, from RON 396 million in the first semester of 2010 to RON 676 million. Loans for SMEs also rose by 9 percent from RON 789 million in the first semester of 2010 to RON 864 million. However, customer loans decreased by 8 percent year-onyear. The volume of deposits grew by 8 percent to RON 5 billion in the first semester of 2011.
Bank of Cyprus profits drop to EUR 3.5 million in H1 The Bank of Cyprus’s net profit in Romania fell by 12.5 percent from EUR 4 million in the first half of 2010 to EUR 3.5 million, according to Mediafax newswire, which quotes data from the company’s official financial statement. Earnings before provisions climbed by 19.1 percent to EUR 8.6 million in the first half of 2011. The bank's provisions increased by 46.6 percent from EUR 3 million in the first half of 2010 to EUR 4.4 million in the first semester of 2011. Net interest income remained stable at EUR 11.8 million. The Bank of Cyprus’s loan volume gained 9 percent year-on-year, from EUR 580 million in the first semester of 2010 to EUR 651 million. The deposits portfolio gained 26 percent, from EUR 139 million in the first half of 2010 to EUR 186 million.
Bancpost reports EUR 4.6 million losses in H1 Eurobank EFG, the Greek lender with the largest stake in Bancpost, reported a negative EUR 3.5 million for banking operations in Romania, with total assets amounting to EUR 4.85 billion. The bank registered an operating income of EUR 131 million, with operating expenses totaling EUR 78.5 million.
Its profit before tax and minorities was a negative EUR 4.6 million. The gross volume of loans reached EUR 3.4 billion, while deposits totaled EUR 1.87 billion. The bank’s non-performing loan ratio reached 16.2 percent in the first half of 2011. Bancpost operated a retail network of 284 units in the first semester of 2011.
Alpha Bank sees profit before tax plummet to EUR 5.4 mln The Romanian subsidiary of the Greek Alpha Bank posted an operating income of EUR 93.1 million for the first semester of 2011, a 20 percent decrease on the same period of 2010. Meanwhile, operating expenses gained 2.8 percent in the first semester of 2011, reaching EUR 46.7 million. The bank's profit before tax plunged 77 percent year-on-year, to EUR 5.4 million. Alpha Bank’s loan volume fell by 15.3 percent to EUR 3.51 billion in the first half of 2011. Mortgages were up by 6 percent to EUR 851 million. However, consumer credit decreased by 13.8 percent to EUR 267 million, while corporate loans also went down by 21 percent to EUR 2.39 million. The deposits volume registered a 4 percent fall to EUR 1.34 billion.
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
6 NEWS BANKING
INVESTMENT
Eurobank-Alpha Bank merger to form third largest local banking group
Pirelli puts EUR 160 million into Slatina tire factory extension
P
T
Wheely good deal: PM Emil Boc with Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera production rise from the 7 million pieces expected at the end of 2011 to 10 million pieces by the end of the project. The extension of its area, which has so far increased from an initial 100,000 sqm to 160,000 sqm, will further rise to 175,000 sqm, making the tire factory Pirelli’s biggest worldwide.
Today the Slatina hub employs 2,400 people on its tire and steel cord activities. The number is expected to grow to 2,700 by the end of the project thanks to 1,000 new hires, of which 70 percent have already been made in relation to the extension investment. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
CONSTRUCTION
Local building costs continue to fall in 2011 – EC Harris report
T
he recession that has hit Romania is gradually easing, although the real estate sector is still feeling the pain. According to Kelly Herbert, commercial manager for EC Harris, a built asset consultancy, Romania will always remain attractive due to its skilled and relatively inexpensive labor force and good cultural links with Western Europe. Investors are looking for prime office developments in areas like Victoriei Square, Barbu Vacarescu and Aviatorilor Boulevard, which have good public transport links. At the moment, five UK investors are planning to develop five affordable housing projects, with homes costing from EUR 60,00070,000, to be included in the Prima Casa loan scheme. The government has issued 45,000 guarantees for accessed financing worth EUR 1.82 billion. The latest annual International Cost Comparison report for 55 countries issued by EC Harris sees Romania fare relatively well in the region compared to the UK benchmark line. Construction prices are 50 percent cheaper in Romania, although they are 10 percent cheaper still in Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine. However, costs are 10 or 20 percent higher in Poland, Greece and Croatia. In Romania, data for this year show that building costs for high-end luxury developments are in the EUR 850-900 range per sqm. For basic Prima Casa projects the fig-
STOCKEXCHANGE
he international merger of Eurobank EFG with Alpha Bank will see the creation of the third largest banking group in Romania as Alpha Bank and Bancpost will also merge. The new group will have a combined network of more than 1,300 branches across eight countries and top-three market positions in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia. The new Greek banking group will be among the 25 largest in Europe with pro forma total assets of EUR 146 billion. In Romania, it will control an 11 percent market share, with a combined gross loan volume of EUR 6.9 billion and 466 branches. The newly formed group will be ranked third in Romania by asset value. The board of directors and the executive committee will be chaired by Yannis Costopoulos and the management team will be led by two co-CEOs, Demetrios Mantzounis, who will be in charge of control and central functions, and Nicholas Nanopoulos, who will head up business functions The transaction will be carried out through a merger of equals: five new Alpha shares for seven Eurobank shares. The resulting shareholder split post merger will see Alpha Bank hold a 57.5 percent stake, while Eurobank will control the remaining 42.5 percent. The legal merger should be completed by mid-December. Citi and JP Morgan are acting as financial advisers to Alpha Bank, while Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs International and Rothschild are performing the same role for Eurobank EFG. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
Courtesy of Pirelli
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
Two become one: the lenders will merge
irelli will invest EUR 160 million to expand its Slatina factory, a process which began in 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2013, with the aim of increasing production capacity. The extension project received the support of the Romanian government through funding of approximately EUR 28 million. “Romania is a key country for Pirelli’s worldwide growth. The car tire and steel cord factories in Slatina constitute a point of strength in the group’s industrial strategy. The tire facility is one of the biggest car tire factories in the world and allows Pirelli to satisfy the market’s demands in the premium segments, which are growing at a fast pace both in Europe and the rest of the world,” said Giuseppe Cangelosi, general director of Pirelli Tyres Romania. Between 2005, the year of its arrival in Romania, and 2010, Pirelli invested EUR 300 million. This amount will climb to over EUR 450 million by 2014, in the industrial hub at Slatina which includes a plant for car tires and one for the production of steel cord (the metallic ribbon used in radial tires). The company also owns a factory for anti-particulate filters for diesel engines in Bumbesti Jiu, Gorj County. Thanks to additional investments, the car tire factory in Slatina will see its annual
A cheaper brick in the wall ure is 400-450 per sqm. Retail developments run from EUR 700-900 per sqm. Class A office developments are in the EUR 800-900 per sqm zone, while local industrial warehouses cost EUR 320-450 per sqm. The figures exclude land costs, professional and legal fees, and VAT. Residential developments are targeting the affordable housing market, while the construction of luxury compounds is almost non-existent and restricted to exclusive areas. Industrial developments have remained stable as this type of work is recession-proof. Tender prices are very low, as contractors are reducing margins just to
keep their businesses afloat. Herbert says that the commercial office space market is still ticking over. Investor sentiment improved in the first half of 2011 with more interest in new projects, but the specter of further turmoil in the market has brought the fear factor back to their decision making. Herbert says that the scale of toxic assets that banks are currently holding is quite large. Potential investors have enquired about these toxic assets which can be repackaged and returned to the market. Herbert concludes that developments should be planned with caution and at the right pace. Investors are advised to acquire good market information and be careful when handling large developments. Building one apartment block and seeing how it does may prove to be a better strategy than starting all the developments at once. EC Harris Romania manages residential projects worth approximately EUR 200 million. The company is handling the development of Marimito Shopping Center Constanta, totaling EUR 100 million. The consultancy manages industrial development projects worth EUR 12-15 million and EUR 5 million of retail projects . Two office fit-outs of under EUR 1 million each add to the company’s portfolio in Romania, which also includes technical consultancy. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
NEWS 7
MINING
Basescu calls for Romania to benefit from use of national gold P
Agerpres
resident Traian Basescu last week visited Rosia Montana in Alba County, the location where the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) intends to start mining for gold. Basescu said that it was time for Romania to exploit its gold, copper and silver resources with modern technological equipment, blaming “cowardly politicians” for eschewing the project, although the initial mining contract was signed in 1997. Peter Eckstein-Kovacs, a presidential advisor who strongly opposes the mining project, submitted his resignation after Basescu expressed his support for the controversial project. Dragos Tanase, managing director of RMGC, the company that would be handling the mining operations, said that the first gold bars from Rosia Montana should be manufactured starting 2014-2015. A building permit for the mine is expected to be issued next year after which the construction of the mine complex should take around two and a half years. However, Prime Minister Emil Boc has taken a more cautious stance. Boc believes that mining at Rosia Montana has major drawbacks and that the Romanian government should allow the Canadian mining project based only on the approval
Montana man: President Basescu has voiced his support for the mine of specialists. Concerns have been raised regarding the environmental impact of the project and the low rate of revenue going to Romania, and commentators have called for certain terms to be rene-
gotiated. Recent changes to the fiscal code will increase royalties for precious metals from 4 percent to 6 percent, also impacting the future exploitation at Rosia Montana.
Dozens of NGO supporters gathered the day after Basescu’s comments at Cotroceni Palace, to protest against the president's support of the project. Basescu confronted the protestors, arguing that the Romanian state was not exploiting its resources, as was the case in the communist bloc. He added that it was in the public interest to exploit mineral resources in order to create jobs. Laszlo Borbely, the minister of the environment and forestry, has called the Rosia Montana project a priority. He added that the total mineral deposit contains approximately 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver. Borbely wants to gauge the impact of the gold-extracting process, which involves cyanide, on the environment, before issuing a critical permit for the project. Gabriel Resources, which has an 80.46 percent stake in RMGC, the company assigned to carry out the project in Rosia Montana, saw its shares gain 11 percent this week, their biggest jump since last November, to CAD 7.44 (Canadian dollars). Romania owns a 19.31 stake through Minvest Deva, while other investors hold 0.23 percent. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
8 FOCUS
FMCG producers are doing it for themselves Many local FMCG producers are taking matters into their own hands by announcing big investment plans for their own retail networks. From dairy producers to meat processors and winemakers, the phenomenon has grown in the past couple of years, fueled by the economic crisis, adding more complexity to the local retail scene. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN
Courtesy of Murfatlar
Murfatlar operates 85 wine shops country wide under the Murfatlar Wine Cellar brand but hopes to see the number grow to 150 by yearend, after investing over EUR 2 million
Courtesy of Scandia Food
There are two Scandia Sibiu quick service restaurants in Bucharest
Halewood Romania has nine Winery Outlet shops
Courtesy of Agricola Bacau
Courtesy of Albalact
told BR. It also ensures that retailers negotiate from a position of power on the medium and long run. “In many cases, those producers who have decided to open their own stores sell products that are by their nature undifferentiated – such as meat products – and have less brand strength. These products are more vulnerable to large retailers’ private labels and therefore their distribution through private stores is a means of protecting overall profitability,” he added. Belciu underlined that in some cases the shelf price of products that are sold through private stores is higher than the price of the same products in large retail networks. “In most cases, those producers with their own stores don’t sell only their products. They often have a diversified merchandise mix which brings them close to the offer of a proximity retailer. This also generates additional margin,” he added. Local retail is maturing and becoming more competitive with the aggressive plans announced by large players adding to its complexity. “This is why niche networks – either by purpose or size – have to become very efficient in order to survive given that proximity retail and discount retail will grow strongly, along with other forms of modern retail,” Belciu noted. Regarding the existing relations between local producers and retailers, Spiri-
Courtesy of Halewood Romania
The largest wine producer in Romania, Murfatlar, plans to reach a network of 150 private retail stores by the end of this year. Although less ambitious, other Romanian FMCG players are turning to the same strategy and making similar plans. Investing in producer-owned retail stores is a good way to increase brand awareness and consolidate position on the market while also generating incremental revenues by capturing retail margin, says Bogdan Belciu, partner at PwC. “One of the main advantages for producers with their own retail networks is improving the cash flow, with the shops providing a good share of the cash. In addition, these stores can sell a producer’s entire product portfolio and can undertake high-impact marketing activities to promote their own brand at reasonable costs,” Sorin Spiridon manager of Ensight Management Consulting, told BR. But there are various other reasons behind this strategy. Some of the older manufacturers started off with such stores that they kept and later developed. Others have seen it as a vertical integration which reduces the problems generated by modern retail such as tough acquisition conditions and logistics costs, or by traditional retail where the issues are decreasing sales, non-performing debt or large delays in paying bills, Spiridon explained. Just as retailers are pushing forward private labels, FMCG firms are investing in their own stores. Traditional roles for manufacturers and retailers are blurring, and their activities are becoming more intertwined. There is a natural tendency for retailers to turn to private labels, especially in the case of relatively undifferentiated products under weak brands. Among the advantages of this strategy are lower prices and more flexibility in firms’ relations with local producers, Belciu
Albalact is trialing several private stores in Cluj and Bucharest
Agricola Bacau will open 30 outlets in 2011
don says the situation is tense. Aggressive private label strategies are part of the problem as are retailers’ acquisition con-
ditions, he believes. “But we don’t think that this has had a very strong hand in developing private retail networks because
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
no local producer has the necessary resources to develop such a strong network that it would replace modern retail,” he added. As for what to expect in the future, he posits that in the medium term, the tendency to invest in private stores will remain and even grow further, although many of the producers could face difficulties when the number of stores gets too high. “Problems can be generated by the large investment, but mainly by not knowing the specific business model of large retailers well enough,” Spiridon commented.
The producers’ assault Depending on the industry and their size, local FMCG manufacturers have different business approaches and expectations from developing private retail networks. Grigore Horoi, president of Agricola Bacau, recently told BR in an interview that the further development of the group’s private store network is an important objective for the meat producer. “This year we are planning to open 30 stores with a total investment of EUR 500,000. Presently, 12 percent of the company’s total poultry production is sold through Agricola Bacau stores, a share that we constantly look to grow,” he said. Among the advantages of operating private outlets, Agricola Bacau’s president names the direct merchandise flow, coming closer to the final consumer and getting direct feedback, as well as the fact that the stores are a source of cash. “Of
FOCUS 9 course, modern retail remains our main channel with a 46 percent share of total production at the moment, but there is an obvious tendency, even among large retail players, towards smaller scale formats,” Horoi added. For 2011, the Agricola Bacau group of companies targets a turnover of up to RON 440 million (approximately EUR 105 million), which is 7 percent higher than the one registered in 2010. This year, local dairy producer Albalact is trialing several private stores in Cluj and Bucharest. “As this a pilot project it is too early to speak of results and long term plans,” company representatives told BR. The stores are owned by the firm and run under the De Albalact brand (By Albalact) selling only its own products. For 2010, Albalact reported a RON 261.25 million (approximately EUR 62 million) turnover, 15.6 percent up on the previous year, and saw another 32.6 percent growth in the first semester. While some players are investing in private stores, other local producers are putting money into developing private restaurants. Canned food producer Scandia Food has opened two quick service restaurants (QSR) under the Scandia Sibiu brand, serving traditional Romanian cuisine. The move is part of the company’s development strategy and is based on the growing awareness of its brands, Adrian Gaspar, president of Scandia Food, told BR. The two existing restaurants are located in Baneasa Shopping City and Vitan Mall.
“By yearend 2011 we plan to develop the network only in Bucharest, where we seek to build a significance presence. For further expansion we are considering other cities that have commercial centers with potential such as Cluj, Timisoara and obviously Sibiu. Our objective is to become the largest QSR company in Romania with the largest network,” added Gaspar. By the end of the first quarter of 2012 Scandia Food plans to have up to seven such restaurants with a total investment estimated at EUR 1 million. Murfatlar, the largest wine producer in Romania, has big plans for its wine store network. The firm currently operates 85 wine shops country wide under the Murfatlar Wine Cellar brand (Crama Murfatlar) but hopes to see the number grow to 150 by yearend. The total investment goes beyond EUR 2 million, says the company. “Our objectives are mainly related to increasing wine consumption and consolidating our market leader position. The expansion strategy is strictly related to these objectives and on the long run, national coverage is a priority. We will end 2011 with 150 wine shops and a good national coverage means over 300-350 such shops,” Daniel Negrescu, brand manager Murfatlar, told BR. He adds that following the crisis, Romanians’ acquisition behavior has changed, and the shops enable Murfatlar to come closer to its consumers. The stores are run under a franchise scheme in partnership with local entrepreneurs. The initial investment in such
a unit is around EUR 7,000 and can be recovered in up to six months, says Negrescu. Last year Murfatlar reported a RON 140 million turnover (approximately EUR 33 million) and in 2011 it estimates constant figures for bottled wine. “For the wine shops, we have budgeted sales of about RON 45 million (e.n. approximately EUR 10 million) but it will probably be about 10 percent higher. The shops’ share in the total turnover will be about 30 percent,” he added. Another local winemaker, Halewood Romania, also plans to extend its network of Winery Outlets from the existing nine units to about 30 over the coming years. “We look at these stores as a means to promote ourselves and not necessarily a way to boost sales. It is easiest to sell when one is in direct contact with the final buyer who also has the option to choose from our entire product portfolio. And we can also sell the wines at attractive prices. We have our online store where we have had orders from countries like New Zealand and Brazil, but again, the purpose is not to alter the balance sheet. Our focus and core activity has always been winemaking. All the connected activities like the stores and the pension at Azuga have been centered on getting people to taste the wine,” Dan Muntean, managing director of Halewood Romania, previously told BR. The company posted a turnover of about EUR 10 million last year and estimates 5 percent growth for 2011.
simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
10 LINKS
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
New look: telecom operators are re-designing their stores to attract tech-savvy customers
Makeover mania: telecom operators get interactive The lines and curves in the design of a store are the result of intense deliberation, BR learned from telecom operators, who explained what went into the revamping of their branches – money, resources and a great deal of planning – all of which should boost the odds of attracting their technology-driven customers to the ‘candy store’. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA Interactivity is the magic word. Ask all the operators on the market and they will tell you this is the formula of success to draw the customer in. However, the formula differs depending on the company’s own needs. For instance, when Romtelecom and Cosmote decided to join forces and open integrated stores, the main element considered was the way in which two different brands of two operators acting on different market segments could be combined. “The final goal is to create, within the same retail space, a general area of communication, that is limitless, in which the customer finds a generous range of quality products and services,” said Cosmote and Romtelecom representatives. This was the starting point, to which the essential elements from the portfolios of the two operators were added. In the case of Romtelecom, these were television, internet and voice. For Cosmote, they were voice and data services as well as a large smartphone portfolio. Romtelecom and Cosmote, both part of Greek group OTE and set to merge, launched in June their new integrated store concept in six locations: three in Bucharest (in the Dorobanti, Pantelimon and Mihalache areas) and one each in Targoviste, Sibiu and Bacau. The spaces for the new outlets were
chosen based on various internal analyses regarding traffic in the respective areas and the consumer profile. “Reflecting these elements, three of the stores are former Romtelecom locations, and three were opened by Cosmote under this concept, in new locations,” say Cosmote and Romtelecom representatives. The concept of the stores was imported from Deutsche Telekom (which is also involved in the two companies as it holds shares in OTE) but was adjusted to suit “the particularities of the services offered and the profile of the Romanian consumer.” “Although the categories represented are
How many stores do the telecom operators have? Cosmote Romania has a network of approximately 600 stores, including 260 Cosmote Romania outlets, shop-in shop with Romtelecom and Germanos stores Orange Romania currently has its own network Orange Shop which comprises 99 stores and the franchise network Orange Store which has reached 186 franchises Vodafone Romania has a network of 200 stores of its own and several hundred partner outlets UPC Romania has 115 stores in Romania
the same as at DT, when it comes to the portfolio on display we have considered the specifics of the market in Romania. When creating such an exposure space, which has to host all products and services, we carefully preserved a good balance between highlighting spearhead products and services – such as smartphones, IPTV, and mobile data – and showcasing ‘traditional’ ones: mobile phones, satellite TV, internet and telephony,” say officials from the two companies. Another operator that has big plans for this year is Orange Romania, which started the long-term implementation of a new concept two years ago, with the launch of the franchise network. The concept – which “centered on the touch & play concept, allowing clients unmitigated contact with live products connected to the internet that they can try” – was created by the agency Design Day, under the name of One Design, and then taken over by Orange, which rebranded it as Next. Moreover, it was adjusted to the local context by Silviu Garet, merchandising manager at Orange Romania, in collaboration with designer Ioana Corduneanu and the company Ykon Solution Group. “The result was impressive and colleagues in the France Telecom Orange Group welcomed the new Orange Shop as a standard in telecom retail,” says Garet. The designers reapportioned the space to reflect where customer interest lies. There is a
smartphone area with the newest handsets, dedicated shelves for tablets and laptops and special stands for accessories. The Orange shops have a Play Corner, where applications for smartphones and tablets have a dedicated space. The overall look was also changed by dropping the traditional counters for face-to-face interaction between Orange employees and customers. A couch and even book shelves completed this more familiar look. Orange started revamping its Orange shop network last year. To date 13 stores have undergone this process, in Bucharest (Plaza, Mosilor, Iride Business Park, Victoriei Square, Carrefour Orhideea) and around the rest of the country in cities such as Alba Iulia, Cluj, Constanta (in City Mall), Galati (in the Mazepa district), Oradea (Lotus), Resita, Zalau, and Targoviste. The investment in the new design for an Orange shop is around EUR 120,000 but varies depending on the size. “We aim to have the new concept implemented in all Orange stores by 2013,” says Garet. This year the company will modernize nearly 40 stores in the entire country, so that there is a new Orange Shop in every county. While Orange based its concept from France Telecom standards and Cosmote and Romtelecom on Deutsche Telekom’s, another operator, UPC Romania, part of Liberty Global, resorted locally to Grapefruit and Arcsett. “When we thought this new concept through, we had three main elements in mind: access to the digital world, customer interaction and product demo,” says Monica Ilie, manager national retail at UPC Romania. The store concept was born ‘from a detailed analysis of the habits of our subscribers who interacted with the representatives at our work points on average once every two months, especially to pay their bills. The new UPC store concept came from the desire to transform the interaction process into a proactive one,” says Ilie. The first store with the new design was opened at the end of January last year in Bucharest. Since then, the concept has been rolled out to other cities in Romania. Another three outlets were opened in Bucharest, then one each in Ploiesti, Bacau, Galati, Cluj and Timisoara. Over the coming period, UPC will focus on stores in other large cities where it is active. “Grapefruit identified the types of interaction and the functional areas, defined the circulation flux and created the branding components of the new concept. Arcsett created the architecture concept, the retail design and was also in charge of project management and implementation for the pilot store that was opened in January last year in Bucharest,” says Ilie. The opening of the first UPC Concept Store, which is located on Mihai Bravu Road, involved an investment of approximately EUR 200,000 which went into the new concept and the 130-sqm location. For revamping the other stores over 2010-2011, the investment in each location was lower, as the concept had already been created. So, depending on the venue and the surface, the investments amounted on average to EUR 70,000 per location. “In large cities we are planning a total change for our stores while in other important towns we will carry out a revamp, which means making major improvements to the current design,” says Ilie.
otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
POWER 11
Kyoto ban could leave Romania with 537 million unsold AAUs Romania has got lost in the clouds of pollution, failing to benefit from the carbon emission trading scheme. Legislation that was thrown together in a hurry, and the institutional lack of experience in dealing with AAUs could see Romania end up with 537 million tons of carbon surplus by 2012, with no benefit in the form of the green infrastructure that the country needs. âˆŤ OVIDIU POSIRCA STOCKEXCHANGE
A UN panel suspended Romania's right to trade its surplus carbon emissions late last month after it breached rules on emissions reporting. The targets set by Kyoto for Annex B countries, including Romania, are expressed as levels of allowed emissions over the 2008-2012 commitment period, denominated in AAUs, each one being equal to one metric ton of CO2 equivalent. The UNFCCC compliance committee found irregularities in Romania's 2010 greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Prime Minister Emil Boc urged the head of the environment agency responsible for the inventory to resign and called for measures to reinstall trading eligibility in up to six months. As a result, Iosif Nagy, who led the agency responsible for preparing the papers to allow Romania to trade the permits, known as Assigned Amount Units, resigned last week. The new head of the Romanian Environment Protection Agency is Abos Gabor. Romania was deemed not in compliance with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol after an August 27 decision by the Enforcement Branch of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn. On 25 August, Ukraine also had its carbon credit trading rights suspended after the UNFCCC found that it had under-reported its greenhouse gas emissions. In December 2010, Laszlo Borbeley said that Romania hoped to earn EUR 1.5 billion by selling 300 million carbon credits to two Japanese companies. In view of the recent trading suspension, Borbeley said the Environment Ministry had already begun developing an improved emissions monitoring system so that it could re-enter on the carbon mar-
Dirty business: Romania has failed to take advantage of the trading scheme designed to reduce pollution ket in the near future. Romania will seek to sell some of its 300 million spare AAUs, each representing a metric ton of carbon dioxide, depending on market conditions, once trading rights are restored. According to Ideacarbon, a carbon ratings and research agency, Russia and Ukraine easily have the biggest forecasted surpluses, representing over 75 percent of the global excess. The Romanian Environment Ministry says that the AAUs will lose value, as the market is saturated. Industrial activity has been affected by the current economic crisis and some of the traditional industry-based countries, buyers of these certificates, who failed to meet the Kyoto standards, will no longer make major purchases. The industrial powerhouses include Japan, which suffered serious disruption in its manufacturing and distribution chains due to the recent tsunami which hit economic activity, along with Spain and Portugal, both struggling with mounting debt, necessitating austerity measures that will also reduce industrial output. Romania has 300 million AAUs for sale, while the current global demand is for approximately 200 million. Ideacarbon forecasts that Romania will have a surplus of 537 million AAUs by 2012, when the trading program will end, due to the contraction of the economy. Meanwhile, Canada seems to be in better eco-
nomic shape and will need 1 billion AAUs by 2012. Romania’s transactions involving emission units have totaled 30 million since 2008. Romania, which only brought in legislation to sell the credits last year, missed its chance to sell its surpluses of 200 million rights at a 2008 market peak of EUR 10 per credit because it did not have green investment schemes in place. Since then, the price of the credits has approximately halved. According to government sources quoted by Mediafax newswire, the Romanian state is expecting to receive EUR 3.5 per credit at the end of this year, when the trading ban is set to be removed. Government members may further lower their expectations to EUR 2.5 per AAU. The sums raised from trading can be used for the modernization and repair of power and heat producers and distributors within the centralized system, bolstering energy output from green sources, reducing carbon emissions in agricultural activities, improving waste management, the induction of hybrid vehicles and forestation programs. The Romanian authorities have failed to benefit from the trading of surplus carbon emission credits, due to political bickering between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy, regarding the use of the resulting sums. These ministries were tasked with cre-
ating the legal framework required to use the surplus certificates. Only one year ago was appropriate legislation put in place. This summer, the Romanian government decided to modify the legislation in order to introduce more flexibility in the negotiation and trading process. Government representatives blamed the legal mess on a lack of experience in trading these certificates, with respect to the procedures at a local and international level. President Traian Basescu said during an official visit to Rosia Montana that Romania had lost EUR 1.2 billion owing to the devaluation of AAUs, having held certificates worth EUR 3 billion at 2008 peak prices, when the supply was scarce. Basescu blamed reckless politicians for the ban and warned that the mining project in Rosia Montana may follow the same path, if a political compromise is not reached. The deadline for the certificate trading is 2012. The carbon trading scheme was adopted under the Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding targets for 38 industrialized countries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by five percent between 2008 and 2012 compared to their 1990 level. The scheme allows around 12,000 companies including huge multinationals to buy and sell rights to pump industrial gases into the atmosphere.
ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
12 CITY RESTAURANT REVIEW
High prices, low value
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
Empty tables: the kitchen at Villa Rodizio must up its game to do justice to a creative menu, says our critic
Villa Rodizio, Caragiale 32, tel 0755 041 481 MICHAEL BARCLAY I am sitting in Rodizio and feeling very stupid because I continue to fail to heed my own advice. Specifically: if a restaurant is bad once, it will never improve with time! But I have an optimistic and forgiving nature, so I live in hope that restaurants I have criticized in the past will somehow improve. Well stupid me, because my hope is as futile as the gesture of rearranging the sun beds on the deck of the Titanic! So let’s go to Rodizio, a beautiful villa which was a disaster two years ago. It has now changed its menu totally, and has wisely relegated itself to its terrace for the summer. There is nothing whatsoever I can say to praise the terrace; it is simply concrete and shades, no character whatsoever. The only character we had was our charming waiter who made a forgettable meal bearable. So the menu arrived showing a comedy of errors, indicating that the kitchen was capable of burning water. They offered a ‘carpaccio of bresaola’. It is EI-
THER a carpaccio (raw sliced beef, OR a bresaola (dried, salted and three-month cured beef). An utter contradiction. But they were out to impress by means of their menu, so there were lots of Italian-ish names, including: Bolognese (an American tourist name for a dish that never existed in Italy), Milano (no regional authentic dish of that name) and Napoli (the poets say “smell Naples and die”). So I passed on this tourist rubbish. The greed of the House shines through, such as charging us RON 10 plus VAT for bread which we did not order, nor is it listed as an option on the menu. Illegal. There was further avarice by offering us ‘bruschetta’ (a slice of toast topped with onion and tomato) for RON 16 – we passed as it is normally given free by every other competitive House in town. Greed continued within their wine list, whereby Romanian brands, instantly recognizable from the better hypermarkets, were absurdly marked up to over RON 120. Prices for beef went skywards with T bone at RON 120, and other cuts (fillet, rib eye, rump, antrecot) around RON 100. To be fair to the House, they are using the high quality breed of Black
Angus which they state comes from the USA (why? You can get Angus grown in Romania) but unforgivably they still have Angus from Argentina. Argentinean beef served in Buenos Aires may be superb, but the Argie beef exported to Romania is crap. It trades on the good name with a flavorless product, and in my considered and well informed opinion, some local Romanian abattoirs are now producing beef which is vastly superior to this low level, hyped up import. But let’s get down to the food we ordered. To be fair to the House, they had an excellent offer of the usual pizzas together with a free Heineken beer at around RON 20 lei. But when I ordered some, they didn’t have any. Pizzas were ‘off’ so why did they frustrate the customers by leaving them on the menu? I saw a tempting rabbit steak at a high priced RON 60, but what the hell. I felt like ripping into a fluffy bunny just to upset Blondie. But she won because – yes, they didn’t have any rabbit. So Blondie stuffed her face with a pasta ‘carbonara’. This simple dish is made in a sauce from nothing more than egg yokes, bacon fried with its fat and Parmesan. But no. It was a failure because the
greedy House substituted Parmesan for cheap Romanian branza, and thickened it with sickly local cream so it had no flavor whatsoever. Our other dishes failed. How can you get ‘mussels in olive oil and garlic’ (RON 24) wrong? Easy. Just burn the garlic… and hey presto, they did it. Ignoring Blondie’s squeals of protest as she wanted to go home, I had to try a ‘duck breast with foie gras’. Yes, there was a sliver of liver on top of a shard of duck, which instead of being served pink (a universally agreed gastronomic convention) was overcooked , hard and brown. As I had ordered an extra dish, Blondie simply had to equal me by ordering a ‘pui Rodizio,’ which was a simple roulade of flat, beaten chicken breast, rolled with a slice of beef carpaccio (or was it beef bresaola?) and stuffed with mushrooms. It sounds good, but it arrived overcooked and dehydrated. They really do have a creative and good menu, which is far too long to list here. Suffice it to say, it is average (but acceptable) Mediterranean. The problem is that the kitchen cannot cook it, at any price!
michaelbarclay32@gmail.com
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
CITY 13
FILM REVIEW
Final Destination 5
Dead good: the fifth Final Destination flick delivers fatal fun
∫ DEBBIE STOWE Directed by: Steven Quale Starring: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Tony Todd On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Cotroceni - Sala VIP, Cinema City Sun Plaza, CinemaPro, Cityplex, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, Patria, The Light If people get the government they deserve, do cinema goers also get the films they deserve? The Final Destination franchise would suggest so. For readers not familiar with the premise, each movie starts with a spectacular set-piece accident that causes multiple gory fatalities. One character gets a premonition of the catastrophe, and manages to save a few of his or her buddies. But death feels cheated by this turn of events, and comes back to pick off the survivors in elaborate and gruesome ways. Each demise enjoys a protracted run-up to ratchet up the suspense, with various potential causes hinted at – water dripping near an electrical socket, a screw coming loose on an overhead fan, etc – but the actual method will always take the viewer by surprise and scale new heights – or possibly lows, depending on
your viewpoint – of imaginative grisliness. Don’t take the kids. Set out thus, it certainly seems like lowest common denominator stuff, designed to fulfill our base instinct for watching fictional people kick the bucket. But the movies are plotted with a neatness and inventiveness that defend against any cynicism. They do exactly what it says on the tin. All the actors are unknowns, so the focus remains firmly on the action. Best of all, the Final Destinations are entirely lacking in the weary selfimportance of many modern movies. They’re about the wholesome family fun of watching characters get dispatched in horrible ways, with no ridiculous pretensions to making profound comment on life and death, free will or whatnot. A sensual yet mathematical approach to Bach Plus, it’s all in 3D. Let the slaughter commence! Plot is somewhat irrelevant in the ∫ ANCA IONITA Final Destination universe, serving merematical organization behind Bach’s muly as a device to convey the doomed sic. “As a dancer, one never thinks about characters from one deathly calamity to ‘El Banch’ (‘Noche Bach’) is choreographed that. The music has an immediate senthe next, all of which are executed (ha ha) suality for you; you don’t think about by Romanian Gigi Caciuleanu, a former with pitch perfect choreography, panache what lies behind the score. The music is principal performer of the Romanian and humor. FD5 starts with the staff of simply beautiful! But behind this one can Opera ballet company, who trained with Presage Paper (viewers of a literary bent detect mathematical formulas. I started the Balshoi Theater in Moscow. Caciwill appreciate the pun) boarding a bus for from this calculation.” uleanu left Romania in the 1970s for a team-building weekend. I shall divulge For Caciuleanu, Bach’s music takes France. Since then, his collaboration no more details in order not to spoil the the form of the number eight. Why? “Bewith great names of contemporary and fun, but needless to say the journey cancause it’s a number that we frequently enclassical ballet such as Maia Plisetskaya not be described as smooth. One more counter in dance,” he says, “a number and Pina Bausch has materialized in warning: anyone planning laser eye surthat can also be found in Bach’s structure more than 250 ballets, staged all over the gery may wish to have it done before seeof the score. So, in response, I structured world. ing the film. the ballet on the formula 4x4, and at the His collaboration with the National Accusations of flimsy characterization same time, taking into consideration the Chilean Ballet (founded in 1945) started are fair but miss the mark. We can’t invest eight cardinal points that govern the 10 years ago, when he was invited to take too much in the dramatis personae or we stage,” he adds. The result is another type over the artistic direction of the compawon’t relish seeing them bumped off of link between thought and emotion. ny. “When I first came, I considered mygrotesquely. What matters is that any Fi“‘El Banch’ has two parts. The first one self more like a technician, as they say in nal Destination delivers creatively grueis based on the mathematical abstraction football,” says Caciuleanu. “I tried to some fatalities with twists and turns of thought, on the idea that the body’s acunite the company around a philosophy that get the audience doubling over in tions are similar to the music of celestial of movement, what they call in Spanish laughter and horror. And FD5 is dead on. a ‘mistica’ (which shouldn’t been conspheres, through abstract connections, actioned by mathematical laws, that renfused with mysticism!),” he adds. der an internal emotion,” explains CaciCaciuleanu, who has worked with editorial@business-review.ro major ballet companies all over the world, uleanu. For him, this ballet should convey a has the same approach when starting certain type of emotion that doesn’t have work on a new ballet. As an artist, he comanything to do with entertainment. bines his intuitive approach to the subject with a post-creation phase analysis. Hence the need to verbalize his creative process in front of the dancers he is Sandra Oh, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller, The National Chilean Ballet Company working with. Tammy Blanchard, Giancarlo Esposito. will give two performances of ‘El Banch’ in “I think it’s very important that the Bucharest under the umbrella of “Intaldancers understand my reasoning behind On at: Movieplex Cinema nirile JTI”, which is part of the Enescu Fesa certain piece, so in the beginning I do a tival, on September 4 and 5, at the Nashort speech about what motivated me to Based on a play by David Lindsaytional Theatre, Sala Mare, 19:30. choose that choreography. I put myself in Abaire, the film chronicles the life of a the first moment of creation and try to anca.ionita@business-review.ro couple whose young son dies in an accitransmit this through contamination,” dent. he adds. What was the motivation behind Concerts ‘Noche Bach’? A challenge, in the first September 18 place, says Caciuleanu. “I said to myself: Bryan Ferry ‘Bach is Bach! It’s untouchable!’ HowevConcert at Sala Palatului, 28 Ion er, I remembered I first felt the music inCampineanu. side when my professor Miriam Raducanu, years ago, in Bucharest, asked me The rescheduled concert by the Roxy to perform with her in a ballet piece Music singer-songwriter is due to take called ‘The Prayer’, that she choreoplace on September 18. Dubbed the graphed to Bach’s music,” says Caci“electric lounge lizard”, Ferry’s set will uleanu. include classic hits from his solo career The other approach was from the and time with the band. More details and perspective of Pythagora’s philosophy of tickets at www.eventim.ro the number, as one can detect a matheChoreographer Gigi Caciuleanu
CULTURAL EVENTS CALENDAR Cinema
Midnight in Paris From September 2 Directed by: Woody Allen. Starring: Owen Wilson, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, The Light Cinema Allen’s romantic comedy follows a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
Rabbit Hole From September 1 Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell. Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Nicole Kidman,
National Chilean Ballet Company performs Bach
www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 5 - 11, 2011
14 IN TOUCH GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL PROGRAM / RECOMMENDATIONS September 5 Recital Yundi
September 6 Opera and Ballet. Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Courtesy of Enescu Festival
Chinese classical pianist Li Yundi is the youngest person ever to win the prestigious International Chopin Competition, at 18. His United States debut took place in June 2003 at Carnegie Hall, as part of Steinway and Sons' 150th Anniversary Gala. He has performed with most of the major orchestras in North America, Europe, Russia, Israel and the Far East with conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Riccardo Chailly and Yuri Temirkanov. Romanian Atheneum, 17.00
Opera and Ballet. El Ballet Nacional Chileno I.L. Caragiale National Theatre, 19:00 Program: Noche Bach (Consiertos / Cantico); Music: Johann Sebastian Bach Recitals and Chamber Music. Tonkunstler Orchester Niederosterreich The Atheneum, 19.30
September 7 21st Century Music. Enescu and his contemporaries. Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra from Timisoara. The Romanian Atheneum, 19:30 The Choir of the Arad Philharmonic Conductor: Peter Ruzica September 8 21st Century Music. Enescu and his contemporaries. Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra Iasi The Atheneum, 17.00
Conductor: Min Kim Program: E.T. Zwilich – Prologue and Variations for string orchestra; Malcom Arnold – Concerto for 2 violins and chamber orchestra op. 77; W. Walton – Sonata for string orchestra
Conductor: Horia Andreescu; Soloist: Nicola Benedetti – violin; Program: A. Glazunov – Concerto for violin and orchestra in a minor op. 82; G. Mahler – Symphony no. 6 in A minor
Great orchestras of the world: Choir and orchestra of the George Enescu Philharmonic Grand Palace Hall,19:30 Conductor: Genaddy Rozhedestvensky; Program: G. Enescu – Symphonic poem Vox Maris op. 31; S. Prokofiev – Concert no. 1 for piano and orchestra in D flat Major op. 10; S. Prokofiev – Ivan the Terrible
Great orchestras of the world: London Symphony Orchestra Grand Palace Hall, 19.30 Conductor: Nikolai Znaider Soloist: Saleem Abboud Ashkar – piano Program: R. Wagner – Overture to The Mastersingers of Nuremberg; L. van Beethoven – Concerto no.1 for piano and orchestra in C Major op. 15; J. Brahms – Symphony no. 4 in E minor op. 98
By midnight: Christian Zacharias The Atheneum, 22:30 Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne Conductor and soloist: Christian Zacharias; Program: R. Schumann – Arabesque in C Major op. 18; R. Schumann – Concerto for piano and orchestra in A minor op. 54; R. Schumann – Symphony no. 3 Rhénane in E flat Major op. 97
By midnight: Orchestre de chamber de Lausanne
Conductor: Sebastien Rouland Program: D. Milhaud – Suite provençale for orchestra op. 152a; Guillaume Connesson – Concerto for cello and orchestra. With the participation of the cellist Jerome Pernoo. Great orchestras of the world: London Symphony Orchestra Grand Palace Hall, 19.30 Regarded as one of the world’s leading orchestras, it was formed in 1904 and has since attracted top players from all over the world. Continuing its long association with film music, the London Symphony Orchestra has recently recorded soundtracks for Twilight: New Moon, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1). The orchestra also features on radio, TV, computer games and in-flight music programs, and has launched the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, the world’s first online orchestra.
also won several Gramophone Awards. St Martin in the Fields. Conductor and soloist: Murray Perahia; Program: G.F. Händel – Suite from the opera Alcina HWV 34; W.A. Mozart – Concerto no. 27 for piano and orchestra in B flat Major KV 595; J. Haydn – Symphony no. 101 The Clock in D Major Hob. I:101
Courtesy of Enescu Festival
Program: Fr. Chopin – Nocturne no. 1 in B flat minor op. 9; Fr. Chopin – Nocturne no. 2 in E flat Major op. 9; Fr. Chopin – Nocturne no. 2 in F sharp Major op.15; Fr. Chopin – Nocturne no. 2 in D flat Major op. 27; Fr. Chopin – Nocturne no. 1 in C minor op. 48; Fr. Chopin – Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante in E flat Major op. 22; Fr. Chopin – Four Mazurkas op. 33: no. 1 in G sharp minor, no. 2 in D Major, no. 3 in C Major, no. 4 in B minor; Fr. Chopin – Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor op. 35; Fr. Chopin – Polonaise in A flat Major “Heroic” op. 53
Bucharest National Opera, 19:00 Conductor: Cristian Mandeal
The Korean Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1965 in the capital Seoul by cellist Bong-Cho Jeon. In 1999, the orchestra participated in the UNESCO Concert for Peace in Paris where it was officially designated a UNESCO Chamber Orchestra for Peace.
The Atheneum, 22.30 Conductor and soloist: Christian Zacharias; Soloist: Antonio Meneses – cello; Program: R. Schumann – Allegro and Introduction in D minor for piano and orchestra op. 134; R. Schumann – Concerto for cello and orchestra in A minor op. 129; R. Schumann – Symphony no. 2 in C Major op. 61
September 11 Great orchestras of the world. The Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra Grand Palace Hall, 19:30 The Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest in Russia. Its history dates back to the first orchestra of the St Petersburg Imperial Opera Orchestra, covering a period of over 200 years. Conductor: Valery Gergiev; Soloist: Alexander Toradze – piano; Program: R. Wagner – Tannhäuser Overture; A. Scriabin – Prometheus op. 60; R. Strauss – Ein Heldenleben op. 40
Recitals and chamber music. Murray Perahia The Atheneum, 17.00
By Midnight: Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne The Atheneum, 22.30 Conductor and soloist: Christian Zacharias. Program: R. Schumann – Symphony no. 4 in D minor op. 120 (version 1851); R. Schumann – Introduction and Allegro appassionato for piano and orchestra in G Major op. 92; R. Schumann – Symphony no. 1 Spring in B flat Major op. 38
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Conductor: Heinz Karl Gruber; Program: H.K. Gruber – Northwind Pictures (first audition); B. Britten – Our Hunting Fathers – for high voice and orchestra op. 8
September 9 Recitals and Chamber Music. Korean Chamber Orchestra The Atheneum, 17:00
American pianist Murray Perahia is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with whom he has toured as conductor and pianist throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and South East Asia. He is the recipient of two Grammy awards and numerous Grammy nominations. He has
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