The "Sound of Music" season at PeleÈ™ Castle, after 10 years and numerous cultural events held at the Concert Hall, receives a new look and a more comprehensive format, united under the name "Citadel of the Arts".

The first event, titled "The Land of Dreams" will take place Saturday, March 23, 2019, from 4:00 p.m., invited members of the band Sorin Zlat Quartet, one of the reference bands of the local jazz. The opening of the new season will bring for the first time presentation of the collection of musical instruments with historical significance chosen from the heritage of the PeleÈ™ National Museum.

The event will be presented by Sebastian Crăciun, and admission will be free, by requesting the invitation at rezervari.ucimr@gmail.com

The organizers, the PeleÈ™ National Museum and the Union of Interpretive Creation of Musicians in Romania, promise a new series of cultural events in the Concert Hall of the PeleÈ™ Cassette where the public will be invited to take part in a true royal of the arts that will include, in addition to jazz and classical music concerts, contemporary dance performances alongside special exhibitions. This year too, the events will take place monthly between March and October.

The first artists invited to be part of the "Citadel of the Arts" are: Sorin Zlat – piano, Mihaela Alexa – voice, Michael Acker – double bass and Gabi Matthew – percussion, representing the composition of one of the longest-running jazz quartets in Romania, recently celebrating 10 years of activity. The group's leader, Sorin Zlat, is the first foreign pianist to win the coveted "The Great American Jazz Piano Competition" award, considered the most prestigious solo piano competition in the USA with a tradition of over 30 years, the artist thus becoming the first Romanian to receive an award of such magnitude.

At the concerts they have performed in Romania, Europe and the USA, the group members have set out to delight the audience with original works composed for the album "Endurance" and with jazz standards re-orchestrated in their own way. At the concert on Saturday, the artists will also perform new works that will appear on the next album, "The Land of Dreams".

Through this fusion of styles, the group gained public recognition, participating in numerous concerts on the stages of famous clubs and festivals, such as: Montreux Jazz Festival, Jacksonville Jazz Festival (USA), Garana Jazz Festival, Sibiu Jazz Festival, Timisoara Jazz Festival, Bucharest Jazz Festival or at Ronnie's Scott, Kings Place in London, Nardis Club (Istanbul), Jazz Cafe (Montreux), B-flat (Berlin), Pera Fest (Turkey), Getxo Jazz Festival (Spain), Monaco Jazz Festival etc. Over time, the Sorin Zlat Quartet has performed on the same stage alongside big names in jazz: Lee Ritenour, Ravi Coltrane, Brandford Marsallis, Joey Calderazzo, Tito Puente and Jeff Ballard. On May 28, 2017, Sorin Zlat was invited as headliner at the US festival "Jacksonville Jazz Festival" to perform on the same evening and on the same stage with Chick Corea Trio, Joey Alexander Trio and The Commodores.

Sorin Zlat – jazz pianist, clarinetist, composer, orchestrator and laureate of over twenty national and international awards, is one of the most talented Romanian jazz musicians of the moment. He began his musical studies at the age of seven, the first instruments studied being the violin and clarinet at the "George Apostu" Art High School in Bacau. He is a graduate of the "George Enescu" Faculty of Music in IaÈ™i, classical clarinet section, and a master's student at the University of Music in Bucharest, jazz section, instrument-piano in the class of the renowned pianist and jazz professor Mircea Tiberian. Sorin has created a repertoire that contains original jazz pieces, as well as re-orchestrated standards, ranging through Latin, jazz, pop and classical styles, orchestrated to reflect his unique interpretative style that brought him instant recognition on the European and North American jazz scene.

Among the numerous awards won by Sorin Zlat are the Grand Prix at the Jacksonville Jazz Competition, Florida, United States (2015), the Grand Prix at the Monaco Jazz Competition (2013), the Grand Prix at the Montreux Jazz Competition (2015), as well as the Best Jazz Musician Award for 2014, 2015, awarded by the Muzza Jazz Foundation. It is worth mentioning that Sorin was the first non-American pianist to win the Grand Prix for the first time at the most prestigious solo piano competition in the USA, "The Great American Jazz Piano Competition", a competition with a tradition of over 30 years. In the summer of the same year, Sorin released the album Endurance containing solo pieces, in trio format, as well as personal compositions, an album received with great appreciation by jazz lovers. In 2019, due to the awards and merits brought to Romania, the mayor of Bacău, Cosmin Necula, awarded Sorin the title of "Honorary Citizen" and "Key to the City". Also, in the same year, he received the "Jazz Award" from the UCMR.

The "Citadel of the Arts" season is an event organized by UCIMR - the Union of Interpretive Creation of Musicians from Romania in partnership with the PeleÈ™ National Museum.

Cultural partners: Excess Music, the "Opportunities at home" program run by UCIMR, the Pro Valores Association.

Media partners: EnjoyTV Romania, Radio Romania Cultural, Cultural Observatory, Radio Trinitas, Book Agency, Ro Portal, Romania Pozitivă, Calendar Events, Bucuresteni.ro, Onlinegallery.ro, Jurnalmm.ro

Next event from the "Citadel of Arts" will be entitled "Paschal Harmonies" and will take place on Saturday, April 20, at 4:00 PM, with the actress Lamia Beligan and the multi-instrumentalist Nicolae Szekely as guests. Admission will be free by requesting an invitation at rezervari.ucimr@gmail.com