On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing inaugurated on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 6:00 PM, at its headquarters in Galaxy SOHO, the cultural program “Brancusi Year 2026 in China,” an extensive series of events dedicated to visual arts and music, conceived as a Sino-Romanian cultural dialogue inspired by the Brâncușian spirit.
The inaugural event brought together the concert “Brancusi 150: The Sound of Forms” and the opening of the exhibition “Brancusi’s Birds – Endless Flight” in the presence of more than 130 guests, including members of the diplomatic corps, journalists, artists, art professors, students, and representatives of the Romanian diaspora, alongside numerous Chinese professors and researchers engaged in the study of Romanian culture. The interest of the Chinese public in the work of the great Romanian sculptor was once again confirmed on this occasion. As Professor Feng, Dean of the Sculpture Department at Tsinghua University, remarked last year following the lecture delivered by the art historian Doina Lemny: “For us, there are only Michelangelo, Rodin and Brancusi.” This appreciation reflects the prominent place that Brâncuși’s creation occupies in the artistic consciousness of Chinese academic circles.
The evening opened with welcoming remarks delivered by Liviu Țăranu, Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing, followed by the presentation of the two guest artists. The concert performed by violinist Diana Jipa and pianist Ștefan Doniga lasted for more than one hour and a half and was accompanied by video sequences filmed in museums and sculpture sites in Romania, offering the audience a comprehensive journey through the Romanian artistic universe. The performance was received with great enthusiasm and concluded in rounds of applause, the artists offering two encores that confirmed the refinement and expressive strength of the program. At the end of the recital, guests visited the exhibition “Brancusi’s Birds –Endless Flight,” curated by Andreea-Ema Stoian, Senior Relations Officer. The exhibition was highly appreciated by the professional audience.
Through the chosen repertoire, Diana Jipa and Ștefan Doniga evoked both the Romanian roots of Brâncuși and the universal dimension of his artistic creation. The lyrical moments suggested longing and the deep vein of tradition, while the dynamic passages reflected the sculptor’s visionary modernity. It was a concert in which music did not merely illustrate the Brâncușian universe, but continued it in another artistic language. Among the central works performed were “Dor de România,” composed by Diana Jipa and Ștefan Doniga, as well as “Brâncuși’s Forge,” a composition by Viorel Munteanu dedicated to the great modernist sculptor.
The musical program also included works by Francis Poulenc – the suite Le travail du peintre (adapted for violin and piano by Diana Jipa and Ștefan Doniga), Remus Georgescu – Interlude and Toccata from Suite No. 2 for solo piano, Roman Vlad – Blonde Negress for solo violin (dedicated to Diana Jipa), Jorge Grundman – Warhol in Springtime for violin and piano, Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre for violin and piano, Dan Dediu – Sphinx and Dragon for violin and piano, as well as compositions by Paul Constantinescu, Felicia Donceanu, George Enescu, Béla Bartók,and Dinu Lipatti, outlining a program of remarkable artistic and stylistic richness.
Violinist Diana Jipa graduated from the National University of Music in Bucharest, obtaining her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. She made her debut as a soloist at the age of ten and has since become a constant presence on philharmonic stages and concert halls in Romania and abroad (England, Belgium, Czech Republic, South Korea, China, Cuba, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia). In 2005 she represented Romania at the concert organized in Brussels on the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union. She has appeared on the stages of major music festivals, including the 18th edition of the George Enescu International Festival, alongside the Moldova Philharmonic of Iași. The 7th edition of the “Paganiniana” Festival in Genoa explored the relationship between music, science and cutting-edge technology, bringing together researchers from these fields, with Diana Jipa participating through both the classical violin and the experimental instrument iperviolino.
Born in Galați in 1979, pianist Ștefan Doniga graduated from the National University of Music in Bucharest in 2002, studying under distinguished professors including Constantin Ionescu-Vovu, Viorica Rădoi, Oxana Corjos and Dan Grigore. During his career he has performed recitals and concerts on stages in Romania and in 25 other countries across all six continents, and together with violinist Diana Jipa is among the few Romanian musicians to have completed a world tour within a single concert tour. In 2000 he represented Romania at the First Balkan Festival of Young Pianists in Razgrad, Bulgaria, where he received the Festival Medal. He has participated in numerous live broadcasts of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and has recorded with the Radio Chamber Orchestra. He is the only Romanian pianist to have recorded the complete piano mazurkas of Alexander Scriabin, a live recording made at the Romanian Athenaeum in 2005 and broadcast multiple times through the European Broadcasting Union by the German radio station WDR 3. He also recorded the world premiere of Sergei Bortkiewicz’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra of Ostrava, produced by the Netherlands Music Institute and released by Brilliant Classics in March 2018. The recording received highly favorable reviews from Gramophone and American Record Guide and was named “Recording of the Month – May 2018” by MusicWeb International.
Two additional concerts of “Brancusi 150: The Sound of Forms” will take place on March 4, 2026 at Beijing Dongtu Theater and on March 6, 2026 at the Auditorium Hall of Forlong Ski Resort in Chongli.
