Winners of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards 2017: emotion and applause
More than one hundred guests attended the presentation of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards on Tuesday evening. This is the third consecutive year in which the Alexandrion Foundation has organised this event, at which young artists, men and women of culture and scientists at the beginning of their careers were honoured.
The selection of candidates was a very rigorous one, and on Tuesday evening the jury revealed the names of the laureates at a ceremony held at the Pullman Hotel in Bucharest, in the presence of friends, relatives and guests.
The Alexandrion Foundation supports excellence
“Here we are, at the third edition of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards. We are delighted that this gala, dedicated to valuable young people, is at least as appreciated as the one that preceded it and that opened the series of events dedicated to culture and science supported by the Alexandrion Foundation, the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards Gala. We continue to offer the award for Medicine, as we did last year, because we want to keep pace with the developments and progress in every field that serves the society to which we belong,” said Nawaf Salameh, President of the Alexandrion Foundation, at the opening of the event.
Laureates of the third edition of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards
Music – Alin Stoica
At the age of 31, the tenor Alin Stoica is already a principal soloist of the Bucharest National Opera and a laureate of the Luciano Pavarotti international competition.
“It is a great honour for me to receive the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Award, because I know that these awards are founded on clear criteria and respect for values. I dedicate this award to all the young people in Romania who have the courage to dream and who follow their dream regardless of the “potholes” of the times we live in. I thank the Alexandrion Foundation for managing to build a future for Romania! I promise you that I will do everything in my power to deserve, in time, the “Constantin Brâncoveanu” Award as well,” said the tenor Alin Stoica as he received his award.
Film – Daniel Sandu
The 39-year-old director was honoured by the jury of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards for his feature film “One Step Behind the Seraphim”. Gabriel is the main character of the film. The teenager wishes to become a priest and enters an Orthodox theological seminary. At first he tries to integrate and adapt to life in the seminary. In the end, however, Gabriel realises that the system is corrupt and abusive. Thus he and three other classmates become problem pupils in the eyes of the school board. Caught in a hostile and corrupt environment, the teenagers learn that in order to survive in the seminary they must acquire some less worthy skills, such as lying, stealing, manipulation and betrayal.
Theatre – Andrei and Andreea Grosu
Aged 35 and 36 respectively, the married couple are the founders of the independent theatre “Unteatru”. They were honoured for their direction of the exceptional production “Exit the King” by Eugène Ionesco, which premiered in 2017 at the National Theatre in Bucharest.
History – Mircea Gheorghe Abrudan is 31 years old and is the editor, translator and author of the introductory study, notes and indexes of the volume “Description of Oltenia in 1723” by Friederich Schwartz von Springfels, 2017.
Literature – Claudiu Komartin
At 34, Claudiu Komartin is regarded by the jury members of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards as a leading exponent of the young generation of Romanian writers. He was honoured for the volume “Masters of a Dying Art”, Cartier Publishing House, Chișinău, 2017.
“It is honourable and heartening that in times when culture is hardly valued, the Alexandrion Foundation gets involved and offers support to young writers,” said Claudiu Komartin on the stage of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards Gala. There, Claudiu Komartin also praised the rigour and impartiality of the jury, after admitting that professionally he had not always been on the same wavelength as the jury member for the Literature section, yet, as it turned out, he was awarded the prize.
Medicine – Dr Nicolae Crișan
At 38, Dr Nicolae Crișan is a senior consultant physician, senior lecturer and head of the Urology Department of the Cluj-Napoca Municipal Hospital, a practitioner and onco-urological surgeon who, in 2017, as one of the first users of robotic surgery, gave this method a new dimension and achieved exceptional results, recognised in Romania and abroad. The award was presented to him by Prof. Dr. Ioan Coman, whose student and disciple the young laureate had been.
Visual Arts – Maia Ștefana Oprea
The 30-year-old is a painter and an artist of great substance who has received study scholarships in France and the USA. Maia Ștefana Oprea has held solo exhibitions in Romania and abroad; she has taken part in prestigious biennials and international creative camps; and her works are held in major collections in Romania and abroad.
“I am very honoured by the description given by the jury members, and I want to thank the jury and the Foundation for this award. Three years ago I spent a great deal of time in a library in France, trying to discover who I am as an artist. This award shows that my work has not been in vain,” said Maia Ștefana Oprea, visibly moved, on the stage of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Gala.
Architecture – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Horia Moldovan
At 39, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Horia Moldovan is already the author of books and modern projects, a participant in exhibitions in Romania and abroad, and the author of works of complex scale. He designed social housing and, among others, the Mizil Town Hall building, in 2017. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Horia Moldovan is the author of the historical and architectural study underpinning the restrictions and permissions concerning intervention works for the conservation of the Călui Monastery ensemble in Olt County.
For the first time in the history of the Galas organised by the Alexandrion Foundation, this year the jury of the “Matei Brâncoveanu” Awards was similar to that of the “Constantin Brâncoveanu” Gala. It was chaired by Academician Dan Berindei, with Prof. Andrei Marga as vice-president. The jury also included Prof. Dr. Grigore Constantinescu, Prof. Dr. Ioan Scurtu, Prof. Dr. Marian Moiceanu, Liviu Ioan Stoiciu, writer, Magda Mihăilescu, film critic, Ileana Lucaciu, theatre critic, Ștefan Râmniceanu, visual artist and laureate of the “Constantin Brâncoveanu” Awards, and Dumitru Constantin, publicist and secretary of the jury.
In addition, the Alexandrion Foundation presented a special award to its partners at B&B Distribution Prahova for their excellent collaboration and results over the past year. The trophy was collected by Viorel Aldea, the company’s general director.
