Bucharest welcomes a new major classical music event this September. The first edition of the Bucharest International Piano Festival – BIPF takes place between September 22 and 26, 2026, in the Great Hall of the Romanian Athenaeum, bringing five consecutive evenings of solo piano recitals to one of the city’s most emblematic concert venues.
The inaugural edition features five internationally active pianists: Mădălina Pașol, Cătălin Șerban, David Kadouch, Mihai Ritivoiu and Khatia Buniatishvili. Each evening is built around the intimacy of the solo piano recital, with programmes ranging from Bach, Rameau and Chopin to Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Enescu.
Bucharest International Piano Festival 2026
The Bucharest International Piano Festival was created around a simple concept: placing the solo piano recital at the centre of the experience.
Unlike festivals built around large orchestras or mixed programmes, BIPF dedicates each evening to a single pianist and a carefully constructed repertoire. The result is five distinct musical journeys inside the Romanian Athenaeum, one of Bucharest’s most important cultural landmarks.
The festival takes place every evening at 19:00, from September 22 to September 26.
Bucharest International Piano Festival 2026 Programme
Tuesday, September 22 – Mădălina Pașol
19:00 – Romanian Athenaeum
Romanian pianist Mădălina Pașol opens the first edition of BIPF with the festival’s gala concert.
The programme moves across several centuries of piano music, beginning with George Enescu and Jean-Philippe Rameau before continuing through Schumann, Rachmaninov, Chopin and Liszt.
Programme:
- George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, arrangement by Mădălina Pașol
- Jean-Philippe Rameau – L’Égyptienne
- Jean-Philippe Rameau – Les Boréades / Entrée de Polymnie, arrangement by Mădălina Pașol
- Jean-Philippe Rameau – Les Sauvages
- Robert Schumann – Arabeske, Op. 18
- Robert Schumann – Träumerei, Op. 15
- Robert Schumann – Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74: No. 10, Der Kontrabandiste, arrangement by C. Tausig
- Sergei Rachmaninov – selected Preludes
- Frédéric Chopin – selected Preludes, Op. 28
- Franz Liszt – Liebesträume, S.541: No. 3
- Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, arrangement by Mădălina Pașol
Mădălina Pașol studied at the University of the Arts in Berlin and has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in Romania and abroad. Her career includes appearances at the Romanian Athenaeum, collaborations with Romanian orchestras and participation in international piano competitions.
Wednesday, September 23 – Cătălin Șerban
19:00 – Romanian Athenaeum
Berlin-based Romanian pianist Cătălin Șerban takes the stage on the second evening of the festival with a programme centred on Debussy, Liszt and Rachmaninov.
Part I
- Claude Debussy – Images, Book I
- Franz Liszt – Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse
- Au lac de Wallenstadt
- Au bord d’une source
- Les cloches de Genève
- Franz Liszt – Concert Paraphrase on themes from Verdi’s Rigoletto
Part II
- Sergei Rachmaninov – Études-Tableaux, Op. 39
Cătălin Șerban has performed at venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Berliner Philharmonie and Romanian Athenaeum, with a repertoire particularly focused on Romantic, post-Romantic and early modernist piano music.
Thursday, September 24 – David Kadouch
19:00 – Romanian Athenaeum
The third evening brings French pianist David Kadouch to the Romanian Athenaeum.
Kadouch’s international career began at a very young age, and he has since appeared at major European festivals and collaborated with leading orchestras, conductors and chamber musicians.
His Bucharest programme moves from Chopin and Liszt to Ravel, Fauré, Barber and Tchaikovsky.
Part I
- Frédéric Chopin – Nocturnes, Op. 9 Nos. 1, 2 and 3
- Franz Liszt – Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
- Franz Liszt – Réminiscences de Lucia di Lammermoor
- Frédéric Chopin – Ballade No. 4
Part II
- Maurice Ravel – Jeux d’eau
- Maurice Ravel – Miroirs, No. 2, Oiseaux tristes
- Gabriel Fauré – Barcarolle No. 1
- Samuel Barber – Excursions, Op. 20
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Dumka
- Tchaikovsky/Grainger – Waltz of the Flowers
Friday, September 25 – Mihai Ritivoiu
19:00 – Romanian Athenaeum
Romanian pianist Mihai Ritivoiu, currently based in London, performs on the fourth evening of BIPF.
Ritivoiu is a laureate of several national and international competitions, including the George Enescu International Competition, where he also received the special prize for the best interpretation of an Enescu piano sonata. His career includes appearances at Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Romanian Athenaeum and festivals in Europe and Asia.
Part I
- Robert Schumann – Allegro, Op. 8
- George Enescu – Suite, Op. 10
Part II
- Claude Debussy – Suite bergamasque
- Francis Poulenc – Mélancolie
- Manuel de Falla – Fantasia Bætica
The inclusion of Enescu is particularly fitting for a recital at the Romanian Athenaeum, a venue closely connected to the composer’s legacy and to Romania’s classical music tradition.
Saturday, September 26 – Khatia Buniatishvili
19:00 – Romanian Athenaeum
The inaugural Bucharest International Piano Festival concludes with one of the most internationally recognised pianists on the programme, Khatia Buniatishvili.
Buniatishvili has performed with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Vienna Symphony, Munich Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra, working with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Myung-Whun Chung.
Her closing recital brings together Schumann, Liszt, Satie, Chopin, Bach and Schubert.
Part I
- Robert Schumann – Fantasy in C major, Op. 17
- Schubert/Liszt – Gretchen am Spinnrade
- Franz Liszt – Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Part II
- Erik Satie – Gymnopédie No. 1
- Frédéric Chopin – Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4
- Frédéric Chopin – Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
- Johann Sebastian Bach – Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
- Franz Schubert – Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90 No. 3
- Schubert/Liszt – Serenade
- Franz Liszt – Consolation No. 3
- Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
Five Pianists, Five Different Musical Perspectives
One of the defining elements of the first Bucharest International Piano Festival is the contrast between the five recital programmes.
Mădălina Pașol opens the festival with a broad programme connecting Romanian music with French Baroque, Romanticism and the great virtuoso repertoire.
Cătălin Șerban focuses on the relationship between colour, landscape and pianistic architecture in Debussy, Liszt and Rachmaninov.
David Kadouch combines some of Chopin’s most intimate works with the virtuosity of Liszt and the distinctive musical languages of Ravel, Barber and Tchaikovsky.
Mihai Ritivoiu brings George Enescu into dialogue with Schumann, Debussy, Poulenc and de Falla.
Khatia Buniatishvili closes the festival with a programme moving between monumental Romantic works and some of the most immediately recognisable pages of the piano repertoire.
The Romanian Athenaeum: The Setting for BIPF 2026
All five concerts take place in the Great Hall of the Romanian Athenaeum, one of the most recognisable buildings in Bucharest and one of Romania’s most important classical music venues.
The concert hall has approximately 800 seats and is known for its distinctive circular interior, decorated dome and acoustics particularly suited to classical music and solo recitals.
Located next to Revolution Square, the Athenaeum is within walking distance of Calea Victoriei and many of central Bucharest’s main attractions.
Bucharest International Piano Festival 2026 Tickets
Bucharest International Piano Festival is a ticketed event.
Tickets are available for the individual recitals through the official Bucharest International Piano Festival website.
Visitors interested in a particular pianist should check ticket availability before arriving, especially for the closing recital with Khatia Buniatishvili.
Bucharest International Piano Festival 2026 at a Glance
Event: Bucharest International Piano Festival – BIPF
Edition: First edition
Dates: September 22–26, 2026
Time: 19:00 each evening
Venue: Romanian Athenaeum – Great Hall
Address: 1–3 Benjamin Franklin Street, Bucharest
Artists: Mădălina Pașol, Cătălin Șerban, David Kadouch, Mihai Ritivoiu, Khatia Buniatishvili
Format: Solo piano recitals
Tickets: Available through the official BIPF website
How to Get to Bucharest International Piano Festival
The Bucharest International Piano Festival takes place at:
Romanian Athenaeum
1–3 Benjamin Franklin Street, Bucharest
The Romanian Athenaeum is located in central Bucharest, immediately next to Revolution Square and a short walk from Calea Victoriei.
The closest metro station is Piața Romană, while Universitate station is also within walking distance.
For five evenings, Bucharest International Piano Festival places the piano alone at the centre of the stage. With a programme combining internationally established artists, Romanian pianists and repertoire spanning several centuries, the festival adds a new classical music event to Bucharest’s September cultural calendar.
