Between May 22nd and May 25th, 2025, in Bucharest, the Frequenza Festival will take place, a new event dedicated to chamber music, bringing internationally acclaimed artists to Romania's capital for a series of four concerts.

On this occasion, the renowned trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov, the festival's co-founder and artistic director, had a chat with our colleague, Ioana Țintea.

You're returning to Bucharest with a double feature - as a performer and, at the same time, as a co-organiser and artistic director of the Frequenza Festival. What inspired you to hold this festival in Romania, and what significance does the title have?

"Frequenza" originates from the musical term for frequency. This is the reason we chose this name. As for the inspiration to hold the festival in Romania… I have performed here before, and I enjoyed it very much. After, I assembled an extraordinary team of artists, and the core idea was to combine the concept of a chamber music festival with that of a festival dedicated to brass instruments. Therefore, I gathered my dear friends from all around the world to sing together. We are eagerly awaiting this event. It's our first edition, so we are all very excited!

How did you choose the artists that have been invited, and what ties you to them artistically speaking?

Well, I had the opportunity to perform very often both at string chamber music festivals, as well as festivals dedicated to brass instruments. There is, in fact, an entire movement of brass instrument playerswho perform all over the globe - and, honestly, sometimes it feels like we're part of some kind of cult, a true "church of brass". It sounds funny, but that's how it feels from the inside. Chamber music festivals are also extraordinary events, organised throughout the world, but with a completely different repertoire and atmosphere. As for the artists who will participate in the festival, I would like to start with the legendary David Taylor, on bass trombone - a remarkable musician who, throughout his career, has played with Leopold Stokowski, Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, and Michael Jackson, to name a few. So, we are talking about a true legend - a musician who is also a composer, who has performed a lot of classical music over the years, and who continues to go on tours even today. Not to mention, he will be turning 81 soon. He is, without a doubt, a living legend. Then we have Sergio Carolino on the tube - an extraordinary virtuoso. You have to listen to him to believe what he can truly do. Elias Faingersh is a completely one-of-a-kind artist. He is a trombone comedian and he holds the one-man show kind of international tours where he combines acting, humour and live music performance. As part of the festival, we have a really special project, Kopf Kino - a novel representation, with new music composed especially for us by the Israeli composer Uri Brenner. There will also be works by other composers, including myself as a performer and composer for brass instruments. And of course, I cannot fail to mention my musical partner, Maria Meerovich. We have been playing together for over 20 years. We have performed a lot of chamber music together - she is an exceptional musician and a wonderful friend. I am very proud that we were able to organize this festival together. We also have Krystoff Baráti from Hungary, an extraordinary violinist. There is also Kevin Zhula on violin, winner of the Paganini Competition. At the same time, we have violinists Pavel Berman and Eva Bindere as guests, more wonderful artists. An evolution will have Zvi Plesser from Israel, a great cellist, with whom I have performed several times at chamber music festivals. Alongside him, Jing Zhaoo, an outstanding cellist, winner of the prestigious ARD Competition, and an artist who tours all over the world. On the viola, we have Roman Spitzer - an exceptional musician and a very dear friend. I think I've mentioned them all, and if I happened to miss anyone, I invite you to come to the festival and discover them in person.

The Frequenza Festival's proposal is bridging classical music and jazz. What is your personal relationship with jazz, and what do you think about this combination of styles?

I think that putting a label on music is always a complicated thing. At some point, contemporary classical music and contemporary jazz actually come together - and it's not always easy to fit them into a clear category. But at the end of the day, it's just about music. About the emotions of the musicians and the emotions of the audience. Maybe at one point, we should just let go of the labels and enjoy music for what it really is.

The festival also has an educational component: the masterclasses dedicated to young musicians. What message do you have for the students at the National University of Music in Bucharest?

Some of us will, of course, hold master classes during the festival. We will share some of our experience and, basically, we will try to help the students discover new things that can be useful to them in the future. It can be about performance, about stage presence, or, in the case of some of us, about the experience of playing in an orchestra. Therefore, so many things to learn!

What made you embrace chamber music, and how different is the experience compared to a solo concert?

For me, it is a completely different feeling. Performing chamber music is very much like having an intimate conversation with a small group of close friends. When you play solo, in front of an orchestra, you don't have the same intimacy and emotional closeness that you find in a chamber ensemble.

Throughout your career, you have often been described as a "Paganini of the trumpet" and "Caruso of the trumpet". What is your opinion about these comparisons?

I think that the journalists who wrote these things so many years ago were impressed by the way I played. Perhaps when I performed more virtuoso works, they reminded them of Paganini, and when it came to lyrical passages, they made the connection with Caruso. These are, of course, labels - comparisons that can attract the attention of the general public, especially those who don't personally know me as a performer. But, honestly, I do not think about such things.

You brought the flugelhorn into the spotlight of the concert stage, quite an unusual instrument in the classical halls. What made you interested in this instrument?

The flugelhorn has a very melodious sound. My instrument, in particular, has four valves instead of three, which gives me the possibility to play in the extended low register, unlike the trumpet. This, of course, opens up new repertoire possibilities. In general, the repertoire for the trumpet is quite narrow, but with the flugelhorn I can explore so much more than that- including works written for the French horn, because the flugelhorn can go almost as low as the French horn.