Sala Palatului, Bucharest
The Enescu Festival is a bi-annual event initiated in the late 1950s by the Romanian music composer George Enescu (1881-1955). It gathers orchestras from around the world to perform in the 4 000-seat Sala Palatului which is an extension of the former royal palace of the capital of Romania. The hall was primarily designed for speech intelligibility in order to accommodate congresses, but not classical music concerts.
After using an MCR system for several years, the acoustic quality of Sala Palatului has been upgraded significantly in recent years through a combination of a new electro-acoustic enhancement system (Amadeus Acoustics) and architectural acoustic reflectors for improved on-stage communication and projection from the stage to the hall. Through tuning of both the reflectors and the electro-acoustic enhancement system, a significant acoustic improvement could be obtained, as recognized by conductors Cristian Macelaru, Klaus Mäkelä and András Schiff and orchestras like the Royal Concertgebouw, the French National Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic (London) and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, to name but a few.
Information Sheet
Tuning/Intervention Sala Palatului, Festivalul George Enescu salapalatului.ro/festivalul-george-enescu
Location Bucharest, Romania.
Time Frame Bi-annual since 2009. Renovation and acoustic upgrade: 2023-2025.
Client George Enescu Festival.
Seat Count Sala Palatului (or Palace hall) has a 4 000-seat capacity for congresses and is set-up for 3 000-seats in concerts/music festival configuration.
Uses Symphonic music concerts.
Services Acoustics support throughout the festival, from Amadeus Acoustics system tuning to orchestral balance monitoring along with design and fine tuning of acoustic reflectors on stage; overall acoustic support to production and musical staff.
Consultants Cees Mulder, Eckhard Kahle, Émilie Carayol, Vincent Berrier, Jannis Kriz, Kahle Acoustics.
Final setup and acoustic optimisation for the first rehearsals of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, 2025. Photo © Kahle Acoustics
London Philharmonic orchestra's rehearsal during the 2017 Enescu Festival in Sala Palatului as seen from the top of the 4 000-seat former palace hall initially dedicated to congresses. Photo © Ilina Schileru
Tuning of the electro-acoustic system along with stage acoustic optimisation here during the rehearsal of the London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Vladimir Yurowski (2017). Photo © Ilina Schileru
The use of hung microphones acting as an electro acoustic canopy or overhead sound reflectors. Photo © Ilina Schileru
Electro-acoustic canopy created through the integration of six loudspeakers in the truss above stage. Photo © Ilina Schileru
Discussion on the orchestral balance, here with both the festival director and the conductor. Photo © Ilina Schileru
Entrance façade of Sala Palatului, hosting the bi-annual Enescu Festival, with the former Royal Palace in the background. Photo © Ilina Schileru