On Tuesday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m., the Romanian Academy will host the gala dedicated to the awarding of the “Monica Lovinescu” 2024 Prize, organized by the Humanitas Aqua Forte Foundation and the Humanitas Publishing House.
In the opening of the Gala, the famous pianist Dan Grigore will perform the Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the pianist George Todică, laureate of the international “George Enescu” Competition, will perform the Prelude in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, in Alexander Siloti’s transcription, Impromptu Op. 90, no. 3 in G flat major, Impromptu Op. 90, no. 4 in A flat minor and Ständchen by Franz Schubert.
In the second part of the event, you will be able to watch the dialogue between Gabriel Liiceanu and Horia-Roman Patapievici, followed by the awarding of the “Monica Lovinescu” 2024 Award by the president of the jury, Ioana Pârvulescu. Tickets for the Gala can be purchased on the Eventbook.ro platform
The “Monica Lovinescu” award granted by the “Aqua Forte” Humanitas Foundation was established in 2023, the year that marked the centenary of the birth of one of the remarkable women of modern Romanian history. Unlike the currently existing awards, which privilege fiction, the “Monica Lovinescu” Award is dedicated to non-fiction books from the humanistic area and to far-reaching intellectual endeavors (editing of critical editions, coordination of extensive works, difficult translations from the universal cultural heritage, recoveries of manuscripts, memoirs, important essays).
For the second edition of this award, worth 10,000 euros, books published between August 31, 2023 and August 31, 2024 were considered. The shortlist of this year’s edition includes the following titles (in alphabetical order):
1. Ana Blandiana, More-than-the-past. August 31, 1988–December 12, 1989, Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2023
2. Costică Brădățan, Praise of failure. Four Parables of Humility, translated by Vlad Russo, Spandugino Publishing House, 2024
3. Cristina Cioabă, Monica Lovinescu. A life, a voice, a destiny, Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2023
4. Vlad Russo (translator), Montaigne, Essays, complete edition Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2021–2023
5. Radu Tudorancea, War and captivity. Romanian prisoners of war in the First World War, Târgoviște, Cetatea de Caun Publishing House, 2024
