At every step, Bucharest reveals a story. Its streets hide the stories you can only discover if you get caught up in the charm of the city and forget for a few moments of daily worries. With the help of people we can best feel the rhythm in which the life of this story place is pulsing.
The Bucharest we present today is that of the artists, of the people for whom the city is an invaluable muse.
Angela Ilioska is one of the artists who chose the Romanian Capital. She came here to study, and today her heart beats to the rhythm of the city that naturally received her and led her on the way to her dream: conducting.
The music became soothing
The 23-year-old girl was born in Kruševo, Macedonia. She studied high school in her native country, in Bitola, at the section of musical theory and flute. She was not a child directed by parents to music. Angela discovered her natural path, step by step.
“I had my first contact with music at a singing festival with Aromanian music for children, without necessarily having a fondness for singing with the voice. Before high school, I did two years of general music training with the teacher in my hometown. He was the one who noticed that I pay special attention to music. Being from a very small town, I did not have very easy access to teachers who would prepare me musically. So, from the beginning I was warned that if I want to follow this path of music, I will have to dedicate myself completely and make many sacrifices, which is a difficult road”, says Angela.
And she didn’t have an easy life! After the moment she lost her mother, her only relief was the music. Only art allowed her to express her feelings. She grew up with her father and younger brother, and all her efforts went to the passion that helped her find her way.
Her father did not look too happy with this decision, and when she announced that she was going to Romania to continue her musical studies, he did not fully support her. “My father, having no education in the field, was not pleased with my choices, especially when, after high school, I decided to come to Romania. However, none of this made me deviate from the path I chose. I was in the last year of high school, when I heard that there is a scholarship for Aromanians, which offered the opportunity to study at the National University of Music Bucharest, for free studies. At the time, I knew very little about the place that I could get to. A purely personal reason why I chose this city would be the special architecture, to a certain extent, similar to the one in my city”, stresses the young artist.
She has opted for conducting
Angela Ilioska is not a regular artist. The young girl from Macedonia chose a field that we usually associate with men. It is about conducting. Few women dare to access this side.
“Through the 11th grade I had my first contact with conducting. In high school, conducting class was compulsory. The teacher was very severe and required a lot of seriousness. I liked this subject, although at first it seemed impossible, and from here my passion was born. So I began to study the great conductors, such as Arturo Toscanini and Herbert von Karajan. Of course there are many obstacles for a woman who chooses such a complex job, traditionally intended for men. I choose not to be affected at all by the possible misogynistic reactions and I want to believe that there is no difference between man and woman in terms of conducting area. I have been warned many times that my struggle in conducting area will be heavier than that of a man,” points out Angela.
She loves the diversity of Bucharest
Bucharest tells its story best through the experiences of the people who come to discover the city.
Angela Ilioska is one of the many people who came from another country and found in the Romanian capital the resources necessary to train and express through her art.
The artist’s journey in Macedonia was not an easy one. The first time she walked in Bucharest she had the impression that the city could eat her alive. “But gradually I came to understand the city and to make friends with both the people here and the places. At the same time, the city seems to me an extremely diverse one, interested in culture, a muse city for the artists who cross it,” notes the young girl.
The time spent in the Romanian capital made her want to stay here as long as possible and she hopes that, after completing her studies, she will fulfill her dream, and the bureaucratic problems will not prevent her from settling in the city of adoption.
Until she has to make a final decision, Angela enjoys the moments she now lives: she studies, she participates in cultural events, she is involved in projects related to her profession, she explores places in Bucharest.
“I like to think I’m a person who doesn’t say no, no matter how difficult it may seem to be a challenge at first sight. At the same time, I always felt that I could call on my teachers, who were with me in these professional challenges. I had the opportunity to conduct the University orchestra and choir several times, I was on a tour in Bordeaux, France as assistant conductor. At this moment I am involved in a project with the opera class from the University”, mentions the young girl.
And the remaining time is used for exploring Bucharest, because, as she has already told us, the city is a muse for the artist who crosses it.
Cișmigiu Park is her favorite place. “Cișmigiu Park remains as mysterious and charming to me. I often spend my time there, with my parties,” says Angela.
She loves the opera so much, so whenever she has the opportunity she goes to the shows presented by the Bucharest National Opera.
And as she is lucky to live very close to Victory Avenue, she often walks around this area and discovers its magic.
Like any young person, she has an affinity for the places of relaxation in Bucharest, preferring the quiet cafes where she can spend pleasant moments with her friends.
“I like all the streets of Bucharest with the interwar smell, where I love to walk, to admire the architecture full of history, which I did not have the opportunity to live, but which I feel as if it belonged to me,” says Angela.
A glass of water near the coffee
She characterizes Bucharest as a city that is quite rich and different from any other place where she had the opportunity to go. “I like diversity and, contrary to public opinion, I like agglomeration. Although it can be depressing at times, it keeps me moving. I do not like not focusing on young people as much as I would like, especially in art. I would like to make it easier for us to express ourselves in front of the general public. At first the city seemed gray, even very gray. Gradually, it began to have color,” stresses Angela.
The young artist is of the opinion that Bucharest should not make great efforts to become a tourist destination that more and more foreigners want to see. There are only small details that should be taken into account and starting from here you could achieve the desired success.
“A small but important step for me would be to have a glass of water next to the coffee in the cafes. And on a large scale, I think that its architecture and its charm could be promoted differently from all the other big cities, the big and welcoming soul and the cultural diversity”, concludes Angela Ilioska.
Discovering such stories, we Romanians do nothing but learn, receive life lessons that can help us better understand our city, country, see our mistakes, realize the chance that has been given to us when we were born here.
The story of Bucharest told by foreigners coming to this city to study, to work is an authentic, sincere, real one.
Author: Ștefania Enache
Photo: Corina Gheorghe
