SoNoRo Festival 19
Ex libris

Bucharest – Cluj
1-17 November 2024

„Where words fail, music speaks.”

Hans Christian Andersen

SoNoRo Festival 2024, 19th Edition

Ex libris appeared in the last quarter of the 15th century, inspired by the medieval practice of including portraits or other symbols indicating ownership on prayer books.
An ex libris is meant to remain in the memory of humanity, to transcend time once its owner leaves this world and the books outlive it.
Ex libris were small works of art containing heraldic shields, portraits, symbols, mottoes or quotations, the owner’s profession and even erotic themes.
Clubs and societies were dedicated to this small insignia. It has had an artistic but also a social function, documenting events that have marked human history, an example being an ex libris in the context of the First World War; commissioned in 1914, it depicts a crumbled building under which is written “Here was my library”. At one point the ex libris even became a gift idea, given to friends on special occasions or as an apology for a mistake.
Queen Marie of Romania had an ex libris created by Paul Groudhomme in 1922. It depicts St. George with the royal crown worn at the coronation in Alba Iulia above him, shining like the sun.
In 1988, within the Museum of the First Romanian School in Șcheii Brasov, Dr. Emil Bologa set up an ex libris museum (about 500 exhibits in three rooms), the first of its kind in the country.
Personalities of the time, libraries, institutions and collectors – all have been subject to the fascination of the ex libris. Beyond its symbolism as a token of ownership, the ex libris has stood the test of centuries and remains a small work of art, and the SoNoRo audience is invited to discover the link between music and literature in this Edition.

Răzvan Popovici, Executive Director

The writer Mario Vargas Llosa said that we live as many lives as we read books; perhaps a composer has lived as many lives as he has composed. What about us musicians who perform hundreds of compositions? If we inevitably compare them to the volumes that a person reads over a lifetime, we too probably accumulate many lifetimes and pass on all the stories and experiences in these compositions. In this way, there is an intrinsic link between music and literature, the very message of this Ex libris Edition. Hundreds of years have passed since the practice of marking the volumes that one has in one’s personal library was created, and the world has moved on. Many aspects of postmodern life have changed, but the act of reading and listening to music have remained as constant as a rock by the sea. Regardless of the waves of change that have swept through the centuries, literature and music are two inner landmarks that we can enjoy at any time, especially in today’s infernal noise. We can always come back to reading and music, for they can be both our anchors and the zones of beauty and stillness in every human life. I invite you to read or re-read the books that inspired us this year to create this year’s SoNoRo Ex libris Edition and to come to the concerts that will give a unique encounter with some of the great titles of universal literature.

Diana Ketler, Artistic Director

The best books are the ones which have not been read yet, and the best concerts are yet to be played, heard, experienced. This year we present SoNoRo Ex Libris, but not to indicate the ownership as it was originally intended when the fine art of bookplate came to life many centuries ago. Quite the opposite, we want to underline that music, be it inspired by great works of literature or our own imagination, belongs to everyone who has an open heart and mind to listen. We will spend the SoNoRo weeks in the best company – wonderful musicians, inspiring audience, genius composers and writers. We aspire to give the old stories new meanings, create new connections, to play the game of creation on stage, taking it out of the privacy of our intimate libraries.