A Bach Concert

One of the first successful novels written by a female author in Romania, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu’s A Bach Concert remains a classic work of Romanian literature. Originally published in 1927 in Romanian, the novel follows the life of the Hallipa family. The main plot revolves around a Bach concert organized by Elena Hallipa-Draganescu for the elite society of Bucharest. It’s a story of high society intrigue, family tragedy, East European urban life after World War I, and culture. Published for the first time in English, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu’s realistic novel will delight its readers with stories of this long-forgotten era.

Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu was born in 1876 in Galati, Romania. After her marriage with General Nicolae Papadat at only 20 years old, her literary career was stalled because of frequent military relocations and the need to care for her three children. She started publishing stories in literary magazines and in 1919 she published her first novel. Unfortunately, after a long life filled with literary accomplishments and collaborations, she died forgotten by her friends and former colleagues at the age of 79. Gabi Reigh won the Stephen Spender Prize for poetry translation in 2017, which inspired her to translate more Romanian literature. As part of her Interbellum Series project, she has translated interwar novels, poetry, and drama by Lucian Blaga, Liviu Rebreanu, and Mihail Sebastian, including The Town with Acacia Trees, which received a PEN Translates award. Her translation of The Illuminated Burrow by Max Blecher will be published in 2022. Olga Rogozenco is a talented young artist from the Republic of Moldova.