Ion Voicu

Ion Voicu (October 8, 1923–February 24, 1997) was a Romanian violinist and orchestral conductor of Roma ethnicity. In 1969 he founded the award-winning Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, which is now conducted by his son Mădălin Voicu.

Voicu was born in Bucharest, into a family of professional musicians. At age 6, he had his first music lessons with Constantin Niculescu. At age 14, he entered the Royal Academy of Music in Bucharest, where he studied with George Enocovici. After graduating in 1940, he became violinist with the Bucharest Radio Orchestra, where he was noticed by the conductor, Willem Mengelberg; Voicu made his debut as a soloist with the orchestra soon after. In 1946, he won the first prize at a musical competition organized in Bucharest by George Enescu and Yehudi Menuhin.

In 1949, Voicu first appeared as a soloist with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra; from 1972 to 1982, he was the director of the Philharmonic.

External links

* Margaret Campbell, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970303/ai_n14091499 "Obituary: Ion Voicu"] , "The Independent", March 3, 1997
* [http://www.cimec.ro/Muzica/Inst/fenescu.htm "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra - Bucharest]