Robert Davidovici, born 1946, is a Romanian-American violinist. He took First Prize honors in the Naumburg Competition in 1972. In 1983, Davidovici tied for first place to co-win the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition. The prize was $77,000 and Davidovici received half. Robert Davidovici was born in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

region of Romania. He studied the violin with Robert Pickler in Sydney,Cfr. Philippe Borer, ''Aspects of European Influences on Violin Playing & Teaching in Australia'', MMus diss., 1988, p. 130 and passim https://eprints.utas.edu.au/18865/ with

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor. Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...

and at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York City. In 1967, he was a prize winner in the

ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards The ABC Young Performers Awards is a classical music competition for young people that ran annually from 1944 to 2015, and again from 2017. It is generally considered the most prestigious Australian classical music competition not restricted to a ...

in Australia. In 1983, Davidovici was the artist-in-residence at

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

in Denton, Texas. In 1997, while he was a

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

in the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

, Davidovici joined the faculty of

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

in Miami, Florida. Davidovici is the founding artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. In February 2007, Davidovici was soloist at Lincoln Center's

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

in the American premiere of the Kletzki Violin Concerto (1928) with the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...

conducted by

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career Botstein was ...

, following which the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' commented on the "excellent " performance. In October 2013, Mr. Davidovici performed the

Beethoven Violin Concerto The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1806. Its first performance by Franz Clement was unsuccessful and for some decades the work languished in obscurity, until revived in 1844 by the then 12-year-old vi ...

in London with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

at Cadogan Hall, under Grzegorz Nowak, after which they recorded their 2nd CD, containing the Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concerti. In February 2015, Davidovici recorded the

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

and

Tschaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Violin Concerti with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under Nowak, as their 3rd CD collaboration. A few days later, they performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the first ...

London concert series.

References

External links

Interview with Dr. Elena Ursu on Rompost TVInterview with Cecilia Burcescu on Rompost TVViolin Master Class: Robert Davidovici on Bartok's Concerto for OrchestraRobert Davidovici Website
Living people 20th-century violinists 21st-century violinists Jewish violinists Romanian violinists Male violinists 1946 births 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians {{violinist-stub