Valentin Gheorghiu (; born 21 March 1928) is a Romanian classical pianist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Gheorghiu was born in Galaţi, Romania in 1928. He was first a pupil of Constanța Erbiceanu at the Bucharest Academy of Music and then of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris, France. He is one of the leading Romanian pianists of the twentieth century. He was member of the Romanian Trio, together with Ştefan Gheorghiu and Radu Aldulescu. At the first edition of the George Enescu International Competition in 1958, he won the first prize for the best performance of the third sonata by Enescu, together with his brother the violinist Ştefan Gheorghiu. Valentin Gheorghiu was a member of the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition.“Winners, members of the jury and artistic guests”
Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition Critics: Modest much too modest, Valentin Gheorghiu is a man of perfect moral conduct: ”he remains in his place”, he does not enjoy being in the light spot, as he is too shy to assert himself. Knowing his value, let us proclaim him as a first class and authentic musician: for over a half a century, the complex musician, pianist and composer, Valentin Gheorghiu, has honestly and impressively represented the Romanian spirit.

Repertoire

Gheorghiu's wide repertoire includes many Romantic composers such as Schumann, Grieg, Brahms,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Liszt, Chopin, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, in addition to music by Beethoven, as well as modern compositions by Romanian composers, George Enescu, Paul Constantinescu and himself.

Notable recordings

*1960 - Chopin Favourite Works Solo Piano 1960 UK HMV XLP 20021 (Excellent review in Gramophone) *1985 - Schumann,

Piano Concerto in A minor The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and is among the most popular of the genre. Structure The concerto is in three movements: ...

, with Emil Simon and the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic *1986 - Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven), with Emil Simon and the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic *1987 - Grieg,

, with

Cristian Mandeal Cristian is the Romanian and Spanish form of the male given name Christian. In Romanian, it is also a surname. Cristian may refer to: People * Cristian (footballer, born 1994), Brazilian footballer * Cristian Adomniței (born 1975), Romanian engi ...

and the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic *1987 - Brahms,

Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms) The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra completed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, the following year. It was his first-performed orchestral work, ...

, with

and the Cluj-Napoca Philharmonic 1950s Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Liszt Piano Concerto No 1 with Czech Philahrmonic Orchestra and Georges Georgescu - Supraphon, now available as Supraphonline download

External links

"Valentin Gheorghiu" at Romania on Line

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gheorghiu, Valentin 1928 births Romanian classical pianists Romanian composers Living people People from Galați Conservatoire de Paris alumni 21st-century classical pianists