Constantin Dimitrescu (; 19 March 1847 in

Blejoi Blejoi is a commune in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Blejoi, Ploieștiori, and Țânțăreni. Natives * Geo Bogza Geo Bogza (; born Gheorghe Bogza; February 6, 1908 – September 14, 1993) was a Romanian a ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

– 9 May 1928) was a

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a '' ...

composer and music teacher, one of the most prominent representatives of the late

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

period.

Background

Born in

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third most ...

, he was taken to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

at an early age, once his musical talent was recognized. There he studied

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and composition with some of Romania's best-known music teachers. Funds were subsequently made available for him to continue his education in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and then later in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

where he studied with, among others, the famous cello

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

Auguste Franchomme Auguste-Joseph Franchomme (10 April 180821 January 1884) was a French cellist and composer. For his contributions to music, he was decorated with the Légion d'honneur in 1884. Life and career Born in Lille, Franchomme studied at the local conse ...

Musical work

Upon his return to Bucharest, he became principal cellist of the

Bucharest Philharmonic Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and also of the National Theater Orchestra. In later years, he served as conductor for both. He was also engaged as a professor at the

Bucharest Conservatory The National University of Music Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Naţională de Muzică București, UNMB) is a university-level school of music located in Bucharest, Romania. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy in ...

, where one of his students was

George Georgescu George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associa ...

, later to become an important conductor after a hand injury forced him to abandon a successful career as a cellist.Biographical sketch published for Concursul George Georgescu 2008 International Contest for Performing Artists, Tulcea, Romania
Despite his many occupations and duties, Dimitrescu found time to compose orchestral and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

tic works as well as chamber music. In fact, it was his great love of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

which led him to found Bucharest's first permanent

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

. He served as its cellist for many years. Thus it comes as no surprise to find that throughout his long musical life, Dimitrescu composed string quartets, seven in all. *''Serenada română'' (Romanian Serenade) for cello and piano, Op. 9 *''Dans ţănănesc'' (Peasants Dance; also known as "Rustic Dance") for cello and piano, Op. 15 *String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 21 *String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 26 *String Quartet No. 3 in B major, Op. 33 *String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 38 *String Quartet No. 5 in F major, Op. 42 (published 1890) *Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra *Concerto No. 2 for cello and orchestra *''Sergentul Cartuș'', Opera (1883) *''Renegatu'', Opera (1886) *''Sanda'', Opera (1886) *''Nini'', Comic Opera in 3 acts (1897); premiered 1898 in Bucarest; libretto by Dimitrie Ionescu-Zane *''Sănziana şi Pepelea'', Musical Fairytale in 5 Acts (1899); premiered 1899 in Bucarest; libretto by

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanians, Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavian Revolution of 1848, Moldavia and Wallachian Re ...

References

External links

Constantin Dimetrescu String Quartet No.1, Op.21
Soundbites & Information. * Academic staff of the National University of Music Bucharest Romanian composers People from Blejoi 1847 births 1928 deaths Romanian classical cellists Romanian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) {{Romania-composer-stub