Fănică Luca (born Ştefan Luca Iordache; 5 April 1894 – 26 October 1968) was a

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musician and a Romanian pan pipe ('' nai'') virtuoso, who was the first to make this instrument popular outside his own country.

Background

He learned music from his father (who also played the ''nai'', the Romanian pan pipe, in a band (

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) of

Lăutari The Romanian language, Romanian word lăutar (; plural: ''lăutari'') denotes a class of musicians. The term was adopted by members of a professional clan of Romani musicians in the late 18th century. The term is derived from ''lăută'', the ...

) and brothers. Fănică Luca himself would also play in such orchestras, developing great skills and gaining a reputation as a pan pipe virtuoso. In the 19th century the ''nai'' - originally an instrument of the lăutari with only 8 to 10 pipes, covering a little more than one octave - had been extended to about 20 pipes, giving far greater possibilities to a solo performer. Remarkable is the fact that Fănică Luca never learned reading musical scores, he always played by the ear.

Performing career

In 1910, at age 16, he made his first international concert tour, during which he spent some months in

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, Turkey. Between 1920 and 1929 he regularly played in the best restaurants of Bucharest and his fame spread all over Romania. In 1929 he performed in Warsaw and Paris. It was his concerts at the

Universal Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

of Paris (1937) which gave the pan pipe its first popularity in the West. In 1937 Fănică Luca received the "

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

" from the French Ministry of National Education. He also performed at the New York

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in 1939. Thereafter he gave concerts in Russia, the People's Republic of China, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the USA.

Teaching career

In 1949 Fanică Luca started teaching the ''nai''. He was the teacher of a whole generation of famous Romanian pan pipe performers, such as Damian Luca, Damian Carlanaru, Constantin Dobre, Radu Constantin, Radu Simion (his son in law), Nicolae Pîrvu and

Gheorghe Zamfir Gheorghe Zamfir (; born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian nai (pan flute) musician. Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe nai, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes, to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight ov ...

. Most of his best pupils scattered all over Europe and America, driven away by the dictatorial regime of

Nicolae Ceauşescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), an Aromanian and Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Ni ...

Awards and recognition

In 1951 he received the distinction of "Eminent Artist" from the People's Republic of Romania, the highest distinction a musician could get.

References

Sources

Fănică Luca - Autobiography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luca, Fanica 1894 births 1968 deaths Romani musicians Romanian folk musicians Romanian flautists Romanian Romani people Lăutari and lăutărească music Folk flautists 20th-century flautists Romanian conductors (music)