Ilarion Ionescu-Galați (born 17 September 1937) is a Romanian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and orchestra conductor.

Early years

Born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, he started to study music with his father (an amateur musician). He graduated from the

Music Conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger i ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and became a well-known violinist, performing in concerts all over Romania and also abroad. Having decided to become a conductor, he was granted a scholarship in the field, to

École Normale de Musique École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

in Paris, France, where he studied with Pierre Dervaux. Following that, he studied in the United States with

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

and

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

Career

Back in Romania, Ionescu-Galați became the conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra in Braşov. He also conducted many

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s in Romania and many others from the United States, Japan,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden (he was permanent conductor at

Gävle Symphony Orchestra The Gävle Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra based in Gävle, Sweden. The orchestra is resident at the ''Gävle Konserthus'' (Gävle Concert Hall). History Founded in 1912, giving its first concert on 16 January that year, the orchest ...

), Russia,

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, Spain, Greece,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(he was the permanent conductor and artistic director at Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and also permanent conductor at

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Symphony Orchestra and

Bilkent Bilkent is a district in Ankara, Turkey, with the postal code 06800 where Bilkent University is located. Besides Bilkent University, a technological improvement and tech start-up center called CYBERPARK is also located inside the district. CYBERPA ...

Symphony Orchestra). He taught conducting classes and violin classes in the United States, Romania, Greece and Turkey. Ilarion Ionescu-Galați played with soloists such as Lazar Berman,

Radu Lupu Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teache ...

Fazıl Say Fazıl Say (; born 14 January 1970) is a Turkish pianist and composer who has worked internationally. Life and career Say was born in Ankara in 1970. His father, Ahmet Say, was an author and musicologist. His mother, Gürgün Say, was a pharm ...

, Josu de Solaun Soto, Felicia Filip, Daniil Shafran, Igor Oistrakh, Valery Oistrach, Viktor Pikaisen, Rudolf Kerrer, Ion Voicu, Magda Tagliaferro, İdil Biret, Ayla Erduran, Sabine Meyer, Costas Cotsiolis, Aris Garoufalis, Theodore Kerkezos and several others. His discography contains many titles including

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

(all ''Sei sonate a quattro''),

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

(Fifth Symphony), and

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

( Seventh Symphony, with the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra),

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

, and

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. After leaving Braşov Philharmonic Orchestra, he became permanent conductor and Honorary Director of the Ploieşti Philharmonic Orchestra.

Recognition

He received medals, honors and assorted prizes and diplomas in Romania, Turkey, Greece and several other countries. In 2008 the pianist Ioana Maria Lupascu wrote a non-fiction book, in which Ionescu-Galați is the main character.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu-Galati, Ilarion Romanian male conductors (music) Romanian violinists Male violinists Musicians from Iași 1937 births Living people 21st-century Romanian conductors (music) 21st-century violinists 21st-century Romanian male musicians