Martha Argerich Admitted to Romania's Faithful Service Order

The renowned pianist received the rank of Grand Officer

The Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich has been made a Grand Officer of Romania's Faithful Service Order, in recognition of her substantial and sustained contribution to music. Ion Marin, Honorary Consul of Romania, conveyed the honor at a ceremony in Lugano, Switzerland on March 27, 2025.

The ceremony was attended by several diplomats and musicians, including Andreea Guțu (Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Romanian Embassy in Bern), Daniele Finzi Pasca (theater director), Mischa Maisky (cellist), Michel Gagnon (General Director of Lugano Arte e Cultura), and Vincent Augustin (General Director of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation).

At the event, Argerich spoke of her enduring links to Romanian culture and Romanian musicians, including Ion Marin, Radu Lupu, Sergiu Celibidache, Madeleine and Dinu Lipatti, Clara Haskil, and Eugen Ionescu.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1941, Argerich began piano lessons at age five under Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Recognized as a child prodigy, she quickly began performing regular concerts and recitals. In 1955, she moved to Europe to continue her studies in London, Vienna, and Switzerland with renowned teachers Bruno Seidlhofer, Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Dinu Lipatti, and Stefan Askenase.

In 1957, she won both the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions and the Warsaw International Chopin Competition in 1965. Since then, she has been celebrated as one of the world’s leading pianists. She is frequently engaged by the world's most prestigious orchestras, conductors, and music festivals across Europe, Japan, America, and Israel.

Argerich has received similar honors from the governments of France, Japan, and Italy, and she was given Kennedy Center Honors by Barack Obama in 2016.