Romanian Pianist Valentin Gheorghiu has Died, Aged 95

The pianist and composer was one of the leading Romanian musicians of the twentieth century

The pianist Valentin Gheorghiu, who was one of Romania's foremost musicians, has passed away.

Born in Galaţi in 1928, Gheorghiu initially studied at the Bucharest Conservatory, where his piano teacher was Constanța Erbiceanu and his composition teachers were Mihail Jora and Mihail Andricu. He then went on to Paris, where he undertook advanced piano studies with Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire National de Musique.

Gheorghiu first entered the public eye in 1958, when he won the George Enescu International Competition alongside his brother, the violinist Ştefan Gheorghiu. The pair performed Enescu's Third Sonata.

His compositional output covers a range of media: two symphonies, a piano concerto, piano and cello sonatas, as well as a string quartet and a piano trio are among his works.

Gheorghiu was the recipient of distinguished honors from the government of Romania, chiefly when he was made a member of the country's National Order Star — one of the nation's greatest distinctions.

Our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

You can view archive footage of Gheorghiu, courtesy of British Pathé, below.