05/11/1673, Moldova — 01/09/1723, Dmitrovka, Russia
Moldovan and Russian statesman and scientist. In 1703-1704 he created the "Book of the Science of Music". Cantemir made a great contribution to the development of Turkish music living in Constantinopol (Istambul) in 1687-1710 (with breaks). He became a virtuoso performer on the tanbur and nae, organized a music school, collected and recorded Turkish melodies using original musical notation of his own invention, and gained wide fame as a composer. His works are still performed in concerts of Turkish classical music.