12/09/1887, Sulina, Romania – 01/09/1964, Budapest, Romania
Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and lived to make recordings in the stereo era. Over the course of his career, he presided over the Romanian premieres of more than 400 works from the international literature and world premieres of more than 100 Romanian compositions, and he opened the way for other Romanian musicians, including Mihail Jora and Jonel Perlea. The Romanian government recognized his contributions by awarding him the Romanian State Prize in 1949 and 1957 and naming him a People's Artist of the Romanian People's Republic in 1954.
