“He was my idol, because every working week with Silvestri was like real schooling. Every week we had to perform with Silvestri we were paying close attention as every moment was a novelty. He came well prepared just like a teacher, every single time. He had great talent and was a great conductor. Silvestri remains for the rest of my life the man that I admired, respect and will always remember for as long as I live.” Ioan Beldi, tuba player.

“Personally, when I was a child, he was only a name I read about, but I discovered him when I left Romania, because abroad, Constantin Silvestri is a name that has a strong response. Almost two years ago (2011) I had the opportunity to talk with the great conductor Vladimir Jurowski and when he heard that I was Romanian, the first thing that he told me was that one of his favourite conductors was Constantin Silvestri and he asked me if I had any of his music scores so I should send him whatever I could. I am honoured to perform together with the National Radio Orchestra, as it was the same orchestra that he conducted at the age of seventeen.” Cristian Măcelaru, conductor

After his conductor’s debut at the Albert Hall it was written about Silvestri that he was “a talent that bordered genius”, and Mihail Jora said that “his adagios are an amazing richness of the senses and I do not shrink from saying that in the Romanian musical area he is exceeded only by Enescu.”

Constantin Silvestri (31^st May, 1913 – 23^rd February, 1969) is the ‘Perfomer of the Day’ Friday, 21^st February, on Radio Romania Music, 45 years since his departure.

The portrait of the one who was the conductor of the Bucharest Radio Symphony Orchestra, the music director of the Romanian Opera and the Bucharest Philharmonic, the amazing ‘Silvestri phenomenon’ on Arpeggio, presented by Ana Voinescu at 10:00.