The child who discovered a clarinet inside the Matei Basarab High School music room is now one of the world's greatest clarinetists. Today, after almost 60 years of music activity, the maestro Aurelian Octav Popa confesses that he has found his way in life due to his parents who advised him to follow the Art's path once they realized his passion for the clarinet. After he graduated the Bucharest Conservatory, Aurelian Octav Popa attended professional training courses in Paris and the USA and then Sergiu Celibidache's conducting courses held in Trier. He was awarded prizes in international competitions, firstly at the Prague Musical Spring in 1959, being the first Romanian instrumentalist who obtained the First Prize abroad, then in Budapest, Birmingham, Utrecht and Genève.

Interpreter of many musical pieces for the first time

He performed in Romania for the first time, chamber works belonging to famous composers of the 20^th century, such as, Bartok, Stravinsky, Berg, Schönberg, Messiaen and Honegge and also in symphonic concerts along with orchestras. His Romanian series of clarinet concerts is very significant: Aurel Stroe, Tiberiu Olah, Anatol Vieru, Ștefan Niculescu, Adrian Iorgulescu, Wilhelm Berger, Cornel Țăranu, Tiberiu Faytol, Alexandru Pașcanu and Mihnea Brumariu. His list of works for solo clarinet is extremely large and the central piece belongs to Tiberiu Olah: The Majestic Bird Sonata. Among the numerous albums, the most important one is that along with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, with Mircea Cristescu as the conductor, which received the highest rate in the French magazine, Répertoire.

Clarinetist, conductor, …

In the George Enescu International Festival he appeared in many hypostases, as a member of the orchestra, as an interpeter of chamber works and a soloist, as the main conductor of the Constanța Philharmonic Orchestra and the Woodwind Ensemble of the George Enescu Philharmonic. As a soloist and conductor, he has toured in many countries along with the Constanța Orchestra, the Cannes Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic, and the National Radio Orchestra. Modest, communicative and gifted with a spontaneous humour, the maestro Aurelian Octav Popa is described by the German media as being the Romanian 'star clarinet' who makes the birds sing.

Anniversary

On Friday, 10^th October, 2014, the Maestro celebrates his 77^th anniversary. Radio Romania Music wishes him a Happy Birthday! and dedicates to him a show within the section the Performer of the Day, where you can listen to Carl Maria von Webber and Marțian Negrea's works performed by the famous clarinetist.

Arpeggio, 10^th October, 2014, at 10:00, produced by Monica Isăcescu