'It would be a shame if I were just a name in Romania…’ said maestro Radu Aldulescu in an interview given to Anca Florea in 2001.

The Romanian cellist Radu Aldulescu is one of the musical personalities of the Romanian artistic life and especially of the international artistic life.

Born in 1922 in a family of musicians, Radu Aldulescu started study the cello at 6 years old, being admitted at the National University of Music Bucharest two years later.

Beyond his first appearances on stage as a wonder child, his real entrance would be in 1941 with the radio orchestra, performing the Dvorak concert. Thus, he succeeded building his career during war time, becoming in 1943 the first violoncellist of the Orchestra of the Opera and then between 1950 and 1964, being the vocalist of the Bucharest Philharmonic.

The period of cultural thaw in 1964 allowed Radu Aldulescu to obtain the status of a prestigious cellist abroad , as a scholar and as Gaspar Cassadó`s asistent  in  Santiago de Compostela, in Spain and  by performing a successful debut in London with the BBC Orchestra. In 1967, in London his status as an international vocalist was confirmed, being also rewarded with the 'Harriet Cohen ' prize for ''the best foreign violoncellist made in England.'

Concerning his decision to leave Romania and after settling in Italy, the violoncellist declared that: ‘It was a necessity to have more space to move. My career had come to the point when for me it was essential to make myself known in the West.’ Therefore, his Western successful career, as a vocalist and as a schoolmaster confirmed this.

'Radu Aldulescu managed to combine in an impeccable way the left hand technique with the flexibility and the mobility of the bow, to dominate the digital exercise with the intelligence of the interpretative art, to offer to the listener the beauty of the scores without leaving the impression of physical effort. Each concert or song receives the personal identity of Radu Aldulescu, managing to highlight the most hidden parts of the work. This musician has an interior vibrato that many other violoncellists do not have, a compelling force of discourse, and an unmatched expressiveness of phrasing. Everything that Radu Aldulescu plays has life, incandescent feelings and a lot of dedication. This is Radu Aldulescu, the brilliant violoncellist of a school of secular tradition, who deserves fame and worldwide recognition.' I extracted this excerpt from Radu Aldulescu`s biography written with a lot faithfulness by Viorel Cosma. On 17^th September, the master Radu Aldulescu would have been 92 years old. The Performer of the Day' section included in today’s Arpeggio programme is a tribute to the exceptional world-class violoncellist and Professor Radu Aldulescu. We will be listening together to works by Luigi Boccherini, Gaspar Cassado and Robert Schumann in his interpretation.

Wednesday, 17^th September, 2014, Arpeggio, at 10:00; a programme presented by Monica Isacescu.