Ion Voicu – The Decca Recordings (2 CDS)

Ion Voicu was a legend in his own country, Romania and in the profession at large and appeared in most major musical centres. Yet he was not as well known in the English-speaking countries as he should have been. The long cold war and the dictatorial regime in his native land were mainly to blame for this state of affairs but fortunately Voicu was able to make a few precious recordings on visits to the west. Ion Voicu was born into the gypsy tradition in Bucharest on 8th October 1923. His father was a violinist and the family could trace their musical involvement back 300 years. He made his concert début aged sixteen with Paganini’s First Concerto. Ion Voicu died in Bucharest on 24th February 1997. ‘He was an outstanding violinist with a superb technique,’ says his Romanian successor Sherban Lupu. ‘His performances of the Paganini First Concerto were spectacularly memorable. I grew up as a small boy with him as a model for me, an aspiring young student. He was a very pleasant man – I