17 TALICH QUARTET The Romanian violinist, conductor and composer Georges Boulanger ( 1893-1958) (baptised Ghiță Bulencea) is considered one of the most important light music violinists of the inter-war period. He learned the rudiments of the violin from his father, but at the age of twelve, after obtaining a scholarship, he left to study at the Bucharest Conservatoire. When the famous violinist Leopold Auer (1845-1930) heard him playing Paganini, he sent him to study in Dresden for two years. Despite an excellent classical education, his activities as a composer and performer focused mainly on dance music, fox-trots, marches, and tangos. Probably one of his best-known hits is Avant de mourir, later known as My Prayer with words by Jimmy Kennedy (1902-1984). Another piece from his vast repertoire, Serenade du Tzigane, is not only utterly captivating but also entertaining - if only because it is anything but a serenade in the traditional sense of the word. The Romanian violinist, conductor and composer Grigoraş Dinicu (1889-1949) was born with similar talents to those of Boulanger. Thanks to his diligence, he too won a scholarship to study at the Vienna Conservatoire but was unable to enter because of his Romanian origin. He never forgot this injustice and became involved in the Romanian Roma political movement. His professional musical career remains linked to Bucharest, where he worked as a soloist and orchestral violinist, and directed popular music concerts and the Pro Musica ensemble.
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