Ion Bogdan Ștefănescu
Prof. Dr. Ion Bogdan Ștefănescu
The introductory chapter of the conference aims to trace the emergence of the flute and the connotations it has held in various of the world’s ancient cultures.
Every music lover is familiar with the sound of the flute, which seems to have been given to mankind on one of the glorious days of the World’s Creation. The fact that mythology attributes the invention of the flute to the gods lends it a divine aura. For example, in Greek mythology, the legend is that Pan invented the flute (the panpipes) in order to enchant men and gods alike.
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Short Biography
Prof. Dr. Ion Bogdan Ștefănescu is solo-flute at the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and, also, soloist with the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra (Timișoara). He is Flute Professor at the Bucharest National University of Music. In 2002 he has earned a PhD in musicology with the thesesis ”The influence of the archaic techniques and timbralities for flute compositions in the twentieth century”.
Ștefănescu made his debut as a soloist on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum in 1983, at the age of fourteen. Since 1983, he has performed as a soloist all over the world in countless recitals and concerts. He is a member of the Contraste Trio, a founder member of the ProContemporania and Profile ensembles, a member of the George Enescu Quintet, and a founder of the Barock Orchestra (2006) and Flute Power (2016). He has recorded more than forty CDs, released in Germany, the U.K., the U.S.A., and Romania.
He has received numerous national and international prizes: the Constantine Brancusi Prize for Excellence, presented by the Grand National Lodge of Romania in partnership with the Romanian Academy (2018); the UNIMIR Diploma and Medal of Excellence for his performance of A. Jolivet’s Concerto at the twenty-first Georges Enesco Festival (2013); the Order of Cultural Merit, in the rank of Chevalier, bestowed by the President of Romania (20122); Muzica magazine’s Prize for Performance (2009); the Union of Composers Prize for Performance, awarded to the Contrasts Trio (2009); the Union of Composers Prize for Solo Performance, awarded for the first time (2007); The Order of Cultural Merit, bestowed by the President of Romania (2004); the Lions Club Prize for Best Performance, awarded at the seminar presided over by James Galway (Italy, 2003); the Cella Delavrancea Prize for Cultural Merit (1991); the First Prize of the George Dima Conservatory, Cluj (1987); First Prize, Concertino, Prague (1986); First Prize, National Flute Competition, Bucharest (1985); G.B. Viotti Diploma of Merit, Vercelli, Italy (1984).
Since April 2012, he has been a member of the Union of Romanian Writers. His books include: Signs—Touches; A Poem that Leaves Death Agape (Book of the Year Prize, 2016, Bucharest Branch of the Union of Writers); A Cry Within; Six Scripts in Search of a Director; The Voice of the Blood; The Pass-Word (APLER Special Prize); Cage without Bars; Of Stones and Birds; The Ages of the Flute; Game of Mirrors.