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Grigoraș Dinicu (1889–1949)

October 2, 2026 · Istorie și personalități rome

Grigoraș Dinicu was a virtuoso Romanian violinist and composer of Roma origin, known worldwide for “Hora staccato”. Jascha Heifetz said of him that he was the best violinist he had ever heard.

Grigoraș Dinicu, violonist
Grigoraș Dinicu. Public domain.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Key moments in his life

  • 3 April 1889 – born in Bucharest, in the lăutari quarter “Scaune”, into a family of musicians. His grandfather, Angheluș Dinicu, was a famous pan-flute player.
  • He receives his first violin lessons from an old lăutar, Moș Zamfir, who teaches him “Ciocârlia” and “Doina haiducului”.
  • 1902–1906 – studies violin and composition at the Bucharest Conservatory. At his graduation exam, on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, he receives First Prize and, among the encores, plays “Hora staccato” for the first time.
  • 1913–1935 – for 22 years he plays at Ionică Enescu’s restaurant, where George Enescu, Victor Eftimiu and great soloists of the world passing through Bucharest come to listen to him.
  • The 1920s–30s – international recognition: London (Green Park Hotel), Monte Carlo, where he meets George Enescu and Fritz Kreisler, and Paris. In 1932, Jascha Heifetz plays his concert transcription of “Hora staccato” in Vienna, known ever since as “Dinicu-Heifetz”.
  • 1939 – plays at the World’s Fair in New York, together with Maria Tănase.
  • In the interwar period he is Honorary President of the General Union of Roma in Romania.
  • 1946 – Yehudi Menuhin comes to hear him, and Dinicu plays “Ciocârlia” for him one last time.
  • 28 March 1949 – dies in Bucharest. At the funeral, the “Barbu Lăutaru” Orchestra plays “Hora staccato”.

Well-known compositions

Hora staccato (1906), Hora mărțișorului, Ceasornicul, Căruța poștei, Hora spiccato (also known as Hora „Furtuna”). He collected, arranged and performed numerous Romanian folk melodies, including the famous Ciocârlia.

Legacy

“Hora staccato” is part of the repertoire of the world’s great violinists, from Jascha Heifetz to this day. Dinicu was awarded the Crown of Romania (1927), the Star of Romania (1932) and the title of Officer of the French Academy (1933). He remained in Bucharest’s memory as the “king of the lăutari”.

Sources