Emil Simon

• Name — Emil Simon • Born — 24 September 1936 • Birthplace — Chișinău, Romania (now Moldova) • Died — 25 February 2014 • Place of death — Cluj-Napoca, Romania • Occupation — Conductor, composer • Years Active — 1961–2014

Born in 1936 in Chișinău, Romania, Emil Simon began studying the piano at the early age of 6. After acquiring more musical knowledge at the Music High School, he continued his studies at the "Gheorghe Dima" Conservatory in Cluj, Romania where he studied under the composer and musicologist Sigismund Toduță and conductor Antonin Ciolan. During these years, he was awarded the "George Enescu" State Scholarship. • Illustration — Emil Simon during rehearsals After graduating in 1960 from the Conservatory in Cluj with a double major in Symphonic Orchestra Conducting and Composition, Simon was immediately appointed Permanent Conductor of the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj, a position he held for most of his career of over 50 years. In February 1964 he completed post-graduate courses in Paris at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger, Manuel Rosenthal and Olivier Messiaen. He also continued his studies in conducting with Sergiu Celibidache, in Stockholm, Paris, Munich, and Prague. His international debut came in September of the same year, winning the First Prize among the 40 competitors of the 14th International Competition for Young Conductors, in Besançon, France. During his long career, he conducted more than 1500 concerts. He was a guest conductor of all the symphony orchestras in Romania, including the National Radio Orchestra of Romania and the "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra Bucharest, as well of many orchestras in Europe, North America and Asia such as the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Sofia Symphonic Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1998 and 2000, Emil Simon was also the artistic director of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj. Emil Simon had a wide-ranging repertoire of symphonic works of all periods and styles, and he was a promoter of symphonic music written by Romanian composers, like George Enescu, Sigismund Toduta, Cornel Țăranu, Liviu Glodeanu, Mihai Moldovan, and Tiberiu Olah, among others. Many of these pieces were recorded in Romania for broadcast on radio and television, as well as on LPs and CDs, primarily for the Electrecord label. As a composer, Simon composed a symphony, a sonata for orchestra, and two cantatas as well as numerous instrumental chamber music pieces and vocal works. In his role as a teacher, he participated in the formation of new generations of Romanian musicians by teaching the Orchestra and Chamber Music classes at the "Gheorghe Dima" Conservatory. Simon was also invited to be a judge in international competitions in Italy, Germany, Hungary, and he taught master classes at various universities.