Constantin Silvestri

Born in Bucharest, Constantin-Nicolae Silvestri (1913–1969) became in succession, the principal conductor of the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra and artistic director of the Romanian National Opera and the National Radio Symphony orchestras. Having made his UK début with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957 at the Royal Albert Hall, Silvestri defected to Great Britain in 1961 and assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He raised the standard and prestige of the orchestra to one of international standing. In the words of the epitaph on his memorial stone in the churchyard of St. Peter’s, Bournemouth, Silvestri was “an outstanding musician and a remarkable man.”