Isidor Vorobchievici

Isidor Vorobchievici was born in Czernowitz, present-day Chernivtsi, on 18 May 1836, and died in the same city on 18 September 1903. He was a Romanian composer, pedagogue and writer, a figure in the musical and cultural life of Bukovina in the second half of the nineteenth century, when choral societies and amateur groups were shaping a national artistic movement.

After training with Krenn at the Vienna Academy of Music, he returned to Czernowitz, where he taught music in Romanian schools. For teaching purposes he published a harmony manual in 1869, probably the first of its kind in the Romanian language, and a German-language treatise on music theory in 1871, both intended for teachers and amateurs alike. His choral output, folk songs and patriotic songs were aimed at schools and musical societies. His pupils included Eusebius Mandyczewski, Ciprian Porumbescu and Tudor Flondor.

His music drew on ideas from folklore and from ancient Romanian church chant, frequently employing modal techniques. As a writer he is remembered above all for a study of Romanian music, though he also cultivated articles, poetry, drama and editorial work.

His legacy lies in this combination of teaching, composition and literary activity, which contributed to the cultural development of Romania during a period of national affirmation.