Mihaela Ursuleasa

Mihaela Ursuleasa (27 September 1978 – 2 August 2012) was a Romanian concert pianist. In 1995, she won the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition.

Mihaela Ursuleasa
Ursuleasa during a recording session in 2011
Background information
Birth nameMihaela Ursuleasa
Born(1978-09-27)27 September 1978
Brașov, Romania
Died2 August 2012(2012-08-02) (aged 33)
Vienna, Austria
Genresclassical, chamber
Occupation(s)concert pianist
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1995–2012
Websiteursuleasa.com

Biography

Ursuleasa began playing the piano at the age of five under the tutelage of her Romani father, a jazz musician. In 1990, at the age of 12, she obtained a grant to study in Vienna. She went on to perform at Carnegie Hall, with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester in Berlin, with the Orchestre National de France, as well as with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.[1]

In 2000, she received an honorable mention at the XIV International Chopin Piano Competition.

In 2010, she was awarded the Echo Klassik award for her debut album Piano & Forte. She released her second album, Romanian Rhapsody in 2011.

Death

Ursuleasa was found dead in her Vienna home on 2 August 2012 of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 33. She is interred at the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.[2][3][4]

Ursuleasa was memorialised by her musician colleagues, such as the violist, Maxim Rysanov, who paid homage to Ursuleasa with his 2012 album "PAVANE" and reckoned her as a wonderful musician and a very special person.[5]

Discography

Solo albums
  • 2010: Piano & Forte (Berlin Classics)
  • 2011: Romanian Rhapsody (Berlin Classics)—featuring violinist Gilles Apap.
    • featuring George Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11, No. 1; Paul Constantinescu's Suite for Piano; Franz Schubert's Three Piano Pieces, D.946; Béla Bartók's Two Romanian Dances, Op. 8a, Sz. 43, and Rhapsody for Violin and Piano No. 2, Sz. 90.

Ensemble albums
  • 1995: XVIth Clara Haskil Competition 1995 with the Orchestre De Chambre De Lausanne & Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conducting. (Claves Records)
  • 2010: Patricia Kopatchinskaja: Rapsodia (Naïve)--featuring violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, cimbalomist Viktor Kopatchinsky, violinist Emilia Kopatchinskaja, pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa

References
  1. Renowned Romanian pianist Ursuleasa dead at 33. 3 August 2012 USNews. Retrieved 8-5-2012
  2. Dowling, Siobhan (3 August 2012). "Romanian concert pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa dies, aged 33". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  3. "Romanian pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa dies aged 33". BBC News. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  4. "Romanian pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa dies in Vienna aged 33". Romania-Insider.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  5. The booklet of the album "PAVANE", by Maxim Rysanov and Ashley Wass, released by BIS in 2012


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