Ovidiu Marinescu, one of the outstanding musicians of his native Romania, was invited to play at Carnegie Hall for Romanian President Constantinescu on an official visit to the United States. Soon after, he made his debut with the New York Chamber Symphony in Beethoven's Triple Concerto, followed by recitals in Merkin Hall (New York), Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. His concerto appearances include the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the Slobodkin Center, Helena and Newark Symphonies in the US, Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic, and many others. Often featured as both conductor and soloist, Marinescu has been showcased in both roles with the Chamber Orchestra of the Romanian Radio, Orquesta de Extremadura in Spain, and Helena Symphony. Recent performances include concerto appearances with Limeira Symphony in Brazil, Cleveland Philharmonic, Great Falls, Portsmouth and Immaculata Symphonies, Independence Sinfonia, Philadelphia Orchestra Society and several recitals at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall).
Marinescu’s critically acclaimed first recording "Fiesta Latina" was followed by a recording of the complete Miaskovsky cello works with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Kenneth Boulton released by Cambria. His recording of the Bach Cello Suites, released by Navona Records, has received international critical acclaim, last year alone receiving over 50,000 hits on Spotify. The recent recording of the Arthur Gottschalk Sonata for Cello and Piano has received the Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards for 2014.
Marinescu has performed at festivals in Luzerne, Bayreuth, Chautauqua, South Bohemia, Orlando and Brasov, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and Magie Barocche in Italy, and recently was one of the featured artists at the Parma Festival. Active as a chamber musician, between 1995 and 2002 Marinescu was a member of Adirondack Ensemble, a year-around resident group in New York State that performed over 200 concerts, presented school programs and founded Adirondack Music Camp. Recently Marinescu performed recitals at Bargemusic and Carnegie Hall in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles. He is a member of Trio Casals, group hailed for its recent performances in Weill Hall and its Moto Continuo recording for Parma Recordings.
A product of the illustrious Romanian National Academy of Music, he won first prize and Music Critics' Award in the George Dima Cello Competition. In the United States, he studied with Wolfgang Laufer at the University of Wisconsin, and with Orlando Cole, at Temple University. Marinescu has been honored in Romania with invitations to perform with many renowned orchestras including the orchestras of Cluj, Iasi and Brasov. In addition, he has toured with Bucharest Symphony.
Marinescu has commissioned and premiered many new works for cello solo, among which are those of Jae-Wook Kim, Andrew March, and his brother, Liviu Marinescu. Penn Presents featured Marinescu in a multi-media program at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia featuring works for solo cello, film and electronics by Andrea Clearfield, Richard Belcastro, David Ludwig, Paul Geissinger, teamed with four local filmmakers. In 2000, Marinescu premiered with the Newark Symphony "Anecdote" for cello and orchestra by Hilary Tann, recorded with Targu Mures Philharmonic in Romania for Parma Recordings, followed by the first performance of "Ostinato" by Liviu Marinescu with "Orchestra 2001" in Philadelphia. In January of 2015 he performed the premiere of a new work for cello and orchestra by Kile Smith, commissioned for him by Helena Symphony. Marinescu is on faculty at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Equally outstanding as a conductor, Marinescu combines a precise technique with great musical inspiration. He served as the Director of the West Chester University Symphony, which under his leadership made a sold out debut at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and embarked in its first European tour. Subsequently, the orchestra was invited to participate in the prestigious Catania International Festival in Sicily, Italy. He served as the conductor for the Wilmington Orchestra, the Music Director of the Immaculata Symphony and Manalapan Orchestra in New Jersey, and Principal Conductor of the Goppisberg Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. His guest conducting includes the George Enescu International Festival in Romania, the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow, the Bacau, Craiova, Ploiesti, Botosani, and Brasov Philharmonics in Romania, Filarmonica de Gaia in Portugal, and Orquesta de Extremadura in Spain, both as conductor and soloist. Marinescu led the Delaware Chamber Orchestra in its first tour abroad, with performances for the South Bohemia Festival in the Czech Republic. Marinescu has conducted the world premiere of the ballet Helen Keller by The Rebecca David Ballet Company in Philadelphia. He has developed several programs for young audiences, including a narrated version of Lt. Kije by Prokofiev.
Known for his powerful interpretations of orchestral works by Russian composers, Marinescu was invited to record Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 5 and Marche Slave with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow. Other conducting recordings include orchestral music by Samuel Barber, Michael Cunningham, Rain Worthington, Stephen Limbaugh III, David Laganella, and Andrea Clearfield, also recorded in Moscow. A Parma Recordings artist, Marinescu has eight album releases as a cellist, conductor, or chamber musician, and has embarked on a long term project to record American cello works and orchestral compositions. Marinescu has developed and is co-producing a TV documentary series entitled Resonate, which explores music-making with people from across the globe, with the first episode filmed in Cuba.
Marinescu’s critically acclaimed first recording "Fiesta Latina" was followed by a recording of the complete Miaskovsky cello works with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Kenneth Boulton released by Cambria. His recording of the Bach Cello Suites, released by Navona Records, has received international critical acclaim, last year alone receiving over 50,000 hits on Spotify. The recent recording of the Arthur Gottschalk Sonata for Cello and Piano has received the Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards for 2014.
Marinescu has performed at festivals in Luzerne, Bayreuth, Chautauqua, South Bohemia, Orlando and Brasov, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and Magie Barocche in Italy, and recently was one of the featured artists at the Parma Festival. Active as a chamber musician, between 1995 and 2002 Marinescu was a member of Adirondack Ensemble, a year-around resident group in New York State that performed over 200 concerts, presented school programs and founded Adirondack Music Camp. Recently Marinescu performed recitals at Bargemusic and Carnegie Hall in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles. He is a member of Trio Casals, group hailed for its recent performances in Weill Hall and its Moto Continuo recording for Parma Recordings.
A product of the illustrious Romanian National Academy of Music, he won first prize and Music Critics' Award in the George Dima Cello Competition. In the United States, he studied with Wolfgang Laufer at the University of Wisconsin, and with Orlando Cole, at Temple University. Marinescu has been honored in Romania with invitations to perform with many renowned orchestras including the orchestras of Cluj, Iasi and Brasov. In addition, he has toured with Bucharest Symphony.
Marinescu has commissioned and premiered many new works for cello solo, among which are those of Jae-Wook Kim, Andrew March, and his brother, Liviu Marinescu. Penn Presents featured Marinescu in a multi-media program at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia featuring works for solo cello, film and electronics by Andrea Clearfield, Richard Belcastro, David Ludwig, Paul Geissinger, teamed with four local filmmakers. In 2000, Marinescu premiered with the Newark Symphony "Anecdote" for cello and orchestra by Hilary Tann, recorded with Targu Mures Philharmonic in Romania for Parma Recordings, followed by the first performance of "Ostinato" by Liviu Marinescu with "Orchestra 2001" in Philadelphia. In January of 2015 he performed the premiere of a new work for cello and orchestra by Kile Smith, commissioned for him by Helena Symphony. Marinescu is on faculty at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Equally outstanding as a conductor, Marinescu combines a precise technique with great musical inspiration. He served as the Director of the West Chester University Symphony, which under his leadership made a sold out debut at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and embarked in its first European tour. Subsequently, the orchestra was invited to participate in the prestigious Catania International Festival in Sicily, Italy. He served as the conductor for the Wilmington Orchestra, the Music Director of the Immaculata Symphony and Manalapan Orchestra in New Jersey, and Principal Conductor of the Goppisberg Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. His guest conducting includes the George Enescu International Festival in Romania, the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow, the Bacau, Craiova, Ploiesti, Botosani, and Brasov Philharmonics in Romania, Filarmonica de Gaia in Portugal, and Orquesta de Extremadura in Spain, both as conductor and soloist. Marinescu led the Delaware Chamber Orchestra in its first tour abroad, with performances for the South Bohemia Festival in the Czech Republic. Marinescu has conducted the world premiere of the ballet Helen Keller by The Rebecca David Ballet Company in Philadelphia. He has developed several programs for young audiences, including a narrated version of Lt. Kije by Prokofiev.
Known for his powerful interpretations of orchestral works by Russian composers, Marinescu was invited to record Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 5 and Marche Slave with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow. Other conducting recordings include orchestral music by Samuel Barber, Michael Cunningham, Rain Worthington, Stephen Limbaugh III, David Laganella, and Andrea Clearfield, also recorded in Moscow. A Parma Recordings artist, Marinescu has eight album releases as a cellist, conductor, or chamber musician, and has embarked on a long term project to record American cello works and orchestral compositions. Marinescu has developed and is co-producing a TV documentary series entitled Resonate, which explores music-making with people from across the globe, with the first episode filmed in Cuba.