Martha Argerich was honoured with the ‘Order of Faithful Service in the rank of Grand Officer’ in Romania

Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich has been awarded the Order of Faithful Service in the rank of Grand Officer of Romania, in recognition of her substantial and sustained contribution to the field of music. Ion Marin, Honorary Consul of Romania, presented the award at a ceremony in Lugano, Switzerland, on 27 March 2025.

The ceremony was attended by several diplomats and musicians, including Andreea Guțu (Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Romanian Embassy in Bern), Daniele Finzi Pasca (theatre director), Mischa Maisky (cellist), Michel Gagnon (General Director of Lugano Arte e Cultura) and Vincent Augustin (General Director of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation).

At the event, Argerich spoke about her enduring links with Romanian culture and musicians, including Ion Marin, Radu Lupu, Sergiu Celibidache, Madeleine and Dinu Lipatti, Clara Haskil and Eugen Ionescu.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1941, Argerich began piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Recognised as a child prodigy, she quickly began performing regular concerts and recitals. In 1955, she moved to Europe to continue her studies in London, Vienna and Switzerland with renowned teachers Bruno Seidlhofer, Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Dinu Lipatti and Stefan Askenase.

In 1957, she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions and in 1965 the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since then, she has been celebrated as one of the world’s leading pianists. She is frequently engaged by the most prestigious orchestras, conductors and music festivals in Europe, Japan, America and Israel.

Argerich has received similar honours from the governments of France, Japan and Italy, and in 2016 Barack Obama awarded her the Kennedy Center Honors.

News source here.