On January 21, 2022, Speranța Rădulescu succumbed to a fight with cancer.
She was an inspiration to me as a leading light in the field of ethnomusicology in Romania. She wrote incisively about folk musicians and cared deeply about their lives and traditions.
She founded the Ethnophonie record label and was responsible for producing truly great recordings of folk musicians from every corner of Romania. This collection has been an invaluable resource for me.
She was also responsible for bringing bands such as Taraf de Haïdouks abroad for the first time, giving them international exposure. When I was in Clejani in December, Gheorghe Anghel “Caliu” talked nostalgically about his first tour in 1988, when Speranța brought Taraful din Clejani (which later became known as Taraf de Haïdouks) to Geneva and Paris, and what a life-changing experience that was for him.
You can read Caliu’s recollections of Speranța, as well as many others’, here.
I met her in 2018 when I was in Bucharest presenting a concert with Shaun Williams. A local TV station showed up to interview us, and Speranța was featured in that segment:
She graciously agreed to write a letter of recommendation for me for Fulbright, saying she was happy to support my research because I would work with “the real folk musicians from this province: excellent idea!”. I don’t know if I would have gotten approved for this grant without her help.
I wish I had gotten a chance to work with her more, and to talk to her about the process she went through to record these bands.
May her memory be a blessing.