Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian opera singer and one of the most famous contemporary sopranos. Often compared to Maria Callas, she is known for her powerful and flexible voice, stage presence and the way she brings to life very different opera characters.

n Romania in the 1960s and 1970s, Cioran was a mysterious, almost mythological, presence. One would hear that such a person existed, but it was impossible to read him. His French books were neither sold nor published in translation, and his Romanian books had disappeared without a trace. Although he had departed his homeland some ten years before the war and the communist takeover, he was as invisible as the most unspeakable, or un-nameable, of non-persons

The renowned Romanian musician George Enescu was equally remarkable as a violinist, composer, conductor, pianist and violin teacher. He is best known for bringing the sound of the Romanian traditional folk songs into classical music.

Romanian writer Filip Florian will hold a reading session and present his debut novel at the International Literature Festival in Edinburgh on Thursday, August 19, according to Polirom publishing house.

Ilie Nastase was the first famous Romanian tennis player. His colorful personality and the spectacular playing style earned him nicknames like "Nasty", or “Bucharest Buffoon”. In 1973, he made sports history when he was ranked as the world’s No.1 player in professional tennis.

Eugen Ionescu is a famous Romanian playwright who has developed a wide variety of surrealistic techniques in dramatics. His works initially labeled as avant-garde, helped him become one of the main playwrights of what is known as the Theater of the Absurd.

Romanians have long ago started to play songs with English lyrics- and sometimes even went for more exotic languages: Portuguese, Brasilian. The sound is sometimes so good that you can't tell from a first audition whether it is a Romanian or a foreign song. There are several Romanian-born songs which became top of the list this summer on radio shows and in clubs. Here are the first three of them.

Ben Lewis, who has won numerous international awards for his documentaries, and is also a television presenter and writer, who contributes regularly to “Prospect”, the “Evening Standard” and the “Sunday Telegraph”, has found and gathered “evidence that the jokes were linked to resistance not apathy. Communist jokes – albeit certain kinds – I now knew, accompanied the fall as well as the rise of Communism.”

You might have listened to a Suie Paparude song recently, maybe without knowing the name of the band. Its recent song Soundcheck has quickly spread across Romania as it is broadcast on most radio stations.

Gheorghe Hagi - “The Maradona of the Carpathians”, as he has been labeled by the media, is seen as the greatest Romanian football player of all times. He was the first Romanian who has played for European top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Galatasaray. Through his outstanding dribbles, vision, execution of pass and shots from distance, he managed to impose himself as one of the world’s best players alongside Maradona or Pelé.

Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian opera singer and one of the most famous contemporary sopranos. Often compared to Maria Callas, she is known for her powerful and flexible voice, stage presence and the way she brings to life very different opera characters.

n Romania in the 1960s and 1970s, Cioran was a mysterious, almost mythological, presence. One would hear that such a person existed, but it was impossible to read him. His French books were neither sold nor published in translation, and his Romanian books had disappeared without a trace. Although he had departed his homeland some ten years before the war and the communist takeover, he was as invisible as the most unspeakable, or un-nameable, of non-persons

The renowned Romanian musician George Enescu was equally remarkable as a violinist, composer, conductor, pianist and violin teacher. He is best known for bringing the sound of the Romanian traditional folk songs into classical music.

Romanian writer Filip Florian will hold a reading session and present his debut novel at the International Literature Festival in Edinburgh on Thursday, August 19, according to Polirom publishing house.

Ilie Nastase was the first famous Romanian tennis player. His colorful personality and the spectacular playing style earned him nicknames like "Nasty", or “Bucharest Buffoon”. In 1973, he made sports history when he was ranked as the world’s No.1 player in professional tennis.

Eugen Ionescu is a famous Romanian playwright who has developed a wide variety of surrealistic techniques in dramatics. His works initially labeled as avant-garde, helped him become one of the main playwrights of what is known as the Theater of the Absurd.

Romanians have long ago started to play songs with English lyrics- and sometimes even went for more exotic languages: Portuguese, Brasilian. The sound is sometimes so good that you can't tell from a first audition whether it is a Romanian or a foreign song. There are several Romanian-born songs which became top of the list this summer on radio shows and in clubs. Here are the first three of them.

Ben Lewis, who has won numerous international awards for his documentaries, and is also a television presenter and writer, who contributes regularly to “Prospect”, the “Evening Standard” and the “Sunday Telegraph”, has found and gathered “evidence that the jokes were linked to resistance not apathy. Communist jokes – albeit certain kinds – I now knew, accompanied the fall as well as the rise of Communism.”

You might have listened to a Suie Paparude song recently, maybe without knowing the name of the band. Its recent song Soundcheck has quickly spread across Romania as it is broadcast on most radio stations.

Gheorghe Hagi - “The Maradona of the Carpathians”, as he has been labeled by the media, is seen as the greatest Romanian football player of all times. He was the first Romanian who has played for European top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Galatasaray. Through his outstanding dribbles, vision, execution of pass and shots from distance, he managed to impose himself as one of the world’s best players alongside Maradona or Pelé.