Fănică Luca

Who was Fănică Luca?

Fănică Luca was a Romani-Romanian musician and a pan pipe virtuoso, who was the first to make this instrument popular outside his own country.

He learned music from his father and brothers. Fănică Luca himself would also play in such orchestras, developing great skills and gaining a reputation as a pan pipe virtuoso.

In the 19th century the nai - originally an instrument of the lăutari with only 8 to 10 pipes, covering a little more than one octave - had been extended to about 20 pipes, giving far greater possibilities to a solo performer. Remarkable is the fact that Fănică Luca never learned reading musical scores, he always played by the ear.

In 1910, at the age of only 16, he made his first international concert tour, during which he spent some months in İzmir, Turkey. Between 1920 and 1929 he regularly played in the best restaurants of Bucharest and his fame spread all over Romania. In 1929 he performed in Warsaw and Paris.

It was his concerts at the Universal Exhibition of Paris which gave the pan pipe its first popularity in the West. In 1937 Fănică Luca received the "Palme d'Or" from the French Ministry of National Education.