# Maria Tănase: from the Cărăbuș to New York and the 1940 ban *1913–1963 · Bucharest* In a career begun in 1934, she sang in New York, was banned in 1940, returned to radio in 1941 and to records in 1954. By Marius Comper · 19 September 2026 · 8 minute read ## The story, in 12 stops From the Cărămidari quarter to Bellu: each stop links to the songs of its years. ### 1. The girl from Cărămidari (1913) Born on 25 September 1913, third child of the florist Ion Coandă Tănase, an Oltenian from Gorj, and Ana Munteanu from Cârța in Sibiu county. The biographies add that the women in her father's nursery sang her childhood its first doinas. *Sources: date and family from the biographies and the AGERPRES documentary; the childhood doinas from English Wikipedia.* ### 2. Cărăbuș: Mary Atanasiu (1934) Hired in May 1934 at the Cărăbuș Theatre; on 2 June she debuts in the Cărăbuș-Express revue under the stage name Constantin Tănase chose for her. In the same period she cuts her first record for Lifa, the romance Mansarda, attributed by the cited discography to 1934. *Sources: the biographies and the AGERPRES documentary; the disc's 1934 from the cited discography.* - **Mansarda** (1934, Lifa Record): A romance by Nello Manzatti; the cited discography lists it as her first recording, from 1934. ### 3. First folk records (1937) In 1937 she records her first folk songs for Columbia, supervised by Constantin Brăiloiu and Harry Brauner, according to the biographies. *Source: the cited biographies (the Brăiloiu-Brauner supervision, the Vraciu taraf).* - **Cine iubește și lasă** (1937, Columbia DR 198): Collected by Harry Brauner in 1929; among the first two Columbia sides, with the Costică Vraciu taraf from Gorj. - **M-am jurat de mii de ori** (1937, Columbia DR 198): A sârbă from the first Columbia disc (DR 198); also on the radio-debut programme. ### 4. The radio debut (1938) On 20 February 1938, according to the biographies, she debuts on Radio Romania, live on Ora satului: 8 songs with the Ion Matache taraf from Argeș. The year differs between accounts (1937 or 1938); the near-weekly bookings also come from the biographies. On 17 August, at Vălenii de Munte, Nicolae Iorga names her the Magic Bird; in September she launches to great acclaim at the Alhambra, after the AGERPRES documentary. *Sources: the biographies (date, programme, taraf); the AGERPRES documentary (the Alhambra). Other accounts give 1937.* - **Mi-am pus busuioc în păr** (1938, Columbia DR 251): Music by Ion Vasilescu; launched to great acclaim in the Constelația Alhambrei revue in September 1938, after the AGERPRES documentary. - **Habar n-ai tu** (1938, Columbia DR 252): A slow number on Ion Vasilescu's music, launched with Mi-am pus busuioc în păr in the same revue. - **Mărioară de la Gorj** (1938, Columbia DR 266): A sârbă with the Ilie Rădulescu taraf of Pitești. - **Bun îi vinul ghiurghiuliu** (1938, Columbia DR 267): A drinking song from the Columbia DR series. ### 5. New York: the Romanian House (1939) On 16 April 1939 she leaves for the New York World's Fair, opened on 30 April; the Romanian pavilion was inaugurated on 5 May, according to the biographies. She sings at the Romanian House with the Grigoraș Dinicu orchestra and the panpiper Fănică Luca; an account in Independența Română says she also sang before President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She meets Enescu and Brâncuși. She returns in July. *Sources: the NYC municipal archives (opening on 30 April 1939); the biographies (pavilion, orchestra, meetings); Independența Română (Roosevelt).* - **Leliță cârciumăreasă** (1939, Columbia DR 276): With the Mitică Mâță taraf. ### 6. The ban (1940–1941) In the autumn of 1940, during the National Legionary State, the Propaganda Ministry ordered, according to the cited accounts, the destruction of her discs in the Radio library and of the Columbia matrices, on the pretext that she distorted folklore; later accounts link the persecution to her circle of Jewish and democratic friends. She was temporarily kept off the stage. Last concert: 20 October, in Focșani. The Timpul paper announces her radio return on 16 February 1941. *Sources: later accounts cited in the biographies; the period order was not directly consulted.* ### 7. War and the stage (1941–1947) In March 1941 she tours Turkey, with the Melody Revue in Istanbul; then she sings for the war wounded beside Enescu, George Vraca and Constantin Tănase. Then come the operetta Mascota (1944), The Living Corpse (1945), The Hollywood Sphinx (1946) and the film Romania (1947). *Sources: the biographies and the AGERPRES documentary (the Turkey tour, the Melody revue).* ### 8. The folk chair (1950–1953) In December 1950 she marries the jurist Clery Sachelarie, according to the biographies. From 1952 she teaches at Music School No. 1 in Bucharest, in the newly created folk chair. In the summer of 1953 she launches Dragi mi-s cântecele mele at the World Youth Festival. *Sources: the cited biographies (marriage, teaching chair, 1953 festival).* ### 9. Back in the studio after 11 years without new records (1954) The recording gap (last dated appearance 1943; the next, 1954) ends: she records for Radio and Electrecord. The cited biographies record the Order of Labour (9 June 1954), the State Prize (1955) and the Honoured Artist title (1 October 1957). *Sources: the cited discography (the 1943–1954 gap); the biographies (honours, with exact dates unverified against decrees).* - **Dodă, dodă** (1954, Electrecord EPB 5055): Her first disc after the 11-year recording gap (1943–1954), with the Ionel Banu orchestra. ### 10. The Ciuleandra years (1956–1958) The discs attributed to 1956: Ciuleandra, Butelcuța mea and Doina din Dolj, on her own lyrics. In 1958 she records the French-language EPC 138, translated by her sister-in-law Nicole Sachelarie, and appears in The Thistles of the Bărăgan. *Sources: the cited discography (attributed years, EPC 138); the biographies and AGERPRES (the film).* - **Ciuleandra** (1956, Electrecord EPA 2190): A dance tune with the Nicușor Predescu orchestra. - **Butelcuța mea** (1956, Electrecord EPA 2286): With the Radio folk orchestra under Victor Predescu. - **Doina din Dolj** (1956, Electrecord EPA 2036): Her own lyrics; Theodor Cosma at the piano. ### 11. The last tour (1963) In Târgu Jiu she takes the folklorist post with the Gorj taraf, in 1962, according to the biographies. Editura Muzicală publishes her Cântecele mele brochure of 20 songs in 1963. On 1 May 1963 she gives her last concert, in Hunedoara, and breaks off the tour, ill. She dies on 22 June 1963 at Fundeni, aged 49, and rests at Bellu, after the AGERPRES documentary; the biographies name lung cancer as the cause. *Sources: the biographies (the taraf, the 1963 brochure, cause of death); the AGERPRES documentary (Hunedoara, Fundeni, Bellu).* ### 12. The grand prize, the festival, the poll (After her) Her Le Chant du Monde record takes the 1965 Grand prix du disque from the Charles Cros Academy, after the biographies and the AGERPRES documentary. Since 1969 Craiova has held the festival-competition in her name; the 28th edition ran in September 2025. In 2006 a nationwide vote placed her among the 100 greatest Romanians, according to the biographies. *Sources: the biographies and AGERPRES (the prize, the 2006 poll); the press (the 28th edition).* ## The song explorer 12 pieces with the year attributed by the cited discography, the label and the catalogue number. Filter by era; each piece links back to its stop. The year may be of recording, of the matrix or of release. | Title | Year | Label | | --- | ---: | --- | | Mansarda | 1934 | Lifa Record | | Cine iubește și lasă | 1937 | Columbia DR 198 | | M-am jurat de mii de ori | 1937 | Columbia DR 198 | | Mi-am pus busuioc în păr | 1938 | Columbia DR 251 | | Habar n-ai tu | 1938 | Columbia DR 252 | | Mărioară de la Gorj | 1938 | Columbia DR 266 | | Bun îi vinul ghiurghiuliu | 1938 | Columbia DR 267 | | Leliță cârciumăreasă | 1939 | Columbia DR 276 | | Dodă, dodă | 1954 | Electrecord EPB 5055 | | Ciuleandra | 1956 | Electrecord EPA 2190 | | Butelcuța mea | 1956 | Electrecord EPA 2286 | | Doina din Dolj | 1956 | Electrecord EPA 2036 | ## What the voice was made of No metaphor without a source. Here is what the records and the critics say about how she sang. ### A repertoire the size of the country From doina to romance, tango, chanson and operetta; songs from every region and every category: doinas, lullabies, dance songs, love songs, drinking songs, lăutari songs, satires, laments. Until the early 1940s Harry Brauner built her repertoire from field-collected melodies, according to the biographies. ### Supervised by ethnomusicologists The first folk discs, from 1937, were cut under the supervision of Constantin Brăiloiu and Harry Brauner, according to the biographies. ### The microphone debut The biographies date the radio debut to 20 February 1938: a live programme, 8 pieces with a 5-player taraf; other accounts give 1937, and the near-weekly bookings likewise come from the biographies. ### The critics' verdict A bio-bibliography from the Culture Ministry in Chișinău values her as the “ideal voice of Romanian folk song”, a “true revelation”; English Wikipedia calls her the national diva, admired for originality, voice, beauty and charisma. ### The 8 songs of the radio debut The live Ora satului programme with the Ion Matache taraf from Argeș: 2 violins, double bass, cimbalom and cobza, after the cited biographies. 1. M-am jurat de mii de ori 2. Șapte săptămâni din post 3. Ce-i mai dulce ca alvița 4. Cine iubește și lasă 5. Geaba mă mai duc acasă 6. Mărie și Mărioară 7. Țigăneasca 8. Când o fi la moartea mea ## Legacy: Romania's Piaf? The comparison has followed her for a lifetime; it deserves weighing with facts, not enthusiasm. ### Why people say it English Wikipedia credits her in Romania with the importance Édith Piaf holds in France or Amália Rodrigues in Portugal; a review of Alexander Bălănescu's album Maria T calls her “Romania's Edith Piaf”. Both died in 1963: Maria on 22 June, three months short of 50, Piaf in October, two months short of 48. ### What remains The Grand prix du disque of the Charles Cros Academy (1965, posthumous), after the biographies and the AGERPRES documentary; the Craiova festival-competition (since 1969; 28th edition in September 2025), a place among the 100 greatest Romanians (nationwide vote, 2006, after the biographies), stamps in Moldova (2003) and Romania (2013), the Bellu grave. ## Quiz: true or false? 6 statements about her life. Answer, then open the explanation. 1. Maria Tănase was born in 1913, in Bucharest's Cărămidari quarter. *True. She was born on 25 September 1913, the family's third child; her father was an Oltenian from Gorj, her mother from Cârța in Sibiu county.* 2. She debuted on radio in 1934, when she joined the Cărăbuș. *False. In 1934 she debuted on stage, as Mary Atanasiu; the biographies date the radio debut, on Ora satului, to 20 February 1938 (some accounts give 1937).* 3. In 1939 she sang at the Romanian House of the New York World's Fair. *True. From April to July 1939, at the Romanian House, with the Grigoraș Dinicu orchestra and the panpiper Fănică Luca; the fair opened on 30 April, the Romanian pavilion on 5 May; she met Enescu and Brâncuși there.* 4. In the autumn of 1940 the Propaganda Ministry ordered her Radio discs destroyed. *True, according to the cited accounts: the order reportedly covered the Radio library discs and the Columbia matrices, on the pretext of distorting folklore; later accounts link the persecution to her circle of Jewish and democratic friends.* 5. Ciuleandra is disc EPA 2190, attributed to 1956, with the Nicușor Predescu orchestra. *True. Disc EPA 2190, attributed to 1956 by the cited discography; 1956 is likewise the attributed year of Butelcuța mea and Doina din Dolj.* 6. She died at 50, one year after Édith Piaf. *False. She died aged 49, on 22 June 1963, three months short of 50; Piaf died that same year, in October.* ## Sources and method The dates and years on this page come from the sources cited below, each with its quality stated: Wikipedia is a tertiary encyclopaedia, good as a starting point; the AGERPRES documentary quotes the 1969 biography by Ghiață and Sachelarie; the Chișinău bio-bibliography and the New York archives are institutional sources; the magazine article is a later account, weak as evidence. Record years and catalogue numbers are those attributed by the cited discography: the year may be of recording, of the matrix or of release. Where sources disagree (the radio debut's year, the exact honour dates, the Charles Cros prize category), the page shows the disagreement instead of choosing by deduction. The page's automatic checks control only internal consistency (that the numbers in the text agree with each other), not historical truth. The portraits come from Wikimedia Commons, with licence and author; no sound recording is played, because none is verifiably free. ### Biography - [Romanian Wikipedia, a tertiary encyclopaedia: birth, debuts, radio, the ban, the war years, the teaching chair, honours, death](https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_T%C4%83nase) - [English Wikipedia, a tertiary encyclopaedia: the 1934–1963 frame, the childhood doinas, the Piaf parallel, the 2006 poll, the 2003 Moldovan stamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_T%C4%83nase) - [The AGERPRES «FAMOUS ROMANIANS: Maria Tănase» documentary (2018, national press agency, after the 1969 Ghiață–Sachelarie biography): New York, the Alhambra, Turkey, the French disc with the Charles Cros prize, the 1963 tour, her death](https://www.agerpres.ro/documentare/2018/10/04/romani-celebri-maria-tanase-interpreta-renumita-a-cantecului-popular-romanesc--186862) - [The NYC municipal archives, an official source: the fair opened on 30 April 1939](https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2022/4/22/the-world-of-tomorrow-1939-new-york-worlds-fair) - [“Maria Tănase, the diva called the Magic Bird” (a magazine article with no cited sources, weak evidence): New York, May–July 1939, with Grigoraș Dinicu; says she sang before Roosevelt](https://www.independentaromana.ro/read-offline/33118/maria-tanase-diva-supranumita-pasarea-maiastra.pdf) ### Discography and voice - [Maria Tănase's discography (Romanian Wikipedia, a tertiary compilation after the table in Ghiață–Sachelarie, pp. 275–281): attributed years, the Columbia matrices DR 164–DR 370, Electrecord with catalogue numbers](https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discografia_Mariei_T%C4%83nase) - [“Maria Tănase”, a bio-bibliography (Moldovan Ministry of Culture, Chișinău, 2013, an institutional source): the “ideal voice of Romanian folk song”, the radio debut, the 1965 “In Memoriam” prize, the 1969 festival](https://www.bncreanga.md/x_up_pag/file/2021_12/Pleanta_Maria_Tanase.pdf) - [The review of Alexander Bălănescu's Maria T album (the textura music-review site): “celebrated as Romania's Edith Piaf”](https://www.textura.org/archives/b/balanescu%20quartet.htm) ### Legacy - [The “Maria Tănase” folk ensemble brochure (an institutional source): the Craiova festival, “since 1969”](https://www.ansamblulmariatanase.ro/ro/assets/files/Brosura-AMTdupa30deani.pdf) - [A press report (infoGorj): the XXVIIIth festival-competition edition, Craiova, 23–25 September 2025](https://infogorj.ro/tanar-gorjean-premiat-la-festivalul-national-maria-tanase/) - [The “Maria Tănase” competition festival, evening III, 25.09.2025 (video broadcast notes, weak evidence): the XXVIIIth edition, Marin Sorescu National Theatre, Craiova](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-37yWTsdRQE) - [The TouchStamps philatelic catalogue: the “100th Birthday of Maria Tănase” issue, Romania, 25 September 2013 (Mi RO 6750KBI)](https://touchstamps.com/Stamp/Details/919635/maria-tanase-ms-type-i) --- A piece by [Marius Comper](https://mariuscomper.uk/en/) · https://mariuscomper.uk/maria-tanase/en/