Biography

Gerhard Vilnow was a Romanian composer, musician, and conductor of German descent. He moved to Bucharest in 1920. In the 1930s, Vilnow founded his own dance orchestra in Bucharest. His first recorded works appeared in the early 1930s. He composed primarily light pop music, including tangos, foxtrots, and waltzes. Russian pop music fans know him primarily as the composer of two remarkable foxtrots by Pyotr Leshchenko: "My Marusechka" and "Misha." Reports indicate that in 1946, Vilnow petitioned the Romanian government for Romanian citizenship, and his request was granted. Vilnow died in Bucharest.