The story of Marios Stylianou, the cellist whom Sorin Alexandru Horlea sent to study in Bucharest

Excited, but also scared of the city’s immensity, Marios Stylianou came to Bucharest to study. It happened four years ago. In the meantime, he got used to the metropolis-specific bustle and joined the everyday landscape. When he feels the need for quiet moments he “loses” on the small streets of the city center, where cars access is denied and where he has the opportunity to relax admiring the architecture of the buildings.

The sincerity with which the foreigners talk about Bucharest gives us the opportunity to look “with other eyes” on the city, which, most of the times, we do not notice because we have become accustomed to everything that is offering to us. Foreigners, who come for certain periods of time in our country, have the gift of presenting the Capital of Romania with good and bad, they have the strength to highlight everything that we neglect.

The image of Bucharest that we describe today is rendered to us through the eyes of a young Cypriot who chose to study in our country. His choice was not accidental, but it was based on solid arguments that are very much about the quality of higher education in Romania.

The violinist Sorin Alexandru Horlea, a true ambassador for the National University of Music Bucharest

Marios Stylianou was born into a family of musicians, his mother being a cellist known in Cyprus. The 23-year-old man from Limassol tells us that he could not help but develop a passion for this field, the environment in which he lives, giving him all the necessary means to move towards the art.

“My name is Marios Stylianou, I’m a Cypriot. I was born in Limassol. I am 23 years old and my passion is music and in general everything related to art and beauty. I finished high school in Limassol, having in mind that I could study nothing but music. I come from a family of musicians (from my mother), so I started piano lessons and music theory from the age of 8. From the age of 12, I began to study the cello, as a secondary instrument. My mother is a cellist, and with her help I quickly progressed to this instrument and at the age of 15 I joined the Cyprus Youth Orchestra. I remember I was a little boy and I was sitting in front of my mother and watching her for hours, studying the cello. I was so fascinated … After I grew up a little bit, the fact that almost all of my family and almost all my relatives play on an instrument or sing influenced me. For us, music is a way to get together and celebrate with our loved ones”, begins the story of the young student.

His arrival in Bucharest is due to a happy meeting he had with the Romanian violinist Sorin Alexandru Horlea. Once he joined the Cyprus Youth Orchestra, Marios was offered the opportunity to have the Romanian artist as a teacher.

The fame that Sorin Alexandru Horlea has all over the world is an extraordinary business card for the school that educated him. Marios’s parents consulted with the Romanian violinist, and he urged them to send her son to studies at the educational institution that prepared him: National University of Music Bucharest.

“Knowing his level as a violinist and as a musician, my parents asked Sorin Alexandru Horlea if it is a good idea to send me to studies in Bucharest. Mr. Horlea recommended us to the artist Marin Cazacu, soloist of the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest and a teacher at the National University of Music Bucharest. From here, things went naturally ”, explains Marios.

Life in a metropolis

The young student walked with enthusiasm in Bucharest, being delighted by the idea that he has the opportunity to live in such a big city. He says about the capital of Romania it is a very beautiful place, but it is also a place that can scare those who are not used to “very long distances”.

He is not too pleased about the fact that there is no discipline and that there are many cars parked on the sidewalk. For this reason, there are many situations where pedestrians have to walk through the middle of the street. It is the biggest reproach he has related to the city life.

Besides, Marios has adapted to the student life from us, being greatly helped by his entourage from the faculty. “From the first year, when I did the preparatory year of Romanian and so far, all my teachers and colleagues have been and are very kind. Every time I had personal problems or with the school they helped me with love ”, says the student.

It also has favorite places in the city. “In general, I like to walk on the small streets in the center of Bucharest and observe the architecture of the buildings. The first three years I lived very close to Cișmigiu Park. So I went here very often for a walk, to relax and enjoy the sun and nature. I also like to discover small bookstores and cafes that keep the atmosphere of another era. In such places you feel you have traveled a little over time. For a musician, the Romanian Athenaeum is not just a building. Here, the special architecture in combination with the wonderful acoustics reminds me of what I do, of what I am passionate about and gives meaning to my life,” says Marios.

The musician is also delighted that the cultural environment in Bucharest is encouraging, “but there is always room for improvement”.

Marios devotes much of his time to studies, but is involved in many events that can help him in his career. Currently, his projects are related to the National University of Music Bucharest, but he has had the opportunity to sing on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, with Violoncellissimo 100, within the «Magic Summer 2018» Festival. “I also have plans related to Cyprus, and in April I will play with an orchestra that made this proposal to me,” explains the cellist.

Moreover, Marios does not believe that talent and dedication have boundaries, the art having a universal language. “My mother has always told me that if you are good at what you do, you can make a living as an artist anywhere. I believe in myself and I am glad to find that my concert halls are almost always full”, points out the young man.

Marios is currently studying in Bucharest, but he did not intend to stay in the Romanian capital. “Even though I like Bucharest as a city, I prefer smaller cities. Maybe because I’m from Cyprus and I’m used to small towns. I miss the heat, sea and sun of my island,” says the Cypriot student.

However, for him Bucharest remains a fascinating place, first of all, because it offered him the opportunity to study, to prepare for the career he wants. The city fascinates him also because of the people he had the opportunity to meet. He speaks with great enthusiasm about his teachers, the musicians trained by the Romanian schools, but also about the colleagues who did not regard him as a foreigner, but integrated him into their environment, accepting him without reservation.

He also has an important advice he wants to give us: “In order for Bucharest to increase its attractiveness among foreign tourists, you must make sure you have a good business plan and the right people to promote this plan. It is important to provide quality services to tourists so that they feel safe and happy. ”

During the documentation made for the articles published in the program “Destination: Bucharest”, I had the opportunity to meet many foreign students who came to Romania. The fact that all these young people have chosen to study in our faculties comes as a confirmation of the quality of the education system.

Foreigners do not choose Romania because it is a “cheap” country, they come here because they have the opportunity to prepare at a certain level. A young man who leaves his country to study in Bucharest is making huge efforts to support himself throughout the faculty. Foreigners are investing in their education, being aware that the training they will receive in Romanian universities will give them the opportunity to develop a career anywhere in the world.

Author: Ștefania Enache

Photo: Corina Gheorghe