with the interpretation of traditional songs and pop music pieces in the way she did. Her voice penetrates me, stirs me, disturbs me so strongly that I always leave as if I tasted a miraculous potion; I feel like I don't have control over my own feelings!" Nicolae Iorga famously called her "Pasărea măiastră" ("The Majestic Bird"). Mihail Sadoveanu considered her "the first authentic rhapsodist" of the Romanians. The 2009 Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Herta Müller, has spoken many times about the influence that Maria Tănase had on her: "When I first heard Maria Tănase she sounded incredible to me, it was for the first time that I really felt what folklore meant. Romanian folk music is connected to existence in a very meaningful way. However, German folklore was not at all inspiring for me." British musician Nigel Kennedy with Polish Kroke band celebrated her legacy with a recording titled "Tribute to Maria Tănase", which was included on his 2003 album East Meets East. The musical themes of this track are Maria Tănase's song Luncă, luncă (Meadow, Meadow) and Gheorghe Zamfir's Sârba bătrânească. The character of Florica in the first novel of Olivia Manning's Fortunes of War trilogy is supposed to have been based upon Maria Tănase. In 2013, musical group Pink Martini named Maria Tănase one of their greatest inspirations and covered the song Până când nu te iubeam. In 2013 Romanian singer Oana Cătălina Chițu who lives in Berlin, published album Divine with songs from the repertoire of Maria Tănase. On 25 September 2013, Google Romania celebrated Maria Tănase's legacy with a doodle, which marked what would have been her 100th birthday. References Further reading External links Biography on hrmusic.com Maria Tănase's songs Biography on lautari.ro 1913 births 1963 deaths Musicians from Bucharest Romanian women in World War II Romanian cabaret performers 20th-century Romanian women singers 20th-century Romanian singers Deaths from cancer in Romania Deaths from lung cancer Burials at Bellu Cemetery