Grigoraș Ionică Dinicu, born on April 3, 1889, in Bucharest, Romania, was a Romanian Roma composer and violinist. He began his musical education under "moș Zamfir," an old violinist, and later studied at the Bucharest Conservatory with Dumitru Georgescu-Kiriac and Carl Flesch. Dinicu's breakthrough came with "Hora staccato", composed in 1906 as a graduation exercise. He directed popular music concerts for forty years, from 1906 until 1946, and toured extensively as a soloist and conductor across Western Europe. His notable compositions include "Ciocârlia" (popularized by his grandfather Angheluș Dinicu), "Hora mărțișorului", "Ceasornicul", and "Căruța poștei". Dinicu's music, primarily for violin and piano, has been arranged for various instruments. He passed away in Bucharest on March 28, 1949.
