Moldovan music is closely related to that of its neighbour and cultural kin, Romania. Moldovan folk is known for swift, complex rhythms, musical improvisation, syncopation and much melodic ornamentation. Pop, hip hop, rock and other modern genres have their own fans in Moldova as well. Modern pop stars include O-Zone, a Romanian and Moldovan band whose "Dragostea din tei" was a major 2004 European hit, guitarist and songwriter Vladimir Pogrebniuc, Natalia Barbu, who is well known in Germany, Romania and Ukraine, and Nelly Ciobanu. The band Flacai became well known in the 1970s across Moldova, turning their hometown of Cahul into an important center of music.
Sofiia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru, known simply as Sofia Rotaru, is a Ukrainian pop singer of Romanian origin.
Grigore Vieru was a Moldovan poet, writer and unionist advocate, known for his poems and books for children. His poetry is characterized by vivid natural scenery, patriotism, as well as a venerated image of the sacred mother. Vieru wrote in the Romanian language. In 1993 he was elected a correspondent member of the Romanian Academy.
Natalia Gordienko is a Moldovan singer and dancer. Alongside Arsenium and Connect-R, she represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Loca" and placed 20th. She was selected to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Prison"; however, the 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Sugar" and placed 13th with 115 points.
The Maria Bieșu National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Chişinău, Moldova, is one of the leading opera and ballet theatres in Eastern Europe. It is housed in a building on the Boulevard Stefan the Great, one of the main roads in Chişinău. In 2012, it was given the name of the renowned opera singer Maria Bieșu.
Geta Burlacu is a Moldovan singer. She represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "A Century of Love” written by Vica Demici and Oleg Baraliuc.
Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Run Away" written by Anton Ragoza, Sergey Stepanov and Alina Galetskaya. The song was performed by the group SunStroke Project and Olia Tira. The Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) organised the national final O melodie pentru Europa 2010 in order to select the Moldovan entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. 83 entries competed to represent Moldova in Oslo, with 30 being shortlisted to participate in the televised national final. After two semi-finals and a final which took place in February and March 2010, "Run Away" performed by SunStroke Project and Olia Tira emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote.
SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical group composed of Sergei Yalovitsky, Sergey Stepanov (saxophonist), and previously Anton Ragoza until his departure in 2019. They achieved recognition after representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 alongside Olia Tira with the song "Run Away", and again in the 2017 contest with "Hey Mamma", finishing in third place in the latter. The name of the group was chosen by Ragoza whilst working in the army with Stepanov, after he had an incident in which he was affected by heat stroke whilst on a field exercise.
Anatol Chiriac is a Moldovan composer.
Grigore Singurel was a Bessarabian journalist.
Ghenadie Ciobanu is a composer and politician from the Republic of Moldova, who served as the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova (1997-2001) and served as a deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in the Party faction Liberal Democrats from Moldova between 2010 and 2014. He composed symphonies, written works for chamber ensembles (instrumental), choral creations, theater and film music, etc.
Simion Ghimpu was a writer from Moldova.
Anatol Codru was a writer and film director from Moldova. He was the head of the Union of Cinematographers of Moldova and a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova.
Nicolae Sulac was a folk music singer from the Republic of Moldova.
Doina and Ion Aldea Teodorovici was a Moldovan musical duo consisting of married couple Doina and Ion Aldea Teodorovici. The group disbanded in 1992, after both members died in a road traffic accident in Coșereni. Today, there is a monument to them there, as well as another in Chişinău.
Mark Kopytman was a composer, musicologist and pedagogue. He was a professor and a rector of the Rubin Academy, and a Laureate of the Serge Koussevitzky Prize for his composition Voices of Memory (1986). Awarded the title "People's Artist of Moldova" in (1992) by the Moldovan President for the creation of the first Moldovan National Opera «Casa mare».
Nicolae Glib is a Moldovan folk music singer born on May 10, 1949. He lives in the commune of Pepeni, Sîngerei district, Republic of Moldova.
Carla's Dreams is a music project from Moldova, formed in 2012 in Chișinău. The band is composed of an anonymous group of singers and composers who perform their songs in Romanian, English and Russian. Their lead singer, codenamed Sergiu, and his bandmates all hide their identity in public appearances by wearing hooded sweatshirts, sunglasses and a face mask made of makeup. Carla's Dreams rose to prominence in Moldova and Romania upon releasing the single "P.O.H.U.I." with Inna in 2013, and have since then issued nine singles that went on to be number-one singles in Romania.
Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Falling Stars" written by Gabriel Alares, Sebastian Lestapier, Ellen Berg and Leonid Gutkin. The song was performed by Lidia Isac. The Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) organised the national final O melodie pentru Europa 2016 in order to select the Moldovan entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. 47 entries competed to represent Moldova in Stockholm, with 24 being shortlisted to participate in the televised national final after auditioning in front of a jury panel. After two semi-finals and a final which took place in February 2016, "Falling Stars" performed by Lidia Isac emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote.
