She is a violinist, sometimes credited as Mihaela Ionescu-Ashkenasi born in Craiova, Romania into a family where her father was a surgeon and her mother a paediatrician. She began to play the violin when she was 7 years old and started performing as a soloist and in recitals in competitions from the time she was nine. She went on to initially study at the Bucharest Music Conservatory.
The competitions she performed at include in Bucharest, Romania in 1964 and 1976, Sion in Switzerland in 1976 and 1978 and also in 1978 at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
When she was 16 years old she went and went to several European cities which include studies at C. Porumbescu Music Conservatory and Bern Conservatory as well as working with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Biel-Bienne Orchestra.
She emigrated to the United States and became a first violin with the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago. She was also Principal Second Violin with the Grant Park Orchestra until 1987 when she became a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir Georg Solti.
As a chamber musician she founded the Athenaeum Ensemble and also performs with many other ensembles and as a soloist.
Recordings she has performed on include Wagner – Overtures and Preludes and Brahms – Violin Concerto/Sonata No. 3 by Chicago Symphony Orchestra, After Hours by Brian Culbertson, Roberto Lombardo: Music for Mandolin by Dimitris Marinos and Christmas in the Aire, Christmas Collection and Celebration by Mannheim Steamroller.
She is married to the violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi.
Sources:
- https://cso.org/about/performers/chicago-symphony-orchestra/violins/mihaela-ionescu/
- https://csosoundsandstories.org/mihaela-ionescu-violin/
- https://mediaburn.org/video/chicago-slices-raw-violinist-shoot/
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mihaela-ionescu-mn0001223586
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/2135231-Mihaela-Ionescu