Chișinău (Romanian pronunciation: [kiʃiˈnəw]; historically also known as Kishinev, from Russian: Кишинёв) is the capital and largest city of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc. According to January 2012 official estimates, Chișinău proper has a population of 723,500 and the municipality of Chișinău is home to 794,800 residents.

Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova, and its largest transportation hub. As the most economically and socially important municipality in Moldova, the city has a broad range of educational facilities.

The origin of the city's name is unclear. In one version, the name comes from the archaic Romanian word chișla (meaning "spring", "source of water") and nouă ("new"), because it was built around a small spring, located at the corner of Pushkin and Albișoara streets.

An alternative version, by Ștefan Ciobanu, Romanian historian and academician, holds that the name was formed the same way as the name of Chișineu (alternative spelling: Chișinău) in Western Romania, near the border with Hungary. Its Hungarian name is Kisjenő, from which the Romanian name originates. Kisjenő in turn comes from kis "small" + the "Jenő" tribe, one of the seven Hungarian tribes that entered the Carpathian Basin in 896 and gave the name of 21 settlements.

Sofia Micu (23 September 1941, Toporăuţi, judeţul Cernăuţi, today in Ukraine), known by her stage name of Sofia Vicoveanca, is a renowned Romanian singer of popular music music from the Bucovina region.

Sofia Vicoveanca was born Sofia Fusa on 23 September 1941 in the commune of Toporăuţi (today Toporovtsy), near Cernăuţi (today Chernivtsi in Ukraine). She was one of the four children of the merchant Gheorghe Fusa and his wife Veronica.

Her childhood was marked by difficulty, her father being taken prisoner by the Soviets after the annexation of northern Bucovina by the Soviet Union. She escaped with her mother to the commune of Vicovu de Jos in the Suceava district; out of love for the village, she later changed her stage name to Sofia Vicoveanca.

Constrained by the poverty of living as a refugee, the young Sofia learned the traditional crafts of Bucovina. She graduated from the Şcoala Populară de Artă in Suceava before winning, in 1959, a competition to join the same city's "Ciprian Porumbescu" Ensemble of Song and Dance. In 1965, she released her first album. Since 1998, she has performed as a soloist with Moldavia's foremost folk music orchestra, the Ensemble "Rapsozii Botoşanilor" in Botoşani.

Tudor Gheorghe (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtudor ˈɡe̯orɡe]; born August 1, 1945) is a Romanian musician,actor and poet known primarily for his politically charged musical career and his collaborations with well known figures of late 20th century Romanian poetry. Tudor's recording work is often associated with anti communist activism and has received much critical acclaim during the years. The son of an Iron Guard member, he was forced to take a 4 year break from music by communist authorities after a series of concerts in which he performed songs with politically charged content by renowned Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale.

He was listed as number 76 on the 2006 100 Greatest Romanians of All Time. Born on August 1, 1945 in Podari, Dolj County, Tudor Gheorghe had a rough childhood as his father was arrested on political grounds and sent to prison in Aiud. His own concerts were banned during the last years of communism.

"Every time I listen to him - and this happens often - Tudor Gheorghe confirms my hunch that Romanian poetry can move mountains" (Marin Sorescu)