Family C
Serban
Roemeens Zigeunerorkest Gregor Serban
Romanian Roma — Brăila → Scheveningen / Amsterdam / Delft
Style: Holland–Hungary restaurant violin
Andrei Serban, cimbalom. His son Gregor (1909–1997), violin, the Dutch Stehgeiger. Brother Colea on piano. Sons Gregor junior (piano) and Andrei Şerbănescu (violin). Kurhaus in summer, Hotel de l’Europe in winter.
Gregor Serban was born in Brăila, Romania, on 1 August 1909 (the passport later said the 4th — a feast after the birth). His father Andrei was a cimbalom player. At four Gregor had a small violin; at seven he was in the father’s orchestra. In 1916 the band played in Russia, including for Tsar Nicholas II. An uncle, Codolban, taught him in Paris: conservatory by day, orchestra at night. Berlin conservatory followed. The early repertoire was wide — overtures, operetta, Viennese, Sarasate — not only “gypsy.”
On 1 May 1931 they began in the Netherlands: the Prinsessepaviljoen beside the Kurhaus at Scheveningen. Summer: Kurhaus. Winter: Hotel de l’Europe, Amsterdam. Andrei died in 1935 of a brain haemorrhage while playing at the l’Europe. Gregor left the Hague conservatory to keep the family — mother, sisters, brother Colea.
Colea Serban (b. 1924), pianist, studied in The Hague and sat in the band as a cimbalom-on-piano. A 1958 accident cut his career short; he died young. Gregor went on into old age. In the war they played Amsterdam rooms (Carlton, Tuschinski), then went under. The resistance changed the name to Şerbănescu. Gregor junior put Serban back on the stand in 2002. The other son, Andrei Şerbănescu, violin, kept the wartime name.
After the war: Old Dutch in Rotterdam, Royal in Arnhem, AVRO and KRO radio, the Promenade Orchestra. The last thirty-three years, Gregor junior at the piano beside his father. Gregor died in Delft on 12 December 1997. The family orchestra still carries the name.
Lineage
Birth and death on a vertical line — generation by generation. Places are listed where we could find them.
Generation 1
Andrei Serban
Cimbalom, father · d. 1935
Date not yet recorded — Died 1935 · Hotel de l’Europe, Amsterdam
Cimbalom. Died of a brain haemorrhage on the stand.
Generation 1
Codolban
Uncle, violin / teaching
Uncle. Taught Gregor in Paris: conservatory by day, orchestra at night.
Generation 2
Gregor Serban
Violin, primás · 1909–1997
Born 1 August 1909 · Brăila, Romania — Died 12 December 1997 · Delft, Netherlands (buried Rijswijk)
Violin, the Dutch Stehgeiger. Kurhaus in summer, Hotel de l’Europe in winter. Passport later said the 4th — a feast after the birth.
Generation 2
Colea Serban
Piano (as cimbalom) · 1924–d. young
Born 1924 · Romania / Netherlands
Brother. Piano as cimbalom. Hague conservatory. A 1958 accident cut the career short; he died young.
Generation 3
Gregor Serban junior
Piano
Piano. Thirty-three years beside his father. Put the name Serban back on the stand in 2002.
Generation 3
Andrei Şerbănescu
Violin
Violin. Son. Kept the wartime surname Şerbănescu.
Orchestra years
When the band was founded, when it split, when a new generation took the stand.
c. 1913
Generation joins
Gregor in the father’s band
Andrei Serban orchestra
Cimbalom: Andrei. Violin: the child Gregor, from about four, in the band by seven. Brăila.
1916
New orchestra
Russia, including the court
Andrei Serban orchestra
The family orchestra on the road. Played for Tsar Nicholas II.
1 May 1931
New orchestra
Prinsessepaviljoen, Scheveningen
Serban in the Netherlands
Dutch contract. Then the pattern: Kurhaus in summer, Hotel de l’Europe in winter.
1935
New generation leads
Andrei dies on the stand — Gregor leads
Gregor Serban orchestra
Brain haemorrhage at the l’Europe. New generation takes the primás chair. Colea later on piano.
c. 1942
Rename
Wartime name
Şerbănescu
The resistance changes Serban to Şerbănescu. Same band, hidden papers.
1958
Band ends
Colea’s accident
Colea in the family orchestra
The brother’s piano chair is cut short. Gregor continues as Stehgeiger.
c. 1964
Generation joins
Gregor junior at the piano
Gregor Serban & zoon
Son joins. Thirty-three years beside his father — generation on the same stand, not a split.
1997
New generation leads
Father dies — the son keeps the orchestra
Roemeens Zigeunerorkest Gregor Serban
Gregor dies Delft, 12 December 1997. Gregor junior continues the family band.
2002
Rename
The name Serban restored
Gregor Serban & Familie
Junior puts Serban back on the stand, as his father wished. Andrei Şerbănescu, the other son, keeps the wartime surname and his own violin chair.
Neighbours
Same country or city, but a different way of playing.
- Clejani lăutari — Romanian Roma — Clejani, Wallachia
- Zece Prăjini — Romanian Roma — Zece Prăjini, Moldavia
- Puceanu — Romanian Roma — Bucharest, urban lăutărească
- Luncă — Romanian Roma — Vărbilău, Prahova / Bucharest
- Mahala Rai Banda — Romanian Roma — Bucharest