Ivanovici was born in
Temesvár,
Kingdom of Hungary,
Austrian Empire (today Timișoara, Romania). His interest in music began after he learned to play a
flute given to him when he was a child. Ivanovici moved to and lived most of his life in
Galați in the
Kingdom of Romania. Reaching the rank of officer in the Romanian army, his interest in military music culminates during his appointment as
general inspector of military music in 1900. In 1901 he settled in
Bucharest where he died a year later. Although today Ivanovici is chiefly remembered for his waltz "
Waves of the Danube" ("Donauwellen" in German, "Flots du Danube", in French), in his lifetime he composed over 300 works (many of them lost today). Other notable compositions are Carol I March, dedicated to
King Carol of Romania, "Carmen Sylva" waltz, dedicated to
Queen Elisabeth of Romania, and "Romanian heart" waltz op 51 ("Inimă română" in Romanian, "Cordialité roumaine" in French). His works were published by over sixty publishing houses throughout the world. In 1889, Ivanovici won the coveted march prize to mark the
World Exhibition in Paris, out of 116 entries. His great-grandson
Andrei Ivanovitch is a successful international classical pianist. ==Compositions==