Born in Romania in 1933, Yoan Goïlav studied music at the University of Bucharest in the class of the celebrated master of the Vienna School, Joseph Prunner. After having completed his first year of studies, he was the recipient of the “bourse républicaine” a unique distinction awarded to only the most illustrious students at the University. Two years later, while still pursuing his studies, he won an audition for the Bucharest Philharmonic and became a member of this renowned orchestra. He left Romania in 1961 and went on to become a much appreciated member with the Israelian Ramat-Gan Chamber Orchestra. In 1963 he settled in Switzerland where he became principal double-bass of the Winterthur Chamber Orchestra, professor at the Hochschule in Basel, then professor of masterclasses in Schaffhausen and Lausanne. Yoan Goïlav has given numerous recitals and appearances with many orchestras as a soloist, promoting the double-bass concerto repertoire. His radio recitals and recordings have made him well-known throughout the world, and he has thus been invited to present masterclasses on performance and technique all over the world, these being organized by the University of Cincinatti, the Minister of Cultural Affairs in France, the Ottorino Respighi Academy, and International Seminars on the Isle of Man, Avignon and Seoul. He has also been invited to sit on the jury or host some of the most prestigious international music competitions held in Munich, Geneva, the Isle of Man, Parma, Reims. Yoan Goïlav continues to devote his full effort to promote the double-bass and its literature, and the international press has been unanimous about his great virtuosity and his outstanding musicality.