[The Republic of Moldova at an intersection of years – Info-Prim Neo survey] Ian Raiburg can be considered the most popular composer of 2009. Many singers last year launched albums with songs written by Ian Raiburg. One of them was the Romanian singer Paul Fuego, Info-Prim Neo reports. Ian Raiburg is one of the few composers who managed to avoid the crisis. In 2009, he had cooperated fruitfully with young, but renowned singers from Moldova and Romania. There were issued three new albums. One includes the composer’s songs sung by young Moldovan artists. The second contains Ian Raiburg’s songs sung by the Romanian soloist Fuego. The third includes 12 songs sung by the duo Retro. Seventeen albums with the composer’s songs have been launched so far. Asked when the album with singer Ian Raiburg will appear, the composer said he wrote several dozens of songs for himself, but does not intend to release his own album. “I have written more than 300 songs, but I do not have archives,” Raiburg said. “The period when I lived in the U.S. was the most productive. Then I wrote most of my songs. When you are far from you country, you feel closer to it.” It was in the U.S. that the composer started to sing. Until then, he wrote songs mainly for Ion Suruceanu, Nadejda Cepraga, sisters Aurica and Lidia Rotaru. Ian Raiburg said that he works with difficulty in Moldova, but here he became famous. “I spend a lot of time to solve daily problems, repair my car, go shopping,” the artist said. “The concerts, recordings and other things related to my job consume the time that I earlier devoted to composition. In the United States, I remembered the tours and my artistic activity in Moldova and wrote many songs.” In 2009, Ian Raiburg became People’s Artist of Moldova after he was awarded the title of Emeritus Artist in 2001 and 2008. “I think I am the only artist who received the same title two times. Maybe it was a mistake, but this is how things stand. “In 2009, I was given the title of People’s Artist and the Gold Horseshoe. My songs were the most popular songs at Radio “Noroc” for six months in a row. The public’s attention is very important. Several years ago not many people knew me, but now I’m a famous composer,” Ian Raiburg said. Now the composer works on an album of ethnic music for the Romanian singer Daniela Raduica. He received many offers to cooperate with Romanian singers, but he considers it is hard to live in Moldova and work in Romania. “I’m not young already,” the composer said, adding he wants to be healthy and be able to write, while the rest will derive from this.