Mihai Moldovan (composer)

Mihai Moldovan (born November 5, 1937 in Dej ; † September 11, 1981 in Medgidia ) was a Romanian composer .

Life

After attending the music school in Cluj (1952–1955), he studied at the local conservatory with Sigismund Toduță (1956–1959), then at the Bucharest Conservatory with Mihail Jora , Zeno Vancea and Anatol Vieru (1959–1962). Moldovan was secretar muzical of the Romanian army (1962-1965), musical director of their film studio (1966-1967), editor at the record company Electrecord (1968-1969), at the Romanian broadcasting company Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune (1969-1978) and at the magazine Muzică (1979–1981).

plant

From an early preoccupation with serialism , Moldovan developed his own composition technique, which includes allusions to folk music as well as modality and deductions of musical relationships from mathematical operations. The Șase stări de nuanță (1966) , which is strongly colored by folklore, and the orthodox serialistic sonatina for violin and piano (1967) are equally exemplary of this stylistic range . In her monograph on Moldovan Povara sublimului ( The Burden of the Sublime , published 1996), the musicologist Ileana Ursu (* 1960) distinguishes the beginnings of his work, which moved between free chromaticism , modality and seriality, from his mature, neomodal style with highly differentiated textures from the first String quartet from 1968. Exemplary of this final phase of his work are the orchestral pieces Vitralii (1968), Scoarțe (1969), the cycle Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic (1976–1979) and the vocal works Recitindu-l pe Blaga and Recitindu-l pe Eminescu (both 1980).

The composer and musicologist Theodor Drăgulescu (1932–2002) wrote about his colleague shortly after his death: “Mihai Moldovan has asserted himself through his entire work as a voice of authentic conciseness and as an original personality in contemporary Romanian music. The lucidity with which he wrote an essentially modern music corresponds to a rational mind, but it also conceals a sphere of moving emotionality without any false shame ”. The tragic dimension present in all parts of the cycle Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic appears above all in the piece Rezonanțe (1976): “Overwhelming density, tragic of the highest emotional violence.” It is not only in this respect that Moldovan's tonal language stands out in the West Bernd Alois Zimmermann is particularly close, especially in his composition Photoptosis (1968).

Compositions (selection)

• Rituale , suite for soprano and orchestra (1963)
• Concert pentru fagot și orchestră (1962–1964)
• Șase stări de nuanță (Omagiu lui Lucian Blaga ) , cantata for mixed choir and orchestra (1966)
• Cântare omului , cantata for mixed choir and orchestra after Tudor Arghezi (1967)
• Poème for chamber orchestra (1967)
• Sonatină pentru vioară și pian (1967)
• Texturi for large orchestra (1967–1968)
• Cvartet de coarde no. 1 (1968)
• Incantații , Sonata for clarinet and piano (1968)
• Vitralii , six pieces for orchestra (1968); awarded the Premiul de compoziție George Enescu and the Premiul Uniunii Compozitorilor din România
• Scoarțe for orchestra (1969)
• Vibrații for orchestra (1970)
• Tulnice for orchestra (1970–1971)
• Obârșii , five-part choral suite for 20 solo voices (1971)
• Proverbe și ghicitori , Suite for children's choir and orchestra (1971)
• Cîntece străbune , cantata for soprano and 12 instruments (1971–1972)
• Spații și timpuri mioritice , choreographic symphony for string orchestra (1971–1972)
• Trepte ale istoriei. Operă-frescă , Opera (1972)
• Concert pentru contrabas și orchestră de coarde (1973)
• Omagiu lui Anton Pann for string orchestra (1975)
• Cycle Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic (1976–1979), consisting of:

• Cvartet de coarde no. 2 (Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic nr. 1) (1978)
• Cantemiriana (Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic nr. 2) for orchestra (1976)
• Memoria Putnei (Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic no. 3) for orchestra (1978–1979)
• Rezonanțe (Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic nr. 4) for orchestra (1976)
• România vremilor înalte (Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic no. 5) , cantata for male choir and orchestra (1977)

• Cvartet de coarde no. 3 (1978)
• Imaginați-vă un spectacol Kabuki for flute, horn and percussion (1978)
• Recitindu-l pe Blaga for baritone and ensemble (1980)
• Recitindu-l pe Eminescu for mixed choir (1980)

Recordings / sound carriers

• Vitralii , included on an LP from Electrecord (ST-ECE 0716), played by the Orchestra simfonică a Filarmonicii Cluj , conductor: Emil Simon
• Tulnice , included on the LP Proverbe și ghicitori by Electrecord (ST-ECE 01503), played by the same artists
• Crochiu pentru un spațiu mioritic , LP from Electrecord (ST-ECE 01923); contains:

• Cvartet de coarde no. 2 , played by the "Muzică" cvartetul
• Cantemiriana , played by the Musica Rediviva Orchestra , conductor: Ludovic Bács
• Memoria Putnei , played by the same performers
• Rezonanțe , played by the Orchestra simfonică Radioteleviziunii Române , conductor: Paul Popescu
• România vremilor înalte , played by the Orchestra Simfonică și Corul Radioteleviziunii Române , conductor: Horia Andreescu

• Obârșii , contained (CD 3, Track 5) in: Rumanian Anthology , 3-CD of the Attacca label (Babel 9264-3 / 4/5), sung by the Corul de cameră "Madrigal" , conductor: Marin Constantin

literature

• Luminița Vartolomei, “Vitralii” de Mihai Moldovan , Muzică xix / 9 (1969), 24-27
• Luminița Vartolomei, Operă-frescă “Trepte ale istoriei” de Mihai Moldovan , Muzică xxiv / 5 (1974), 20-24
• Liana Alexandra , Mihai Moldovan , Muzică xxxv / 6 (1985), 44-49
• Ileana Ursu, Povara sublimului. Monograph Mihai Moldovan , Bucharest: Editura Muzicală a Uniuii Compozitorilor și Muzicologilor din România 1996

Web links

• MP3: Scoarțe for orchestra (1969)
• MP3: Peste vârfuri from Recitindu-l pe Eminescu for choir (1980)
• Moldovan's scores in WorldCat

Individual evidence

1. ^ Cf. Ileana Ursu, Povara sublimului (see bibliography), pp. 70–81.
2. ^ Translated from Drăgulescu's text on the cover of Electrecord- LP ST-ECE 01923 (published 1982).