Curriculum
Books, Reviews, Studies etc.
2019
Acknowledgement: I express my entire gratitude for the substantial contribution of Mrs. Mary Carlene/Cello Bennett at the English version of my study. Her expertise was essential not only in English linguistics issues, but also to adapt and clarify certain historical notions, terms and ideas.
Abstract: In 2018, Romanians celebrated the Centenary – a hundred years since Romania had the largest territory ever inhabited primarily by Romanians, at the same time, a century since Romania as a modern country was born. What do we know about our history in the last one hundred years? What and why do we celebrate? We know too little; many of the Romanians participating in the celebration do not know what it is for. The torrent of pathetic and solemn words about the past is useless. I followed two paths side by side, which happen to be in a natural connection, but sometimes they also go through distinct stages: on one hand, the course of the main historical events from the beginning of World War I until now, and on the other hand, Romanian musical life during the same period. I will cover five historical stages (World War I, Interwar Period and World War II, Soviet Occupation, Ceauşescuʼs era and Post-Communist Period) pursuing four main aims: a) an explicit historical image (as a musician I had a relatively narrow perspective on general historical facts); b) completing superficial knowledge received in school (before 1989) with information to justify certain events; c) the relationship between history–culture–music, in support of the idea that art does not exclude knowledge and civic involvement, on the contrary; d) the Past justifies the Present and together they work upon the Future. In the epilogue I will reveal an example that I consider illustrative for this fourth aim: the project Saving Enescu’s Cottage from Mihăileni. I have made this study mainly for my own benefit, in order to understand the historical facts, but especially to find an answer to the question: knowing history – what’s the use?
2018
Abstract: This text represents an abridgement of an extensive research paper, recently completed, and titled The Song-Symbol, History and Content. About the National Anthems.
It has not been long since I wrote about a sensitive subject: that of prejudices in considering and reconsidering history, those which could manipulate (in fact do manipulate!) consciences positively or negatively, and sometimes generate extremist ideas and attitudes.
Following the course of history, a dilemma arose regarding the national anthem, particularly regarding its origins, the circumstances under which a particular anthem was chosen, and above all, comparisons of one anthem to another. From a general point of view, the first observation is that the anthem, especially as it is perceived nowadays in Europe, involves historical meaning, symbols of human communities and nations. As a result, I want to suggest certain improvements towards the current configuration of this musical genre.
First I will summarize the history of the Romanian national anthems, beginning with the very first one, adopted during the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, continuing with the monarchic period, then the anthems of communist Romania, and finally the present one, Deșteaptă-te, române! – which is in fact the oldest of all.
The main reason I chose this issue does not concern purely academic curiosity; it pursues my entirely subjective interest in the circumstances that prompted Romanians to adopt, over the last century and a half, just these hymns and not others.
2017
Abstract: History recounts subjective facts and thoughts that nevertheless must be approached impartially. Two important historians, Neagu Djuvara and Lucian Boia discuss this issue in a new perspective, far from sympathies and antipathies, as well as manipulations of any kind. So, they provide a valuable example that may also be applied to the history of arts, including the Romanian musical art. The study provides a synthetic view on the history of music in the Carpatho-Danubian territory over three periods – pre-Roman, Daco-Roman, and Middle Ages. Although there is little material evidence about Thracians, Getae and Dacians, a lot has been said and written on this issue. Since we lack sufficient internal and plausible evidence, we may just make suppositions concerning the music of these ancestors.
Folklore was the oldest musical branch that had preceded the formation of the Romanian language. It is difficult though to establish whether traditional artistic productions belonge to the Getae-Dacian layer or to the Latin one does. Two branches may be identified in the early local medieval music: the traditional music and the religious one. The first did not evolve differently compared to the previous period. The religious music developed according to the social organization and ethnic statements. The genuine Middle Ages brought with it the existence of three important musical branches: folklore, religious and court music.
This writing does not seek to be original but rather aims to provide an objective image referring at information and documents found by famous historians and historians of music.
2016
Scientific Conference within the Romanian Music Festival, 18th Edition, October 24th, Iași
Abstract: The same as Prague or Florence, the city of Iași is a place blessed by the Muses for anyone who is fond of culture. Perhaps nowhere in Romania does exist such a consistency of history, culture and fame as it is here!
My study is not a result of the old times nostalgia, but an alarm to those who should keep available places, things and monuments involved in the Romanian arts, culture and genius. In Salzburg almost each street or building is telling us about Amadeus. Iași includes all sort of memories about famous names, Romanian or European, which unfortunately disappear one by one.
On the occasion of the single Romanian Music Festival (18th edition, Iași 2014), I decided to expose information and warnings regarding some musical edifices in Iași which do not exist anymore or they soon disappear. Among others, Ghyka House, edifices on Lăpușneanu Street, Sadoveanu Masion and further more.
Culture means not only being spectator, onlooker, outsider; culture means education, knowledge, morals, law and so on. Unfortunately, as inhabitants of Iaşi city we have to do infinitely more to build a cultural city: socially, economically, and above all civic attitude!
2016
Translators: Emanuel Vasiliu, Carmen Chelaru
Table of Contents:
Foreword
Anniversaries & Artists & Events
[Carmen Chelaru] Voces 40. Memories with Professor Bujor Prelipcean
[Carmen Chelaru] The 60th Anniversary of the Iași Philharmonic Academic Choir
[Carmen Chelaru] Ad libitum String Quartet. New beginning
[Carmen Chelaru] Romanian Music Festival Iași, 1973 – 2014
History
[Anca Ciobanu] REVIVO MUSICA. Listen more. Live more. Return to Music!
[Carmen Chelaru] "I practiced music even before I was born...!" Interview with Professor Mihail Cozmei, The First Music Secretary of the "Moldova" Philharmonic of Iași
Puzzle
[Carmen Chelaru] How do our artists do in their spare time?
[Carmen Chelaru, Cello Bennett] An American in… Iași ! Journey notes (excerpts)
Artistic Ensembles
The Symphonic Orchestra
The Academic Choir
Ad libitum String Quartet
2015
The International Symposium of Musicology, April 22nd, Cluj Modern Festival 11th Edition
Proceedings at the Symposium of April 22nd, 2015, at the "Gh. Dima" Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca
Abstract: Both art and science create rules, concepts, theories, but the first makes an aim to infringe them, while the second cannot exist without them. There are no strict limits between arts – in fact there are joint areas, wherein the perceptions are mingling and more than one feeling consequently appears. The effect is intense, pleasant, sometimes unbearably stunning.
Music has a large, consistent and historical joint area with visual sphere, producing among other results, the syncretic art. An interesting investigation field is the existence and especially the importance of sight in music in two aspects: a) the real view (material presence) of the performers during the musical act, and b) the virtual image – psychological consequence of music upon the auditor.
Comparing two performances at aria Una furtiva lagrima (Donizetti) it is obvious that gestures, mimics, and costume – all visual details – are influencing the shaping of character.
Vocal Lied is another example where the visual part may increase the poetic meaning. Dynamics tint and vocal colour, mimics and discrete gestures – all these represent plastic exposures of music meanings.
However, music has also a non-visual zone – or in which at least the visual features are less important: sacred genre. On the contrary, further experiments appeared nowadays, in which the visual image almost replaces the sound.
Can we see the so called ′pure′ music? – That is the question we try to answer to, by two samples like Nigel Kennedy ′case′ or Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with Voces Quartet and the Hungarian clarinetist Kalman Berkes.
Does pure music need the visual support? Yes and No! Yes – for unknowledgeable auditors, but also when the performing artist (or artists) wishes to reveal new and/or deeper meanings. No – this ′slim′ branch of music is understandable for music lovers by its very nature and its proper language.
2013
International Musicological Conference, July 4-7, Iași University of Arts
Abstract: The Psalm is one of the oldest forms of religious incantation – in fact, a very persistent one! This means that the psalm is not only an archaic poetic-musical form, but also a still living one – in the rituals, and professional elaborate music as well. These are the main respects I have chosen to investigate and comment this complex form of spiritual language, this exposal being a brief beginning. The introduction and the first part refer at the psalm roots, also at two main trends in the history of the genre: the Hebrew and the Christian Psalmody. The Hebrew Psalm is, no doubt, the oldest, and it had a specific development, poetic structure and musical substance. On the other hand, the Christian Psalmody has kept certain common features, but, at the same time it changed considerably the psalm importance during the ritual, theological interpretations of the text, even the musical performance manner. At these general features, the history added many others, resulting from differences in the main Christian religions and denominations. For space reasons, I refer here at the Romanian Orthodox Chant only, specifically at further melodic processing that reveals the refinement of this music.
The second part of my exposal comments Psalms approach, both in letter and in spirit, by the 20th century music – with reference at a vocal work by Ştefan Niculescu: Psalmus for six voices (1993). The Romanian composers of 20th century noticed the remarkable resemblances between the Doina-like manner of the traditional music – see Enescu’s Monophonic Prelude from the 1st Suite for orchestra – and the Orthodox Psalmody, descending from the Byzantine Chant. Therefore, they conceived a special kind of musical discourse, based on the principle of linearity. The monophony becomes either homophony, polyphony or (most of the time) heterophony. The Romanian composers not only appeal to the psalm texts – either Hebrew or Christian versions – but also to the spirit of the psalmody, in instrumental or vocal works. They thus suggest through music the prayer posture, the dialogue and the communion to God, in other words psalm condition.
2012
13th WSEAS International Conference on Acoustics & Music, June 16th, Iași
Abstract: In music there are several terms permanently used, whose meaning changed in time, depending on the historical moment or cultural space; among them, consonance and dissonance, diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. Tonality appeared during baroque era and was finalized by J.S. Bach. After that, it grew up in the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt – for about 150 years. At the end of 19th century, Wagner created the expanded tonality – the last step of the tonal system evolution. This tonal type represents an original, ingenious synthesis between all historical phases of the system evolution; meantime it contains the germ of polytonality and atonality. In other words, Bach and Wagner marked the beginning and end of the tonality.
2012
International Congress of Musicology, 1st Edition, September 27th, Timișoara
Abstract: In 2001, the musicologist Dora Maria David, from the Iași Radio Studio, made an impressive broadcasting series of interviews with Professor Mihail Cozmei, dedicated to the Iași Philharmonic Society. Afterwards, she recorded them on 16 CDs, now existing in the archives of both Radio Iași and Philharmonic Society.
We submit in the next approach, with the author’s approval, genuine and memorable excerpts from these interviews, wishing to honour the Iași Philharmonic Society’s 70th Anniversary.
The historical events mentioned here are the following: George Enescu in Iași – the concert season 1917‑1918; the foundation of”Moldova” Philharmonic Society, in 1942, by the contribution of Professor Radu Constantinescu, together with a group of musicians and music lovers from Iași; Ion Baciu period, national and international launching of the Philharmonic; great artists and their relationship with the Iași Philharmonic Society.
2011
Scientific Conference within the Romanian Music Festival, 15th Edition, November 25th, Iași
Abstract: The Romanian music does and does not exist in Europe. Among the causes which reduce its’ "visibility" there are: less or even lack of information; the lack of foreign languages into the specialized database. Comparing Romanian musical genres with similar European ones, we notice a spontaneous correlation in technique and value. Remedies: much larger communication channels from and especially to the Romanian musical culture.
2011
2011 3rd International Conference on Future Computer and Communication (ICFCC 2011), June 3-5, Iași University of Arts
Abstract: Analyzing in detail the musical structure could be helpful, but not enough to understand the profound sense of the music. Mathematics and arithmetic involve intuition and imagination, but have to be entirely precise. In the mean time, music is more original while it beaks the rules and principles. The composers are creating exceptions all the time. In The Art of Fugue, Bach reveals a magnificent mathematic thinking and musical intuition, at the same time. Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro is the result of both musical inspiration and mathematical intuition.
2010
11th WSEAS International Conference on Acoustics & Music: Theory & Applications (AMTA '10), June 14th, Iași University of Arts
Abstract: Music is traditionally considered as a temporal art. At the same time, a musical work supposes organisation, unity, continuity. These are attributes of spatiality. By consequence, we are talking in music about a special kind of space – not surfaces or volumes, but a metaphorical one, which we call here the virtual musical space. It is important not only to admit its presence among the musical language elements, but especially to comprehend its structure, and its influence in the modern forms of art.