ISCM Romanian Section Report 2005 - 2006

The Romanian Section of ISCM - founded in 1925 by the Romanian Composers' Society - provides a focal point for renowned composers and musicologists of all generations. Its aim is to promote Romanian music and its dialogue with other musical cultures.

In 2005 and 2006, the ISCM-Romanian Section continued to organize numerous events promoting the values of contemporary music not only in Romania but also overseas. Concerts, festivals, books and CDs, radio and TV broadcasts are just a few examples of how Romanian musicians - composers, musicologists and players - and their overseas counterparts contributed to the diversification and promotion of the ISCM-Romanian Section's public profile.

The ISCM World New Music Days Festival held in Croatia and the 23^rd edition of the Zagreb Biennale (April 15 to 24^th in 2005) featured three works by ISCM-Romanian Section members: Ostinato by Nicolae Brânduş (a work selected on behalf of ISCM-Romanian Section), 5 Vitralii by Doina Rotaru and Sematerion-Toaca by Carmen Maria Cârneci.

Following an auction organized by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Cults in early 2005, the ISCM-Romanian Section was given funding for the double-CD edition of 'Romanian Music Today'. The ISCM-Romanian Section, in co-operation with the Pro Contemporania Association - led by Irinel Anghel, an ISCM-Romanian Section member - , released this CD containing works of chamber and symphonic music composed by ten contemporary Romanian composers: Sorin Lerescu, Octavian Nemescu, Ulpiu Vlad, Irinel Anghel, Doina Rotaru (vol. I), Călin Ioachimescu, George Balint, Liviu Dănceanu, Mihaela Stănculescu-Vosganian, Dan Dediu (vol. II).

On the ISCM-Romanian Section General Assembly of June 27th 2005, Sorin Lerescu was reelected as president. The new Executive Committee includes Doina Rotaru, Carmen Maria Cârneci, George Balint and Dan Dediu. Additionally, the members present approved membership applications lodged by composers Adina Dumitrescu and Laurenţiu Gondiu.

This period also saw several festivals organized by members of the ISCM-Romanian Section: Carmen Maria Cârneci - artistic director of the International New Music Weeks Festival Bucharest (2005, 2006); Ana Maria Avram, Iancu Dumitrescu - artistic directors for the "Acousmania" - Bucharest and 'Musica Nova' - Ploieşti (2005, 2006) Festivals, respectively; Liviu Dănceanu - artistic director of the 'Archaeus' Festival in Bucharest and 'Contemporary Music Days' - in Bacău (2005, 2006); Dan Dediu - artistic director of the 'Profil' Festival in Bucharest (2005); Mihaela Stănculescu-Vosganian, Irinel Anghel - artistic directors of the 'MultiSonicFest' Festival in Bucharest (2005); Irinel Anghel - artistic director of the 'X Music' Festival in Bucharest (2006).

Between 18 and 21 December, Bucharest also hosted the first edition of the ISCM-Romanian Section Festival - 'the Days of the Romanian Section of ISCM'. The festival was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Cults of Romania, the Union of Romanian Composers and Musicologists, the ISCM-Romanian Section, alongside the Romanian Radio Society, the Radio România Muzical 'George Enescu' station, the National University of Music in Bucharest and the National 'Romanian Youth' Art Center. For this first edition, the media partners were TVR Cultural (the Cultural National Television station), SENSO TV, Actualitatea Muzicală, Contemporary Music - Romanian Newsletter, an English language sheet published by the ISCM-Romanian Section and the Contemporary Music Information Center. The Festival's art management was provided by the ISCM-Romanian Section' Executive Committee. The festival included book releases (volumes signed by Livia Teodorescu-Ciocănea) and a CD release ('Romanian Music Today'). It also included a workshop, concerts by well-established contemporary music ensembles such as TRAIECT, ARCHAEUS, GAME as well as the concert debut of the 'devotioModerna' ensemble. As special guest, the Festival was proud to welcome the famous French sax player Daniel Kientzy. The audience in the Alfred Alessandrescu Studio of the Romanian Radio Society, in the George Enescu Hall of the National University of Music Bucharest and in the National 'Romanian Youth' Art Center were presented Romanian works as well as works from Switzerland, France, Portugal, Bulgaria, Ukraine or South Korea, many of them being a world or Romanian first audition.

Composers Doina Rotaru, Octavian Nemescu, Sorin Lerescu, Mihaela Stănculescu-Vosganian, Maia Ciobanu, Dan Dediu, Liviu Dănceanu and musicologist Loredana Baltazar were invited by the Radio România Muzical 'George Enescu' station, one of the Festival's significant partners, to do special feature shows on the different musical cultures, as represented by the National Sections of the ISCM.

Radio and TV stations such as Radio România Muzical 'George Enescu', Radio România Cultural and TvRM also featured contemporary music shows, with guests and hosts including ISCM-Romanian Section members, composers and musicologists such as Valentina Sandu-Dediu, Adrian Iorgulescu, Octavian Nemescu, Cornel Ţăranu, Carmen Stoianov, Irinel Anghel, Mihaela Stănculescu-Vosganian, Sorin Lerescu, Maia Ciobanu, Valentin Petculescu, Petru Stoianov, Mihaela Marinescu, George Balint, Carmen Maria Cârneci, Dan Voiculescu, Doina Rotaru, Iancu Dumitrescu, Ana Maria Avram, Despina Petecel-Theodoru.

The ISCM-Romanian Section president Sorin Lerescu's participation in the 'Meeting of Information Centers on Contemporary Music in the Balkans' held in Tirana, Albania, on December 1 to 4, 2005, can be circumscribed to the same framework of developing contacts with overseas colleagues.

The issues nos. 3 and 4 of the Contemporary Music - Romanian Newsletter, edited by the ISCM Romanian Section and CMIC (Contemporary Music Information Centre) and financed by UCMR (Union of the Romanian Composers and Musicologists), were published in Bucharest, in 2005.
In May 2006, Valentina Sandu-Dediu's book Rumänische Musik nach 1944 was published in Saarbrücken, Germany, by PFAU Publishing House.

The Romanian Section of ISCM sent six works to the ISCM World New Music Days Festival to take place in Stuttgart in 2006. Unfortunately, none of those registered with the ISCM-Romanian Section was chosen, despite the fact that Romania will nonetheless be represented by a work of our colleague Mihaela Stănculescu-Vosganian, sent to the Festival through the Romanian Association of Women in Art (ARFA), a partner of the Romanian Section of ISCM.

This report cannot end without acknowledging the constant and helpful support provided by the Union of the Romanian Composers and Musicologists and the Ministry of Culture and Cults in Romania by promoting our contemporary music activities, as well as by paying our annual membership fees to the ISCM.

Sorin Lerescu, President