100!
Thank you, Romania, for Enescu, Rădulescu, Dumitrescu, and Avram!
and for Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Radu Lupu, Costantin Silvestri and obviously Sergiu Celibidache!
Yes, Happy Birthday Romania!
Constantin Silvestri was a very fine conductor - his 'Tallis Fantasia' by Vaughan Williams is one of the very greatest recorded performances of the work in my opinion.
Thank you, guys! A big and special celebration for us indeed! I have changed my profile accordingly.
(There's quite a long list of Romanians without which the world would not have been the same in many fields, including but not limited to, aeronautics, medicine, engineering, architecture, literature and last but not least the simple act of writing (fountain pen invented by Petrache :Poenaru). 8) )
Happy birthday! Thank you especially for Radulescu and Avram, two of my favourite Romanian composers.
In light-hearted celebration I thought I'd post their extraordinary Eurovision 2017 entry ('Yodel It') featuring Ilinca (the only Romanian yodeller) and Alex Florea.
Got my vote :)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJw_CLQCUw
I should point out that I don't usually watch Eurovision but my daughter was in Kyiv at the time (where it was taking place) watching it on a giant screen.
The song did very well in the competition.
On a serious note Elie Wiesel (whom one of my students corresponded with) and Ionesco come to mind among many others.
La mulţi (b)ani!
Hey, Andrei! Celebrate by cleaning out your inbox! ::) :laugh: $:)
I don't think Ligeti and Xenakis count as Romanian, but they were both born there, within about a year of each other.
Quote from: Ken B on December 02, 2018, 07:07:39 AM
Hey, Andrei! Celebrate by cleaning out your inbox! ::) :laugh: $:)
Done!
Hey, I missed the party.
Does Bartók count?, He was born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary, Austria-Hungary, now Sânnicolau Mare, Romania.
Quote from: zamyrabyrd on December 06, 2018, 10:38:13 PM
Hey, I missed the party.
Does Bartók count?, He was born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary, Austria-Hungary, now Sânnicolau Mare, Romania.
With Hungarian, Serbian, German, Magyar, and Slavic ancestry, originating from Austro-Hungarian Empire, no. Funnily enough, Kurtág and Ligeti were also born in modern day Romania.
Quote from: North Star on December 07, 2018, 12:03:31 AM
With Hungarian, Serbian, German, Magyar, and Slavic ancestry, originating from Austro-Hungarian Empire, no. Funnily enough, Kurtág and Ligeti were also born in modern day Romania.
Bartok, Kurtag and Ligeti are definitely Hungarian --- not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Paul Celan, Tristan Tzara and Benjamin Fondane, on the other hand, are Romanian.
Quote from: Florestan on December 07, 2018, 01:08:28 AM
Bartok, Kurtag and Ligeti are definitely Hungarian --- not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Paul Celan, Tristan Tzara and Benjamin Fondane, on the other hand, are Romanian.
And Ion Rîmaru.
Quote from: Florestan on December 07, 2018, 01:08:28 AM
Bartok, Kurtag and Ligeti are definitely Hungarian --- not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Paul Celan, Tristan Tzara and Benjamin Fondane, on the other hand, are Romanian.
Paul Celan!!! One of the best poets of the 20th Century! I used his works now and then in German IV to rattle my students souls! ;)
If you are not acquainted with his works, they are worth your time, especially if you know German, but even in translation, they are quite expressive and mysterious at the same time.
Quote from: Cato on December 07, 2018, 05:46:36 AM
Paul Celan!!! One of the best poets of the 20th Century! I used his works now and then in German IV to rattle my students souls! ;)
If you are not acquainted with his works, they are worth your time, especially if you know German, but even in translation, they are quite expressive and mysterious at the same time.
Michael Nyman set a few of them too.
'Wish you were here': painting by Asiza Demetrian:
(//)
Quote from: vandermolen on December 12, 2018, 10:18:04 AM
'Wish you were here': painting by Asiza Demetrian:
Never heard about her. :D
Anyway, this is my current avatar:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Nicolae_Tonitza_-_Mama_si_copilul.jpg/513px-Nicolae_Tonitza_-_Mama_si_copilul.jpg)
Nicolae Tonitza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Tonitza) -
Mama şi copilul (The mother and her child)
Quote from: Florestan on December 12, 2018, 11:18:45 AM
Never heard about her. :D
Anyway, this is my current avatar:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Nicolae_Tonitza_-_Mama_si_copilul.jpg/513px-Nicolae_Tonitza_-_Mama_si_copilul.jpg)
Nicolae Tonitza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Tonitza) - Mama şi copilul (The mother and her child)
Yes, I like it - a tender work and it encouraged me to look for other paintings by Romanian artists.
Quote from: vandermolen on December 12, 2018, 12:46:24 PM
Yes, I like it - a tender work
Ain't it? Rightly or wrongly I associate it with such works as
Hymne de l'enfant à son réveil,
Kinderszenen,
A prole do bebê,
Dolly,
Children's Corner,
Hungarian Children's World etc.
But my views on childhood and children are best expressed not in music but in words, incidentally the words of an Englishman --- first and foremost
Intimations of Immortality, too long to quote it in full, then this sone which basically nails the whole matter:
My Heart Leaps UpMy heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.Quote
it encouraged me to look for other paintings by Romanian artists.
My job here is done.
Quote from: Florestan on December 12, 2018, 01:04:34 PM
Ain't it? Rightly or wrongly I associate it with such works as Hymne de l'enfant à son réveil, Kinderszenen, A prole do bebê, Dolly, Children's Corner, Hungarian Children's World etc.
But my views on childhood and children are best expressed not in music but in words, incidentally the words of an Englishman --- first and foremost Intimations of Immortality, too long to quote it in full, then this sone which basically nails the whole matter:
My Heart Leaps Up
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
My job here is done.
Lovely quote from 'Intimations of Immortality' (do you know the Finzi work based on it?)
Anyway, here she is again:
Romanian Girl by Asiza Demetrian (contemporary Romanian artist):
[asin][/asin]
Quote from: vandermolen on December 13, 2018, 11:03:34 AM
Lovely quote from 'Intimations of Immortality' (do you know the Finzi work based on it?)
No, but I intend to remedy the situation asap.
Quote
Anyway, here she is again:
Romanian Girl by Asiza Demetrian (contemporary Romanian artist):
[asin][/asin]
Nice, I like it. What is the Amazon image, though? It doesn't load.
Quote from: Florestan on December 13, 2018, 11:20:53 AM
No, but I intend to remedy the situation asap.
Nice, I like it. What is the Amazon image, though? It doesn't load.
I found the image through the artist's own website and not through Amazon. Her biographical details are interesting as, at age 35, she discovered that she had an identical twin sister. From the age of six she had been drawing images of the female figure without knowing why:
https://www.asiza.ca
Quote from: vandermolen on December 13, 2018, 12:25:15 PM
Her biographical details are interesting as, at age 35, she discovered that she had an identical twin sister. From the age of six she had been drawing images of the female figure without knowing why:
https://www.asiza.ca
That's intriguing.
Asiza is emphatically not a Romanian surname and I doubt there is any other living Romanian woman bearing it; it sounds Turkish or Arabic. On the other hand,
Demetrian is a (rare) Romanian family name, while
Gina is a rather common Romanian surname. Hmmm....
Quote from: Florestan on December 13, 2018, 12:39:13 PM
That's intriguing. Asiza is emphatically not a Romanian surname and I doubt there is any other living Romanian woman bearing it; it sounds Turkish or Arabic. On the other hand, Demetrian is a (rare) Romanian family name, while Gina is a rather common Romanian surname. Hmmm....
Interesting indeed.
Happy Birthday to Florestan too - although not Happy 100th birthday!
:)
Last week I did attend a 100th birthday party.
Quote from: vandermolen on December 13, 2018, 02:46:49 PM
Happy Birthday to Florestan too - although not Happy 100th birthday!
:)
Thanks a lot.
Quote
Last week I did attend a 100th birthday party.
Great. If I make it to 100, I'll certainly invite you. :laugh:
Quote from: Florestan on December 14, 2018, 06:56:39 AM
Thanks a lot.
Great. If I make it to 100, I'll certainly invite you. :laugh:
I'll be long gone but thanks for the kind thought 8)
How could I forget my favourite Romanian artist; in fact one of the greatest sculptors of the Twentieth Century? Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957 (a sculptor I know recently told me that it's pronounced 'Brancush' - is that right Florestan? For decades I'd been pronouncing it as 'Brancusee').
(//)
The top one is 'Head of Orpheus'
The lower one is 'The Kiss' - Brancusi's response to Rodin's 'The Kiss'. I prefer Brancusi's version.
Quote from: vandermolen on December 14, 2018, 11:58:23 AM
How could I forget my favourite Romanian artist; in fact one of the greatest sculptors of the Twentieth Century? Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957 (a sculptor I know recently told me that it's pronounced 'Brancush' - is that right Florestan? For decades I'd been pronouncing it as 'Brancusee').
I checked from another Romanian I know, and your sculptor acquaintance is right - I had assumed the same wrong pronunciation before too.
Quote from: North Star on December 14, 2018, 12:27:22 PM
I checked from another Romanian I know, and your sculptor acquaintance is right - I had assumed the same wrong pronunciation before too.
Thanks Karlo!
:)
Quote from: Ken B on December 07, 2018, 06:36:48 AM
Michael Nyman set a few of them too.
And Birtwistle set three of them, recorded by Boulez and probably others.
Last but not least - Milka!
Quote from: vandermolen on December 14, 2018, 11:58:23 AM
How could I forget my favourite Romanian artist; in fact one of the greatest sculptors of the Twentieth Century? Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957 (a sculptor I know recently told me that it's pronounced 'Brancush' - is that right Florestan? For decades I'd been pronouncing it as 'Brancusee').
Quote from: North Star on December 14, 2018, 12:27:22 PM
I checked from another Romanian I know, and your sculptor acquaintance is right - I had assumed the same wrong pronunciation before too.
Yes, guys --- it's "sh" not "see".
The Wikipedia entry features the correct spelling and the correct pronunciation, both in transliteration and as an audio file where it's clearly pronounced by an obviously native Romanian speaker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncu%C8%99i (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncu%C8%99i)