Mitrea-Celarianu, Mihai

Mitrea-Celarianu, Mihai, Romanian composer; b. Bucharest, Jan. 20, 1935. He studied with Rogalski, Mendelsohn, Vancea, and Negrea at the Bucharest Cons. (1948–53), and also took private lessons with Jora (1949–51). He was a prof, of harmony and music history in Bucharest (1954–60; 1962–68), then attended summer courses in new music given by Aloys Kontarsky, Caskel, and Karkoschka in Darmstadt (1968), and further studied with the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris (1968–69) and with Schaeffer and Pousseur at the Paris Cons. (1968–69). His trademarks in composition are aleatory, electronic, and variable scoring.

Works

orch.:Variations (1958); Petite histoire d’avant-monde for Small Chamber Ensemble (1967); Trei pentru cinci for Aleatorily Structured Orch. (1969; in collaboration with Miereanu and Bosseur); Milchstrassenmusik (1983); Jokari for String Trio and String Orch. (1990); Plateaux for Strings (1990). chamber: Violin Sonata (1957); Piano Sonata (1958); Piano Sonatina (1960); Glosa (Comment) for Viola (1965); Convergences II (Colinda) for Electronic Instruments and Percussion (1967) and IV for 1 Performer on Optional Instrument or Variable Ensemble (1968); Seth for 7 Instruments (1969); ZN, “idéogramme photographique” for 3, 4, or 5 Performers (1971); Signaux (Sur l’Océan U) for 13 Players (1971); Inaugural 71, “action” for a Flutist, with Electroacoustical Devices and a Projector (1971); Piano de matin (Écoute pour Anne Frank), “action” for 5 Instruments, 5 Persons manipulating Divergent Sound Sources, Electroacoustical Devices, and Projectors (1972); Natalienlied for 10 Instrumentalists (1986); Evian, Evian for Instrumental Ensemble (1987). VOCAL: Le Chant des étoiles, cantata for Mezzo-soprano and 33 Instruments (1964); Convergences III (Ideophonie M), aleatory music for Narrator, Children’s Chorus, and 19 Instruments (1968) and V (Jeux dans le blanc) for Chorus, Percussion, and Tape (1969); Prérêve for Voice, Harpsichord, Flute, and Percussion (1975); Weil Paul Celan for Vocal Ensemble, Chorus, and Orch. (1988); La Reine manquante for Soprano and 14 Performers (1991); Par ce fil d’or for Tenor, Baritone, and 15 Performers or Orch. (1993).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire