Tăranu, Cornel

Tăranu, Cornel, Romanian composer and teacher; b. Cluj, June 20, 1934. He was a student of Todutä and Muresianu at the Cluj Cons. (1951-57), and he then joined its faculty. He also studied with Boulanger and Messiaen in Paris (1966-67) and attended the summer courses in music given by Ligeti and Maderna in Darmstadt (1968, 1969, 1972). His music is austerely formal, with atonal sound structures related through continuous variation with permissible aleatory interludes.

Works

dramatic: Opera: Secretul lui Don Giovanni (The Secret of Don Giovanni; Cluj, July 8, 1970). ORCH.: Sym. for Strings (1957); 4 numbered syms.: No. 1, Sinfonia brevis (Cluj, Nov. 17, 1962), No. 2, Aulodica (1975-76; Cluj, April 8, 1976), No. 3, Signes (Cluj, Sept. 25, 1984), and No. 4, Ritornele (Cluj, Oct. 9, 1987); Secven\e (Sequences) for Strings (1960); Simetrii (Symmetries; 1964; Cluj, Jan. 15, 1966); Incantaci (Incantations; 1965; Cluj, Jan. 15, 1966); Piano Concerto (1966; Cluj, May 29, 1967); Intercalari (Intercalations) for Piano and Orch. (1967-69; Cluj, Dec. 13, 1969); Sinfonietta giocasa for Strings (1968); Alternante (Alternations; 1968; Bucharest, May 29, 1969); Racorduri (Transitions) for Chamber Orch. (1971); Cîntec lung for Clarinet, Piano, and Strings (1974; Bern, April 18, 1975); Ghirlande (Garlands; 1979; also for Chamber Ensemble); Prole-gomene II for Strings and Piano (1982); Sonata rubato II for Oboe, Piano, and Strings (1988); Miroirs for Saxophone and Chamber Orch. (1990; Cluj, Nov. 15, 1991). CHAMBER: String Trio (1952); Poem-Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1954); Cello Sonata (1960); Flute Sonata (1961); Oboe Sonata (1963); 3 Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (1964); Dialogues for 6 for Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Vibraphone, Percussion, and Piano (1966); Resonances I for Guitar (1977) and II for Guitar and String Quartet (1978); Offrande (Gifts) I for Flute and 2 Percussion Groups (1978), II for Flute, 2 Percussion Groups, String Quintet, and Piano (1978), and III for 4 Flutes, Piano, and Percussion (1988); Prolegomene I for String Quartet and Piano (1981); Sonata for Clarinet and Percussion (1985); Sonata for Solo Double Bass (1986); Sonata rubato I for Oboe (1986); Sempre ostinato I for Soprano Saxophone or Clarinet (1986) and II for Saxophone or Clarinet and 7 Instruments (1986-88); Sonata for Solo Viola (1990); Sonata for Solo Cello (1992); Mosaiques for Saxophone or Clarinet and Ensemble (1992). Piano: Sonata Ostinato (1961); Contrastes I (1962) and 71 (1963); Dialogues II (1967). VOCAL: Ebauche for Voice, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano (1966-68); Le Lit de Procruste (The Bed of Procustes) for Baritone, Clarinet, Viola, and Piano (1968-70); Orfeu (Orpheus) for Baritone and Chamber Ensemble (1985); Chansons sans réponse for Baritone, Narrator, Clarinet, Piano, and Strings (1986-88); Hommage à Paul Celan for Mezzo-soprano, Bass, and Chamber Ensemble (1989); Dedications for Bass, Narrator, Small Chorus, and Ensemble (1991); cantatas.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire