Romanian Music

Hey Malito,

Well, they are hard to describe. The first is more traditional as I remember, and the 6th and 7th are somewhat more "modern" than the 5th (which is knock-out!) but not nearly as hermetic as, say, Schnittke's 7th and 8th symphonies. All that I've heard are really substantial works that repay repeated listenings. I was really excited to see that the whole set was available - (maybe too excited as the actual price is more like $75 American - and I ordered it anyway). Here's a description of the 7th from the premiere:

The Seventh Symphony, "Volumes"
by Viorel Cosma (b. 1927)
Pascal Bentoiu
Performed in premiere in Bucharest

   Undoubtedly, composer Pascal Bentoiu must be regarded at present as one of the most outstanding symphonists of the Romanian musical school of the 20th century. The recent first performance in Bucharest of Symphony No. 7, Volumes, under the baton of Horia Andreescu, places the composer of the opera Hamlet among the most profound contemporary Romanian musicians of the genre. It is not the seven symphonies of so far that make Pascal Bentoiu stand out but above all his particular thinking, concept, spirit, and sonorous expression that puts an unmistakable seal on his orchestral cycle. If we take into account the tomes of musical aesthetics and analysis (to quote only the splendid book issued in 1984 by Minerva Publishing House, Enescu Masterpieces, where sound ideas find materialization in a written text) then we can predicate that Pascal Bentoiu is a philosopher of the art of sounds.
   Dedicated to the conductor of the Banat Philharmonic of Timisoara, Remus Georgescu, Symphony No. 7 tries to approach the sound material in juxtaposed blocs, in volumes of various densities, which the author regards symmetrically, as rigorously organized, and unitary in point of style. One gets the feeling that, riding high up in a plane or a chopper, one crosses a city splendidly devised by an architect of blocks built in brick, glass, and stone. The rigorous, elegant, and distinct structures endow the scenery with the arcane charm of volumes. Written in 1983 (the first part of the score bears the mention March 20, 1986, and the last section May 9, 1986,) Symphony No. 9 op. 29 is concise (25 min.), and features an imposing sound idiom, exquisitely moderate. The author’s major desert consists of keeping within the universe of substantive music, undistracted by avant-garde or passing fads.
   The symphonic orchestra of the Romanian Radio-Television under the baton of Horia Andreescu endeavored to offer the audience a warm, tensional rendering, fully responsible to the Romanian heritage. The robust vision of Horia Andreescu, with powerful dramatic contracts and rapid changes of rhythms turned the first performance of Pascal Bentoiu’s Symphony No. 7 intro a genuine artistic event.

I was going to include this with my upload of the seventh, even though my performance is not the one described above. - but I'll have to wait to see if the CD contains this performance or my version labeled by the indifferent and sloppy tape collector that I got it from (who was NOT Karl Miller or Mike Herman) as "Georgescu." I assume that's Remus, but he didn't say.

Incidentally, if you decide to order the set, don't be surprised if you get an immediate email from your bank asking about a suspicious purchase on your credit card! I had to call and explain that I really did shell out a chunk of money to an obscure Romanian CD shop. :D