Alex Mușat is a young drummer based in Bucharest, who has worked with various mainstream and underground projects (Byron, Han Helciug & Spitalul de Urgență, The Groovy Bastards, Feli Donose, Luna Maar, Opening Theory).
While preparing his Ph.D. thesis on the drum set in the progressive rock of the 1970s, he is also working as a music journalist for Radio Seven and Sunete magazine.
Victor, Daniel, David and Bucur, the four members of Getchoo, visited RRI’s studio and told me a little about themselves, about the difficulties of being a young independent band in the Romanian music scene and also about how these constraints have boosted their creativity and resilience.
The 18th edition of the 18th Meridian International Contemporary Music Festival in Bucharest took place in Bucharest and other Romanian cities in the first half of November. Held under the motto Persona, this year’s festival set out to explore masks and the symbols linked to them, from social to theatre masks, from makeover to protection, from magic to drama to playfulness, from appearance to essence.
One of the highlights of the festival this year was the presence of Ryoko Aoki, a Japanese traditional Noh theatre singer who for over a decade now has been pioneering a new art form that combines the tradition of medieval Japanese theatre with international contemporary music.
As part of her Noh x Contemporary Music, Ryoko Aoki has commissioned a series of new works for Noh voice. More than 55 works have been written for her by various composers, including Peter Eötvös, Toshio Hosokawa, Stefano Gervasoni, José María Sánchez-Verdú, and Oliver Schneller.
The band, set up in the
Republic of Moldova in 2016 and comprising Gheorghe Gușan – vocals, Gelu Argint
and Andrei Glavan – guitars, Ilia Ostapciuc – bass, and Seva Peev – drums, is making
its way into the Romanian music scene with a strikingly original mix of pure
poetry in the lyrics, heartfelt emotion on stage and a sound that has evolved
from poetry folk and poetry rock to alternative rock in the later pieces.
Our guest this week is Inya Cutova, a very talented 14-yo pianist from Constanta, in the south east of the country. She has won countless national and international piano competitions, including the Frederick Chopin International Piano Competition in Bacau and the Carl Filtsch Piano and Composition Contest and Festival in Sibiu.
A violinist and associate professor of
violin and chamber music at the University of Maryland, in the USA, Irina Mureşanu holds an Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the
New England Conservatory, where she studied with the legendary French violinist
Michèle Auclair. She has performed throughout the
United States, in Canada, Europe, Asia and South Africa, and is a regular guest artist in the SoNoRo International
Festival (Romania), Festival Viv’Alto and Recontres des Musiciennes (France).
This summer Irina Muresanu performed in Bucharest as
part of the Strings around the world project, financed under the Creative
Europe programme in a partnership with the National Music University in
Bucharest and with the French Institute in Romania.
The Romanian-born violinist and professor shares thoughts on the future of music and her relationship with Romania.
A violinist and associate professor of violin and chamber music at the University of Maryland, in the USA, Irina Mureşanu holds an Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory, where she studied with the legendary French violinist Michèle Auclair. She has performed throughout the United States, in Canada, Europe, Asia and South Africa, and is a regular guest artist in the SoNoRo International Festival (Romania), Festival Viv’Alto and Recontres des Musiciennes (France).
This summer Irina Muresanu performed in Bucharest as part of the “Strings around the world” project, financed under the Creative Europe programme in a partnership with the National Music University in Bucharest and with the French Institute in Romania.