Julien Musafia (1925 – November 14, 2015) was an American pianist and musicologist. He was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, in 1925. After an adventurous escape from his native country, he moved to the United States in 1950, where he attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA), attaining degrees in musicology and political science. He became professor of music at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, a position he held for over thirty years. There he founded the Consortium Musicum, which he directed between 1971 and 1993, and is a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. Honours and prizes include the following: Paul Ciuntu Prize awarded by the Royal Academy of Music, Bucharest, Romania; the

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biog ...

Medal (Romania, 1995); First Prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Society (U.S.A.); the

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

Awards in 1981 and again in 1983; two awards given by the California State University at Long Beach, California. Among works published are the definitive edition of Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues (in collaboration with the composer) M.C.A., New York, N.Y. 1971; The Art of Fingering in Piano Playing, M.C.A., New York, N.Y., 1971; an essay on the pianist

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

, published by Schirmer, New York, N.Y., 1993; an essay entitled "Sir

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...

and Music",

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, 1995. Musafia also published numerous articles in Southern California newspapers, most of which were analytic music critiques. Julien Musafia has left an extensive recording legacy, including radio recordings in Boston, Cologne, Bucharest, Moscow. He has concertized in Moscow, Frankfurt (during the Shostakovich Festival), Salzburg, London, Bucharest, Budapest, Pforzheim, Stresa, Cremona, Edinburgh, New York, Milan, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles (as Artistic Director of the Shostakovich Festival) and in many other locations. He lived in Long Beach, California, until his passing on November 14, 2015. His first marriage was to Pianist Beverly Carmen (1928-) (Dec 31, 1954- 1961), they shared a love for Shostakovich during a time when UCLA was focused on Germanic music and composers.

References

* Profil

January 9, 1997. * George Enescu Societ
Advisory board
* Shostakovich Festiva

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musafia, Julien American musicologists California State University, Long Beach faculty Romanian emigrants to the United States University of California, Los Angeles alumni Musicians from Bucharest People from Long Beach, California American pianists 1925 births 2015 deaths American male pianists