Liana Alexandra (born Liana Moraru; 27 May

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

– 10 January

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

) was a Romanian composer, pianist and music educator.

Biography

Alexandra 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, on 27 May 1947. From 1965 to 1971, she studied at the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory (now the

National University of Music Bucharest The National University of Music Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Naţională de Muzică București, UNMB) is a university-level school of music located in Bucharest, Romania. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy in ...

) under

Tudor Ciortea Tudor Ciortea (28 November 1903 – 13 October 1982) was a Romanian composer, musicologist, and music educator. Life and career Ciortea was born in Brașov and began his music studies under Gheorghe Dima in Cluj. He went on to study at the Buchar ...

and

Tiberiu Olah Tiberiu Olah or Tibor Oláh (2 January 1928 – 2 October 2002) was a Romanian-Hungarian composer, teacher and musicologist. Biography Tiberiu Olah was born in Arpad, Bihor, and began his studies at the Cluj Conservatory in 1946. From 1949-54 he ...

and took composition courses in 1974, 1978, 1980 and 1984 in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, Germany. She had a doctorate in musicology and taught composition, orchestration, and music analysis at the Conservatory from 1971 until her death in 2011. A prolific composer in the neoromantic style, Alexandra had over 100 of her works performed and published in Romania. According to musicologist Octavian Cosma, she was "in her element with orchestral and chamber music, employing repetitive and evolving techniques, with melodic lines which suggest lyricism and meditation" and an instrumentation that used "a palette of delicate, pastel colours."Cosma, Octavian
"Alexandra, Liana (Moraru)"

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

. Retrieved 23 April 2013 . Iuliana Porcos described her work as ''"characterized by a clarity of orchestration and particularly by an evolving repetitive structure which induces a feeling of plenary meditation. Her composing style is defined by simplicity, accessibility and clarity, in accord with the 20th century composers’ wish to approach consonance (a new type of consonance), minimalism and archetype."'' Alexandra married the Romanian cellist and composer Şerban Nichifor in 1978. They performed together as Duo Intermedia from 1990 and were co-directors of the Nuova Musica Consonante - Living Music Foundation Festival.Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura (2005)
"Alexandra, Liana"
''

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in 20 ...

''. Retrieved online via

HighBeam Research HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headquar ...

23 April 2013 . Liana Alexandra died at her home in Bucharest on 10 January 2011 of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

at the age of 63.'' Realitatea Evreiasca'' (January 2011)
"Liana Alexandra (Z.L.)"
p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2013 . On 12 January 2011, two days after her death, the broadcast ''Univers muzical românesc'' on

Radio România Muzical ''Radio România Muzical'' is the fourth public-funded radio station in Romania. It is not available in all areas of the country.

was dedicated to her. In May of that year, ''Liana Alexandra: Marturii despre muzica ei'' (Liana Alexandra: Confessions about her Music) was published by Editura Stephanus in a bilingual Romanian and English edition. Edited by Şerban Nichifor, the book is an anthology of writings on Alexandra's music by composers, critics and musicologists including

Viorel Cosma Viorel Cosma (30 March 1923 – 15 August 2017) was a Romanian musician and teacher who came to wider prominence as an exceptionally prolific musicologist and a pioneering lexicographer. Through his scholarship he also achieved distinction as a ...

, Grete Tartler,

Robert Voisey Robert Voisey (born 1969) is a composer and producer of electroacoustic and chamber music. He founded Vox Novus in 2000 to promote the music of contemporary composers and in 2001 created The American Composer Timeline, the first in-depth listi ...

, and

Jacques Leduc Jacques Leduc (born November 25, 1941) is a Canadian film director and cinematographer. Biography Leduc began his career in 1961 working as a film critic for the magazine ''Objectif''. The following year, at the age of 21, he was hired as a came ...

. Later that month, her 1987 opera ''În labirint'' (The Maze) was performed in her memory by the

Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara The Banatul Philharmonic ( ro, Filarmonica Banatul) is a musical institution in Timișoara, Romania. Established in 1871, it now comprises a symphony orchestra, professional chorus and various chamber groups. The Banatul Philharmonic operates in the ...

as the closing concert of the Timișoara International Music Festival (31 May 2011). LianaAlexandra piano 2002

Prizes and honors

Alexandra's compositions have won numerous prizes and honors, including: *1975, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988 - Prize of the Union of Romanian Composers *1979, 1980 -

Gaudeamus Prize The Gaudeamus International Composers Award is made by the Gaudeamus Foundation. The prize is awarded yearly, to a young composer at Dutch music concert, ''Gaudeamus Muziekweek''. The Gaudeamus Foundation had held an annual music week of Dutch co ...

*1980 - Prize of the Romanian Academy *1993 -

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

Prize *1997 - ACMEOR Prize of Israel

Selected works

Symphonic, vocal-symphonic and concert music *Symphony I (1971) *Cantata for women's choir and orchestra, verses by Lucian Blaga (1971) *"Valences", symphonic movement (1973) *Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1974) *Cantata II for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra, verses by Lucian Blaga (1977) *Cantata III "Country-land, country-idea" for women's chorus and orchestra, verses by Nichita Stanescu (1977) *Symphony II "Hymns" (1978) *Concerto for flute, viola and chamber orchestra (1980) *Symphony III “Diacronies” (1981) *Symphony IV (1984) *Symphony V (1985-1986) *Symphony VI (1988-1989) *Symphonic poem "Jerusalem" (1990) *Concerto for string orchestra (1991) *Concerto for piano for four hands and orchestra (1993) *Symphony VII (1996) *Symphony VIII (1995-1996) *Symphony IX "Jerusalem" (1970) *Concerto for saxophone and orchestra (1997) *"Pastorale" for wind orchestra (1999) *Concerto for organ and orchestra (2002). Premiered at the Mihail Jora Concert Hall, Bucharest, 13 November 2002, with Radio Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Cristian Brancusi and Ilse Maria Reich as organist. *Computer music (2003) - Bassoon Quartet, Barcarola, Pastorale, Dancing Visions (12 variations), 1 CD *Computer music (2004) - Rhythms (8 Studies), 1 CD Opera *''The Snow Queen'', children's opera after the story by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

(1978) *''În labirint'', chamber opera (1987) *''Chant d'amour de la Dame à la Licorne'', chamber opera set to verses by Etienne de Sadeleer (1995) Chamber music *Sonata for solo flute (1973) *Music for clarinet, harp and percussion (1972) *Lyric Sequence for clarinet, trumpet and piano (1974) *Two sequences for soprano and chamber orchestra (1976) *"Collages" for brass quintet (1977) *"Incantations" II for violin, viola, cello and piano (1978) *"Consonances" I for trombone quartet (1978) *"Consonances" II for clarinet and piano (1979) *"Consonances" III for solo organ (1979) *"Consonances" V for solo organ (1980) *"Images interrupted" for

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

quintet (1983) *"Cadenza" for violin (1983) *"Pastorale" for bass clarinet and piano (1984) *"Allegro veloce e caratteristico" for organ (1985) *Sonata for six horns (1986) *"Larghetto" for string chamber orchestra (1988) *"Intersections" - sonata for horn and piano (1989) *Music for Het Trio (1990) *"A tre" for flute, clarinet, and bassoon (1991) *"Cadenza" III for piano (1992) *Sonata for piano (1993) *"Fantasy" for cello and piano (1994) *"Poem for Romania", "Poem for Madona from Neamt" for soprano and piano, texts by Eugen Van Itterbeek (1994) *"Consonances" VI for

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quartet (1997) *"Five movements" for violoncello and piano (1997) *"Consonances" VII for solo harp (1998) *"Parallel musics" for saxophone, cello and piano (2001) *"Incantations" III for cello and tape (2002) Books *''Componistica muzicală: Un inefabil demers între fantezie şi rigoare'' (Musical composition: An ineffable act between fantasy and mathematical rigor). Editura Universității Naționale de Muzică, 2005

Discography

Alexandra was a member of the

Vox Novus Vox Novus is a New York City-based organization consisting of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts which presents and supports new music. Vox Novus was founded by Robert Voisey to promote contemporary composers in 2000. This organization ...

consortium. Several of her compositions for the consortium's

60x60 60x60 is a collection of 60 electroacoustic or acousmatic works from 60 different composers/artists, each work 60 seconds or less in duration. 60x60 project showcases sixty new works, each sixty seconds or less, by sixty composers in a continuous ...

project appear on: *''60x60'' (2004–2005). Vox Novus VN-001 *''60x60'' (2006–2007). Vox Novus VN-002Eddins, Stephen. Review: ''60x60'' 2006–2007

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 23 April 2013. Her 1981 choral work ''Soarele Si Luna'' appears on: *''Contemporary Music IV'' - music by Paul Constantinescu, Pascal Bentoiu, Liana Alexandra, Laurentiu Profeta, ''et al''. Conducted by Marin Constantin, 1998, re-released 2005. Electrecord 260 Symphonies number 2, “Imnuri”, and number 3, “Diacronii”, were released on Electrecord LP ST-ECE 02183, recorded in 1977, performed by the Romanian Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Iosif Conta and Liviu Ionescu.

References

Further reading *Tartler, Grete (1984). ''Melopoetica''. Editura Eminescu (Romanian)

External links

* *Nichifor, Şerban (ed.) (2011)
''Liana Alexandra: Marturii despre muzica ei'' (Liana Alexandra: Confessions about her Music)
Editura Stephanus (bilingual version in Romanian and English on

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) * /www.youtube.com/user/lianaalexandra Liana Alexandra's official YouTube channelbr>Works by and about Liana Alexandra
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandra, Liana 1947 births 2011 deaths 20th-century classical composers Women classical composers Romanian classical composers National University of Music Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the National University of Music Bucharest Pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen Women music educators 20th-century women composers