Mihail Andricu (22 December 1894, Bucharest - 4 March 1974, Bucharest ) was a Romanian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, violinist, and pianist. He studied with

Alfonso Castaldi Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, Robert Klenck and Dumitru Kiriac. Andricu graduated from 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 ...

(1903 to 1912), after which he studied with

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

(1913-1914) and

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...

in Paris (1919-1922).Mihail Andricu
, ''A Romanian Musical Adventure''. Accessed February 2016. From 1926 to 1948 he was a professor of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and from 1948 to 1959 he was a professor of composition. A co-founder of the Society of Romanian Composers, he was elected as a corresponding member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

in 1948, member of the ''

Société française de musicologie Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

'', and twice winner of the

Enescu Prize The Enescu Prize is a prize in music composition founded by Romanian composer George Enescu, awarded from 1913 to 1946, and afterwards by the National University of Music Bucharest. Enescu is regarded by many as Romania's most important musician. W ...

, though his work was later suppressed by the government. Censor

Leonte Răutu Leonte Răutu (until 1945 Lev Nikolayevich (Nicolaievici) Oigenstein; February 28, 1910 – 1993) was a Bessarabian-born Romanian communist activist and propagandist. He was chief ideologist of the Romanian Communist Party ("Workers' Party") ...

castigated Andricu for admitting or showing an appreciation for contemporary Western classical music. Andricu was expelled from the composers' union in 1959 and his mention was prohibited.
Expoziţia "Laureaţi ai premiului naţional de compoziţie 'George Enescu' - Mihail Andricu"
", ''BiblAcad.ro''. Accessed February 2016. Highly prolific, Andricu composed eleven symphonies, thirteen

sinfoniettas A sinfonietta is a symphony that is smaller in scale (either in terms of length or the instrumental forces required), or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. Although of Italian form, the word is not genuine in that language and has seld ...

, and three chamber symphonies. Specific pieces include a symphonic suite: ''Cinderella''.

Honors

*Enescu Prize for composition (Op. 1) in 1923 *Enescu Prize for composition (Op. 2) in 1924 *Robert Cremer Prize in 1931 *Anhauch Prize in 1932 *Romanian Academy Award in 1949

References

1894 births 1974 deaths Musicians from Bucharest Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Romanian classical composers Enescu Prize winners {{Romania-composer-stub