CONTEXTUALIZING TRADITIONAL INFLUENCES WITHIN ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC: STYLISTIC ELEMENTS IN SELECTED WORKS FOR SOLO FLUTE BY DOINA ROTARU, VIOLETA DINESCU, AND CARMEN CÂRNECI Octavian Moldovean A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS August 2020 Committee: Conor Nelson, Advisor Thomas Mowen Graduate Faculty Representative Ryan Ebright Mikel Kuehn © 2020 Octavian Moldovean All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Conor Nelson, Advisor The geographical positioning of the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic area has been at the crossroads of multiple cultures since the dawn of civilization. Because of this premise, Romanian music had a lot of influences from the Balkans and the Middle East, developing in diverse, original, and profound ways. Its location also allowed political influences of the Habsburg, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires to dictate the economic development of this territory, affecting its culture and society. Despite all external influences, the foundation of Romanian music remains deeply rooted in the Byzantine tradition (through the Orthodox church), the folkloric tradition (with its orality), and the legacy of the previous two centuries. This legacy was based on the Western tradition and owes its inspiration to the musical pioneers of the 19th century, to George Enescu and world class intellectuals leading up to 1945, and to the resistance of artists during the communist period. This dissertation presents study cases of four works written for the flute by Doina Rotaru, Violeta Dinescu, and Carmen Cârneci. These composers represent the Romanian school of composition during the communist period and thus, a generation of sacrifice. Their music belongs to the Romanian musical culture through its ethos, through the melodic character of their works, and through the stylized traditional elements that these works integrate. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After twenty-four continuous years of school, it took all the support I could get in order to finish a project as lengthy as this dissertation (apologies for that, and I hope you find it useful). Thus, this document is the product of people working together. First and foremost, this document could not have been done in such a timely manner without the constant support, encouragement, understanding, and dedication of Dr. Conor Nelson. I am forever in debt to him not only for bringing me to BGSU for a second Master’s degree, but also for believing that I could finish a doctoral degree after so many years spent in school. Huge thanks to Doina Rotaru, Violeta Dinescu, Carmen Cârneci, and Valentina Sandu- Dediu, with whom I extensively corresponded at various times during the writing process. Having the information directly from the source when writing about living composers is a true blessing, adding authenticity and validity to the whole document. I am beyond grateful for their willingness to share materials of immeasurable value. Many thanks to my understanding and supportive committee members comprised of Dr. Nelson, Dr. Ryan Ebright, Dr. Mikel Kuehn, and Dr. Thomas Mowen. Special thanks to Dr. Robert Satterlee, Dr. Marilyn Shrude, and to Dr. Ebright who was an indispensable guide for our writing seminar, providing valuable feedback and suggestions throughout the past two years. A heartwarming mulțumesc to one of the best people I know, Dr. Daniel Milan, for being a great friend that I could only hope for. Perhaps it is his Romanian genes and ancestors that we hunted for in Romania back in 2018, or our Romanian album that we dedicated to his Royal Highness, the late King Mihai I of Romania. Regardless, it is a great privilege and a humorous joy to have him in my life. In addition, his family has always opened their home to me, and, in v many ways, they were like my second family in the United States. Much gratitude to Patty and Jim, two awesome parents with more of an open mind than any other couple that I have met. A gigantic THANK YOU from the top of my flutist (and referee) lungs to my friends at BGSU, and those who are scattered around the world for helping me in myriad ways. Notably keeping me sane throughout this process via our encounters and conversations, and listening to my occasional rants about miscellaneous existential life problems: Arton Kastrati, Cristian Crișan, Xinya Zhou, Marcel Matiș, Hila Zamir, Dr. Georgi Petkov Yankov, Claudia Aizaga, Monica Hidan, Betty Jones, Gaynelle Predmore, Dr. Summer Aebker, and Dr. Alan Smith. I learned a great deal about research methodology from the IRB committee at BGSU. Navigating this necessary process to conduct interviews has made me grateful for their activity and support, with a special thanks to Dr. Thomas Mowen for his guidance. I am also thankful to the faculty, staff, and graduate students from the College of Musical Arts (notably my fellow DMA colleagues), and the Learning Commons at the BGSU Jerome library for many proofreading sessions. Last, but not least, loving thanks to my dear family back home: Mirela, Bristena, Floare, and Dumitru. Researching my own country sparked constant reminders of them, and how much our people have suffered throughout the centuries and unfortunately to this day. I am forever grateful for their existence and support, for the way they raised me to become who I am, and for all of their sacrifices. This dissertation is a physical manifestation of the love that they blessed me with. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1. ESTABLISHING CONTEXT: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF MUSIC IN THE CARPATHIAN-DANUBIAN-PONTIC AREA BETWEEN THE 1ST AND THE 21ST CENTURIES ........................................................... 5 Archaic Music, Byzantine Music, and Folklore .......................................................... 5 19th Century Romanian Music .................................................................................... 31 George Enescu and the Romanian National School in the First Half of the 20th Century ........................................................................................................................ 45 Music in Communist Romania between 1945 and the 1989 Revolution ..................... 60 Music in Capitalist Romania between 1990 and 2000 ................................................. 75 CHAPTER 2. DOINA ROTARU ............................................................................................ 79 Biography ..................................................................................................................... 79 Compositional Output for the Flute ............................................................................. 84 Formal, Structural and Aesthetic Analysis of Legend for Flute and Resonator (1984) .......................................................................................................................... 88 Formal, Structural, and Aesthetic Analysis of Jyotis for Solo Flute (2017) ............... 95 vii Parallels, Differences, and Conclusions between Legend and Jyotis ......................... 109 CHAPTER 3. VIOLETA DINESCU ...................................................................................... 113 Biography .................................................................................................................... 113 Formal, Structural and Aesthetic Analysis of Aus dem Tagebuch, a Cycle of 5 Works for Solo Flute(s) (2011) ................................................................................... 126 CHAPTER 4. CARMEN CÂRNECI ...................................................................................... 144 Biography .................................................................................................................... 144 Formal, Structural and Aesthetic Analysis of …une main immense for Solo Contrabass Flute (1991) .............................................................................................. 158 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................... 181 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 187 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW WITH DOINA ROTARU (b. 1951) ...................................... 194 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW WITH VIOLETA DINESCU (b. 1953) ................................. 214 APPENDIX C. INTERVIEW WITH CARMEN CÂRNECI (b. 1957) ................................. 242 APPENDIX D. INTERVIEW WITH VALENTINA SANDU-DEDIU (b. 1966) ................. 258 APPENDIX E. HSRB INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT ............................................ 270 APPENDIX F. HSRB APPROVAL LETTER ....................................................................... 273 viii LIST OF EXAMPLES Example Page 1.1 Hymn from the stichērarion ........................................................................................ 18 1.2 Simple and compound dactylic and anapestic aksak rhythms ..................................... 19 1.3 French lute tablature attributed to Valentin Backfark .................................................. 26 1.4 Semaisi (ceremonial) music with aksak rhythms for Saz (plucked string instrument, similar to the lute) ..................................................................................... 28 1.5 Anton Pann,