National University of Music Bucharest
Encyclopedia
The National University of Music Bucharest 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 1931, it has functioned as a public university
since 2001. It also offered training in drama
until 1950, when this function was taken over by two institutes which were later reunited as the UNATC.
).
The main building and Rector
ate is situated at Ştirbei Vodă Street, 33. As of 2010, UNMB's Rector is Dan Dediu.
Alexander John Cuza
. Initially, it was a secondary education
institution which included two main sections, the Institute of Vocal Music and the School of Instrumental Music, with branches in Bucharest and Iaşi
, Moldavia
's former capital. The Bucharest branch replaced the Philharmonic School (Şcoala Filarmonică), which also offered lessons in acting
.
The institution's first director was composer Alexandru Flechtenmacher, under whose leadership the Conservatory gave courses in violin
, solfege
, Christian music
choir
, piano
, harmony
, and singing. In 1900, composer Alfons Castaldi set up the first chamber music
course.
During the interwar period
, the Conservatory grew to accommodate counterpoint
, orchestration
, aesthetics
and music history
classes. On July 17, 1931, it was turned into an academy
placed under the patronage of King
Carol II
, and renamed Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Academia Regală de Muzică şi Artă Dramatică). This was largely due to the efforts of one of Romania's most celebrated composers, George Enescu
, who was later named Honorary Professor. In the 1940s, the Academy was led by Mihail Jora
, whom the institution itself credits with having revolutionized teaching methods by imposing more rigor and innovative approaches.
In the 1950s, under the communist regime
, the Academy took the name of composer Ciprian Porumbescu
, and reverted to the name of Conservatory—the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory or Conservatorul Ciprian Porumbescu. At the time, it was divided into two faculties: Performing Art and Composition, and Musicology, Orchestra Conducting and Pedagogy. In 1950, the drama
department was turned into a separate Theater Institute, named after playwright Ion Luca Caragiale
. It reunited with the Film Art Institute, a former branch of the Art Academy, in 1954, to form the UNATC. During this period, from 1950 to 1953, the veteran conductor George Georgescu
, a close associate of Enescu who had himself studied cello at the institution a half century before, took his sole academic post, teaching the conducting class.
In 2001, twelve years after the Romanian Revolution
, the Romanian government awarded the institution the status of a National University.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
-level school of music located in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
in 1931, it has functioned as a public university
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
since 2001. It also offered training in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
until 1950, when this function was taken over by two institutes which were later reunited as the UNATC.
Structure
The National University of Music is divided into two faculties: the Faculty of Composition, Musicology and Musical Pedagogy and the Faculty of Performing Arts. Administratively, it is divided into the Department of Scientific Research and Artistic Activities, the Department of International Relations and European Programs, the Teacher Training Department, the Music Shows Department, and the Low-Residency Program Department (see also Education in RomaniaEducation in Romania
According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the Romanian Educational System is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Research . Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislation. Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years old...
).
The main building and Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
ate is situated at Ştirbei Vodă Street, 33. As of 2010, UNMB's Rector is Dan Dediu.
History
The UNMB was established in June 1863 as the Music and Declamation Conservatory (Conservatorul de Muzică şi Declamaţiune, also translated as Music and Drama Conservatory), by decree of DomnitorDomnitor
Domnitor was the official title of the ruler of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia between 1859 and 1866....
Alexander John Cuza
Alexander John Cuza
Alexander John Cuza was a Moldavian-born Romanian politician who ruled as the first Domnitor of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia between 1859 and 1866.-Early life:...
. Initially, it was a secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
institution which included two main sections, the Institute of Vocal Music and the School of Instrumental Music, with branches in Bucharest and Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
's former capital. The Bucharest branch replaced the Philharmonic School (Şcoala Filarmonică), which also offered lessons in acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
.
The institution's first director was composer Alexandru Flechtenmacher, under whose leadership the Conservatory gave courses in violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, solfege
Solfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
, Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, and singing. In 1900, composer Alfons Castaldi set up the first chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
course.
During the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, the Conservatory grew to accommodate counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
, aesthetics
Aesthetics of music
Traditionally, the aesthetics of music or musical aesthetics concentrated on the quality and study of the beauty and enjoyment of music. The origin of this philosophic sub-discipline is sometimes attributed to Baumgarten in the 18th century, followed by Kant...
and music history
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
classes. On July 17, 1931, it was turned into an academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
placed under the patronage of King
King of Romania
King of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol II
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
, and renamed Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Academia Regală de Muzică şi Artă Dramatică). This was largely due to the efforts of one of Romania's most celebrated composers, George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
, who was later named Honorary Professor. In the 1940s, the Academy was led by Mihail Jora
Mihail Jora
Mihail Jora was a Romanian composer, pianist, and conductor.Jora studied in Leipzig with Robert Teichmüller. From 1929 to 1962 he was a professor at the conservatoire of Bucharest. He worked 1928 to 1933 as a director/conductor of the Broadcasting Orchestra in Bucharest...
, whom the institution itself credits with having revolutionized teaching methods by imposing more rigor and innovative approaches.
In the 1950s, under the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
, the Academy took the name of composer Ciprian Porumbescu
Ciprian Porumbescu
Ciprian Porumbescu was a Romanian composer born in Şipotele Sucevei in Bukovina . He was among the most celebrated Romanian composers of his time; his popular works include Crai nou, Trei culori, Song for the 1st of May, Ballad for violin and piano, and Serenada...
, and reverted to the name of Conservatory—the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory or Conservatorul Ciprian Porumbescu. At the time, it was divided into two faculties: Performing Art and Composition, and Musicology, Orchestra Conducting and Pedagogy. In 1950, the drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
department was turned into a separate Theater Institute, named after playwright Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
. It reunited with the Film Art Institute, a former branch of the Art Academy, in 1954, to form the UNATC. During this period, from 1950 to 1953, the veteran conductor George Georgescu
George Georgescu
George Georgescu was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and...
, a close associate of Enescu who had himself studied cello at the institution a half century before, took his sole academic post, teaching the conducting class.
In 2001, twelve years after the Romanian Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, the Romanian government awarded the institution the status of a National University.
Notable alumni
- Anda-Louise BogzaAnda-Louise BogzaAnda-Louise Bogzais a celebrated Romanian opera soprano. In 1994 she won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Vienna International Singing Competition...
- Elena CerneiElena CerneiElena Cernei was a Romanian operatic mezzo-soprano, musicologist, and voice teacher. During her 25 year career as an opera singer, she sang in leading opera houses in both Europe and North America...
- Marius ConstantMarius ConstantMarius Constant was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Known primarily for his television soundtracks, his most widely heard score was the iconic Twilight Zone theme song....
- Grigore CuglerGrigore CuglerGrigore Cugler was a Romanian avant-garde short story writer, poet and humorist. Also noted as a graphic artist, composer and violinist, he was a decorated World War I veteran who served as the Romanian Kingdom's diplomatic representative in various countries before and after World War II...
- Elena GajaElena GajaElena Gaja is a Romanian mezzo-soprano opera singer.She graduated from the Ciprian Porumbescu Music Academy in Bucharest where she studied under Magda Ianculescu. A stage actress, Gaja had an affinity for the French opera repertoire and also for Verdi and verismo...
- George GeorgescuGeorge GeorgescuGeorge Georgescu was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and...
- Nicolae HerleaNicolae HerleaNicolae Herlea is a Romanian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of Rossini's Figaro, which he sang around 550 times during his career....
- Hugo Jan HussHugo Jan HussHugo Jan Huss was an orchestra conductor and music director.He was born in Timişoara, Romania and died in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He studied at the Bucharest Conservatory of Music where he was the favorite student of Constantin Silvestri...
- Magda IanculescuMagda IanculescuMagda Ianculescu was a Romanian operatic soprano and voice teacher. A leading singer in the Romanian National Opera for many years, she was known for her musicality and vocal technique...
- Sorin LerescuSorin LerescuSorin Lerescu was born in Craiova and is a Romanian composer who studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest.Lerescu has been active in his profession and is considered by many to be in the forefront of present-day prospective Romanian music...
- Myriam MarbeMyriam MarbeMyriam Marbe was a Romanian composer and pianist.Marbe received her first piano lessons from her mother, who was a pianist. She studied at the Bucharest Conservatory from 1944 to 1954, where she took classes in piano with Florica Musicescu and Silvia Capăţână, as well as in composition with Leon...
- Silvia MarcoviciSilvia MarcoviciSilvia Marcovici is a Romanian classical violinist.Born in Bacău, Romania, she studied at the Conservatory in Bucharest. Her international debut was at the age of sixteen when she performed in The Hague under Bruno Maderna...