Gogu Constantinescu

Constaninescu stands out among the composers who followed George Enescu into the Romanian musical limelight during the first half of the 20th century. On the one hand, through his diverse oeuvre, which encompasses almost all of the genres from chamber music to film music, and on the other hand, through his own musical language, consisting of great colour and harmonic variety. Skilfully adapted ecclesiastic Byzantine modes and chants, modal scales, and the authentic and fascinating melodies of Romanian folk music merge with Constaninescu's oeuvre, which stands balanced somewhere between Western tradition and a national musical idiom.

The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra and conductor Lawrence Foster present choral-orchestral works by Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. They join forces with a remarkable group of soloists – including Luiza Fatyol, Roxana Constantinescu, Marius Vlad, Ioan Hotea and Bogdan Baciu – as well as the Junior VIP children’s choir. The album opens with Kodály’s Budavári Te Deum and Psalmus Hungaricus, followed by Bartók’s Transylvanian Dances and culminating in the composer’s Cantata Profana.

by Heide Schatten (Author)