Contemporary Romanian Music for Unaccompanied Clarinet

Abstract

Romanian music during the second half of the twentieth century was influenced by the socio-politic environment. During the Communist era, composers struggled among the official ideology, synchronizing with Western compositional trends of the time, and following their own natural style. With the appearance of great instrumentalists like clarinetist Aurelian Octav Popa, composers began writing valuable works that increased the quality and the quantity of the repertoire for this instrument. Works written for clarinet during the second half of the twentieth century represent a wide variety of styles, mixing elements from Western traditions with local elements of concert and folk music. While the four works discussed in this document are demanding upon one's interpretative abilities and technically challenging, they are also musically rewarding.