Maia Ciobanu (born 5 May 1952) is 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 def ...

and music educator. She is also the author of books, studies and papers on music.

Early years

Maia Ciobanu was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and studied at the Conservatory Ciprian Porumbescu. She studied composition with Dan Constantinescu and Myriam Marbe and piano with Aurora Ienei, and also studied with

Ștefan Niculescu Ștefan Niculescu (July 31, 1927 – January 22, 2008) was a Romanian composer. Niculescu was born in Moreni, Dâmbovița County. He was credited with introducing his own brand of heterophony, a technique based on superimposing melodic materia ...

, Mircea Chiriac, Liviu Comes, and

Aurel Stroe Aurel Stroe (5 May 1932, in Bucharest – 3 October 2008, in Mannheim) was a Romanian composer, philosopher and linguist. In 2002 he was awarded the Herder Prize from the University of Vienna; and in 2006 he was awarded the Promaetheus Prize by the ...

. In 1980 she attended the

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

summer courses, and studied composition with

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

Gérard Grisey Gérard Henri Grisey (; ; 17 June 1946 – 11 November 1998) was a twentieth-century French composer of contemporary classical music. His work is often associated with the Spectralist Movement in music, of which he was a major pioneer. Biograp ...

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

Hans Peter Haller Hans Peter Haller (26 October 1929 – 16 April 2006) was a German composer and pioneer of electroacoustic music. Life Born in Radolfzell, Haller studied church music in Heidelberg from 1947 and took composition lessons with Wolfgang Fortne ...

, Włodzimierz Kotoński, and

Tristan Murail Tristan Murail (born 11 March 1947) is a French composer associated with the " spectral" technique of composition. Among his compositions is the large orchestral work ''Gondwana''. Early life and studies Murail was born in Le Havre, France. His f ...

. In 1995, she studied at the Swedish Academy of Music in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Career

Since 1992 Ciobanu has been musical director of the Group for Alternative Contemporary Music. In 1993 she became a professor at the

Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film The I. L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film () is a public university in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1954. It is named in honour of playwright Ion Luca Caragiale. History First theatre school The first theatre faculty in Buch ...

, and has taught courses on contemporary Romanian music at music academies in Gothenburg (1995) and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(1996), at the Pedagogical College of Rorschach (1997), and the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(2000). Ciobanu won Honorable Mention at the "International Composition Contest – Mannheim GEDOK" in Germany (1981), the Romanian Academy " George Enescu Prize" (1998), the Romanian Composers' Association Prize (1999, 2022) and "The Order for Cultural Achievements" medal (2004). Ciobanu was president of the Romanian Section of the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

between 2002 and 2003, and is the founder and editor of the English-language journal ''Contemporary Music – Romana Newsletter'' of the section. Ciobanu is also active in publishing and produces music programs for Romanian radio. She is a member of the Romanian Composers Union, the International League of Women Composers, the International Computer Music Association and the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique .

Selected works

*Sonata for clarinet, piano and percussion, 1974 *''Pămîntul trebuie să Trăiască'' for orchestra, 1975 *''Since Suonare'' for piano, 1976 *''Întilnire cu o altă melody'' for percussion and tape, 1978 *''Prelude'' for clarinet, guitar and trombone, 1980 *Concerto for violin and orchestra, 1980 *''Trei Sculpturi'' for string quartet, 1981 *''Toamna'', Madrigal for mixed choir to words by Ioan Nicolae Stănescu, 1981 *''Portret'', Madrigal for mixed choir to words by

Emil Botta Emil Botta (; 15 September 1911 – 24 July 1977) was a Romanian actor, poet and prose writer, the younger brother of poet-essayist Dan Botta. Though born in Western Moldavia, the two boys were raised by their Corsican mother in Muscel County; ...

, 1982 *''Pădurencele'' for nai, 1982 *''Decor I'' for clarinet and piano, 1983 *''Decembrie în Ardel'' for mixed choir, organ and drums on verses by Petru *Anghel, 1983 *''Dorul – Dor'', Madrigal for mixed choir to words by

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...

, 1984 *''Decor II'' for flute and piano, 1984 *''Fîntîna I'' for organ and percussion, 1985 *''Fîntîna II'' for cello and organ, 1986 *''Urare de Belşug'' for female choir, 1986 *''De Dor'' for women's choir, 1986 *''Sorcova Peste de Vara'' for female choir, 1986 *''Povestea Vorbii'', Chortryptichon for mixed choir to poems by Anton Pann, 1987 *''Decor III'' for clarinet, piano and synthesizer, 1988 *Symphony No. 1 – Jurnal '88, 1988 *''3 Ostinato I'' for percussion and tape, 1989 *''Doina, Doinna, Cintec dulce'', 1989 *Concerto for piano and tape, 1990 *Incidental music for ''Merlin of Tancred Dorst'' for electronic music, 1991 *''Veni-va!'' for tape, 1992 *''Fîntîna III'' for piano, synthesizer and percussion, 1992 *''Valsul Pelicanului'' for choir, flute, 2 pianos and percussion on verses by

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement. Early life Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' Halles'' ma ...

, 1992 *''Comentarii'' for clarinet, piano, synthesizer and percussion, 1993 *''Radical political change'' , ballet, 1993 *''Eu, Nu'', Ballet, 1994 *''Ostinato II'' for trombone, clarinet, piano and percussion, 1995 *STII Episodul tu în care ... for flute, violin, viola and accordion, 1997 *''Invizabila Struna'' for violin, 1998 *Concerto for percussion and tape, 1998 *''Jurnal'99'' for tape, 1999 *''Autoportret'' for violin, cello and piano, 2000 *''Tacere cu Variaţiuni'' for clarinet, trombone, violin, cello, piano and percussion, 2000 *''Decor V'' for 2 flutes and nai, 2000 *''Decor IV'' for clarinet and viola (2003) * for tape, 2003 *''Medium I'' for tape, 2003 *''Pădurencele'' for chorus to words by

, 2003 * for piano, actors and tape, 2004 *Concerto for clarinet and string orchestra, 2004 *''Muzica Alternative I, II, III'' and electronic media, piano and dancers, 2005 *Symphony No. 2, 2006 * for ensemble, 2006 *''Climate'' for tape, 2006 *''NR.273,16: Intersecţii'' (Crossroads) for saxophone, viola and live electronics (2007)

Discography

Ciobanu's recorded work includes: *The Earth Must Live *Ostinato II *Da Suonare *The Invisible String *Concerto *Journal '99 *It Shall Come! *Symphony i Journal '88, Three Sculptures for String Quartet, Journal '99 for violin and tape

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciobanu, Maia 1952 births 20th-century Romanian classical composers Romanian music educators Romanian women music educators Romanian women composers Romanian women classical composers Living people Musicians from Bucharest 21st-century Romanian classical composers Enescu Prize winners 20th-century Romanian women composers 21st-century women composers National University of Music Bucharest alumni