Liana Alexandra

Liana Alexandra and her husband Şerban Nichifor. The couple performed together as Duo Intermedia.

Liana Alexandra (born Liana Moraru, 27 May 1947 – 10 January 2011) was a Romanian composer, pianist and music educator.

Biography

Alexandra was born in Bucharest, Romania. From 1965 to 1971, she studied at the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory (now the National University of Music Bucharest) under Tudor Ciortea and Tiberiu Olah and took composition courses in 1974, 1978, 1980 and 1984 in Darmstadt, Germany.[1][2] She had a doctorate in musicology and taught composition, orchestration, and music analysis at the Conservatory from 1971 until her death in 2011. A prolific composer in the neoromantic style, Alexandra had over 100 of her works performed and published in Romania.[3] According to musicologist Octavian Cosma, she was "in her element with orchestral and chamber music, employing repetitive and evolving techniques, with melodic lines which suggest lyricism and meditation" and an instrumentation that used "a palette of delicate, pastel colours."[1] Alexandra married the Romanian cellist and composer Şerban Nichifor in 1978. They performed together as Duo Intermedia from 1990 and were co-directors of the Nuova Musica Consonante - Living Music Foundation Festival.[2][3]

Liana Alexandra died at her home in Bucharest of a cerebral hemorrage at the age of 63.[4] On 12 January 2011, two days after her death, the broadcast Univers muzical românesc on Radio România Muzical was dedicated to her.[5] In May of that year, Liana Alexandra: Marturii despre muzica ei (Liana Alexandra: Confessions about her Music) was published by Editura Stephanus in a bilingual Romanian and English edition. Edited by Şerban Nichifor, the book is an anthology of writings on Alexandra's music by composers, critics and musicologists including Viorel Cosma, Grete Tartler, Robert Voisey, and Jacques Leduc. Later that month, her 1987 opera În labirint (The Maze) was performed in her memory by the Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara as the closing concert of the Timișoara International Music Festival (31 May 2011).[6][7]

Liana Alexandra, ACMEOR Prize, Tel-Aviv, 1997

Prizes and honors

Alexandra's compositions have won numerous prizes and honors, including:

Selected works

Symphonic, vocal-symphonic and concert music[8]

Opera

Chamber music

Books

Discography

Alexandra was a member of the Vox Novus consortium. Several of her compositions for the consortium's 60x60 project appear on:

Her 1981 choral work Soarele Si Luna appears on:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cosma, Octavian. "Alexandra, Liana (Moraru)".Grove Music Online. Retrieved 23 April 2013 (subscription required).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura (2005). "Alexandra, Liana". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Retrieved online via HighBeam Research 23 April 2013 (subscription required).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Smith, Sidney Bertram (2005). Classical Musicians Speak Out as a New Century Begins. Cambridgeshire: Melrose Press. p. 41. ISBN 1905226020. OCLC 61294964.
  4. ↑ Realitatea Evreiasca (January 2011). "Liana Alexandra (Z.L.)", p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2013 (Romanian).
  5. ↑ Bojin, Maria Monica (10 January 2011). "In memoriam Liana Alexandra". Radio România Muzical. Retrieved 24 April 2013 (Romanian).
  6. ↑ Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara (May 2011). "În labirint, omagiu Lianei Alexandra". Retrieved 24 April 2013 (Romanian).
  7. ↑ Radio România (24 May 2011). "Volum de mărturii dedicat compozitoarei Liana Alexandra". Retrieved 24 April 2013 (Romanian).
  8. ↑ Lists of works sourced from Liana Alexandra on Vox Novus, New York. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Eddins, Stephen. Review: 60x60 2006–2007. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2013.

Further reading

External links

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