Șerban Nichifor

Belgian Ambassador Philippe Roland presenting Șerban Nichifor with the Order of the Crown in 2008

Șerban Nichifor OCB (born 25 August 1954) is a Romanian composer, cellist and music educator.

Biography

Șerban Nichifor was born on 25 August 1954 to Ermil Nichifor (1916-1997) and Livia Nichifor, née Balint (1922-2017) in Bucharest, Romania. Both his parents were physicians. His father was also a musician and conductor of the Orchestra of Physicians in Bucharest.[1][2]

Nichifor studied at the National University of Music Bucharest from 1973 to 1977 and took composition courses in 1978, 1980 and 1984 in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1994, he received a Ph.D. in Musicology from National University of Music and from 1990 to 1994, also studied at the Theology Faculty of the University of Bucharest.[3] In 2015, he gets the summa cum laude skills in conducting PhDs, with the thesis SHOAH - The Holocaust Reflected in My Musical Creation.[4]

In 2016, Nichifor signed an open letter asking that Oana Stănciulescu not be named to the Romanian Television administration. The letter cited her admiration for Radu Gyr and Vintilă Horia, figures associated with the far-right during the 1940s.[5][6] The following year, he signed a similar document, objecting to the hiring of Ionuț Țene as head of cultural affairs at Cluj-Napoca City Hall. The signatories took issue with Țene's previous position as editor of Napoca News, described in the letter as a "nationalist extremist publication".[7]

He has composed many works dedicated to the victims of The Holocaust.[8][9][10] According to musicologist Octavian Cosma, Nichifor's eclectic style is based on neoromanticism but has included elements of jazz (in his Third and Fourth Symphonies) and the use of tape recordings as in his opera Domnişoara Cristina. In the 1990s, he "developed a simplified style employing themes reminiscent of Byzantine chant."[3]

Nichifor and his mother, Dr. Livia Nichifor, to whom he dedicated much of his musical output
Nichifor and his wife Liana Alexandra. The couple performed together as Duo Intermedia.

Nichifor is a professor at National University of Music. He married the late Romanian musician and composer Liana Alexandra in 1978. They performed together as cellist and pianist in the Duo Intermedia from 1990 and were co-directors of the Nuova Musica Consonante - Living Music Foundation Festival.[11][12]

Prizes and honors

Among Nichifor's prizes and honors are the 1977 Gaudeamus International Composers Award and the Belgian Order of the Crown (conferred in 2008).[13]

Principal works

Opera, symphonic, vocal-symphonic and visual music[14]

Chamber, choral, and vocal music


Discography

References

  1. ↑ Călinescu, Georgeta (19 May 2017). "O viață dăruită pediatriei". Viata Medicala. Retrieved 30 June 2017 (in Romanian).
  2. 1 2 Nichifor, Șerban (2017). Homage to my Mother. IMSLP
  3. 1 2 Cosma, Octavian. "Nichifor, Şerban".Grove Music Online. Retrieved 23 April 2013 (subscription required).
  4. ↑ National University of Music Bucharest Teze de abilitare. Retrieved 03 July 2017 (in Romanian).
  5. ↑ Observator Cultural (17 March 2016) Protest împotriva desemnării Oanei Stănciulescu în Consiliul de Administrație al TVR. Retrieved 02 July 2017 (in Romanian).
  6. ↑ Evenimentul Zilei (18 March 2016) Protest împotriva desemnării Oanei Stănciulescu în Consiliul de Administrație al TVR pentru că îi are ca repere morale pe Radu Gyr şi Vintilă Horia. Retrieved 02 July 2017 (in Romanian).
  7. ↑ Observator Cultural (30 June 2017) Protest - Peste 100 de intelectuali protestează față de desemnarea domnului Ionuț Țene ca șef al Biroului învățămînt, cultură, culte, sport și societate, din Primăria Cluj-Napoca. Retrieved 02 July 2017 (in Romanian).
  8. ↑ Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project. Serban Nichifor. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Shoah Music by Serban Nichifor. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Realitatea Evreiasca (28 February 2009). "Ofrandă muzicală", p. 11. Retrieved 23 April 2013 (in Romanian).
  11. ↑ Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura (2005). "Alexandra, Liana". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Retrieved online via Highbeam Research 23 April 2013 (subscription required).
  12. ↑ Smith, Sidney Bertram (2005). Classical Musicians Speak Out as a New Century Begins. Cambridgeshire: Melrose Press. p. 41. ISBN 1905226020. OCLC 61294964.
  13. ↑ "Past Winners". Gaudeamus Muziekweek. Retrieved 28 November 2012 (in Dutch).
  14. ↑ Lists sourced from Biography of Serban_Nichifor on Vox Novus, New York. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  15. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2001-2003). Symphony VII “Cello Memoirs”. IMSLP
  16. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2007). Cries from Earth to Heaven. IMSLP
  17. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2005-2007). Tribute to Joseph Smith. IMSLP
  18. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2010-2013). Shoah - music dedicated to the Holocaust martyrs. IMSLP
  19. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2010). Pentagon (visual music). IMSLP
  20. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2010). God Bless America! – visual music. IMSLP
  21. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2011-2012). Symphony VIII Tom & Huck. IMSLP
  22. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2016). Symphony IX God Bless Romania. IMSLP
  23. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2016). Piano Concerto No.2. IMSLP
  24. ↑ Nichifor, Șerban (2017). Tu es Sacerdos. IMSLP
  25. ↑ Luxembourg Society for Contemporary Music. Recordings. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  26. ↑ Eddins, Stephen. Review: 60x60 2006–2007. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2013.

Further reading

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