Biography

doina noun
doi·na | \ ˈdȯinə\
plural doinas\ -nəz \ also doine\ -ˌne \
Definition of doina: a Romanian folk song usually in the form of a lament

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Romanian composer Doina Rotaru often works with archetypes and symbols that she carefully weaves in her liquid-like heterophonies, blending archaic Romanian influences (particularly in the type of ornamentation or the frequent use of the flute) with contemporary techniques and structures.

Born in 1951, in Bucharest, Doina Rotaru studied composition at the National University of Music in Bucharest, between 1970 and 1975, with Ștefan Niculescu and Tiberiu Olah. In 1991 she was granted a scholarship in Holland (Amsterdam) where she studied with Theo Loevendie.

She has written so far over 120 works that cover almost every musical genre: from solo, chamber, choral to orchestral works, from works that mix instrumental with electronic music to puppet theatre music.

Her music has been performed in many concerts and festivals all over the world: Europe, Far-East, Australia, Canada and South-America – some of these being “author concerts”.

Her works have been commissioned by Warsaw Autumn Festival, Radio France, Radio Graz, Suntory Hall Tokyo, French Ministry of Culture, various ensembles and soloists from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland. She collaborated with prestigious musicians such as flutists Pierre-Yves Artaud, Mario Caroli or Ion Bogdan Ștefănescu, saxophonist Daniel Kientzy, shakuhachi player Iwamoto Yoshikazu, conductors Barrie Webb, Pierre-Alain Biget, Ludovic Bacs, Christian Badea, Horia Andreescu, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Ergon Ensemble (Athens), Profil Ensemble (Bucharest), Arcadia String Quartet (Cluj), XXth Century Ensemble (Vienna), Caput Ensemble (Iceland), Les Percussions de Strasbourg, French Flute Orchestra (Paris), Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Malmö Philharmonic Orchestra and so on.

Doina Rotaru was awarded prizes by the Romanian Academy (Bucharest – 1996) and the Romanian Composers’ Association (UCMR, Bucharest – 10 prizes between 1981-2015). In 1994 she was awarded the First Prize at the Gedok – Mannheim International Competition (Germany) for her 2nd Symphony.

She was invited to hold lectures about her music in Germany (Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music – 1992, 1994), Holland (Amsterdam, Gaudeamus International Composers’  Workshop – 1990, 1992), UK (Huddersfield University – 1995, Brighton – 1995), Japan (Tokyo – 1998, 2001, Akiyoshidai – 2011), Iceland (Skalholt – 2006), Sweden (Stockholm – 2010), Poland (Bydgoszcz – 2018),  Italy (Bari – 2011, Venice – 2019), Spain (Madrid and Bilbao – 2019).

Doina Rotaru has been invited to take part in international juries for composition competitions or festival selections in France (Paris – 2002, 2006), Slovenia (Ljublijana – World Music Days 2004) and Romania (Bucharest – 2006), as well as numerous Romanian composition competitions.

She has taught since 1990 at the National University of Music in Bucharest, where she was also Head of the Composition Department between 2008-2013. Since 1998 she has a PhD in Musicology at the National University of Music in Bucharest, with the dissertation Contemporary composers and archaic traditions. Her teaching career has led to the writing of two school books, in collaboration with fellow professor Liviu Comes:Counterpoint School Book for Music Highschools (Editura Didactică, 1977) and Vocal and Instrumental Counterpoint Treatise (Editura Muzicală, 1986).

In 1998 and 2009 she was the Artistic Director of the International Week of New Music, the most important contemporary music festival in Bucharest.

Her works are published by the Editura Muzicală (The Musical Publishing House) in Bucharest, Éditions Leduc and Henry Lemoine in Paris, as well as by Babel Scores.

SHORT BIO:

Romanian composer Doina Rotaru often works with archetypes and symbols that she carefully weaves in her liquid-like heterophonies, blending archaic Romanian influences (particularly in the type of ornamentation or the frequent use of the flute) with contemporary techniques and structures.

Born in 1951, in Bucharest, she has written so far over 120 works that cover almost every musical genre: from solo, chamber, choral to orchestral works, from works that mix instrumental with electronic music to puppet theatre music.

Her music has been performed in many concerts and festivals all over the world. She has received comissions from Warsaw Autumn Festival, Radio France, Radio Graz, Suntory Hall Tokyo, French Ministry of Culture, various ensembles and soloists from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland.

Doina Rotaru was awarded prizes by the Romanian Academy (1996) and the Romanian Composers’ Association (10 prizes between 1981-2015), as well as the First Prize at the Gedok – Mannheim International Competition (1994). She was invited to hold lectures about her music in Germany, Holland, UK, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Italy or Spain.

She has taught since 1990 at the National University of Music in Bucharest, where she was also Head of the Composition Department between 2008-2013.