Biography:

Cornel Țăranu (b.June 20, 1934, Cluj , Romania  – d.June 18, 2023^[1] ) was a Romanian composer and conductor, corresponding member (1993) and later titular (2012) of the Romanian Academy . ^[3]

Studies

Țăranu studied composition between 1951 and 1957 with Sigismund Toduță at the Conservatory (today, the Academy) of Music in Cluj. Between 1966 and 1967 he studied at the Paris Conservatory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen . Between 1968 – 1969 he studied at Darmstadt in Germany with György Ligeti , Bruno Maderna and Christoph Caskel.

Professional activity 

After finishing his studies, he started his career as an assistant, continuing his university degrees, between 1970 – 1990 , then continued as a professor of composition. In 1968 , he founded the “Ars Nova” ensemble in Cluj. Since 1990, he is the vice-president of the Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania. In 1995 he founded and is the director of the Cluj Modern Festival. He is a professor of composition at the “Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca and has given courses in Germany, Israel, Switzerland, and the United States of America. The concerns for the creation of George Enescu were embodied in the doctoral thesis, published with the title Enescu in the consciousness of the present(1969, Literary Publishing House; French translation: Enesco dans la conscience du présent , 1981, Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House), as well as by completing, according to the original sketches, some unfinished Enescian works: Symphony no. 5 (parts I and IV), Caprice roumain for violin and orchestra, the vocal-symphonic poem Strigoii for soprano, tenor, baritone, choir and orchestra, to the lyrics of Mihai Eminescu.

Distinctions 

He was repeatedly awarded for his compositions by the Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania (1972, 1978, 1981, 1982 and 2001). In 2004 he received the Order of Cultural Merit, in the rank of Officer. He is the winner of the first edition (2008) of the National Arts Awards, in the “Music” category, for the opera Oreste – Oedipe , based on Olivier Apert’s libretto. He is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France ( Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres , 2002).

In 1993 he was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy, of which he was a full member from 2012 until his death.

Compositions 

In addition to symphonies and other works for orchestra, he also composed two operas ( The Secret of Don Giovanni – 1969-1970 and Oreste and Oedipe – 1999-2001), chamber music, choral music and lieds, as well as film music.

Credits: