Music

Many consider George Enescu to be the most important Romanian musician ever. He was a composer, violinist, teacher, pianist and orchestra conductor. He started studying violin at age 4 and performed at his first concert when he was only 5 years old. He studied both at the Vienna and Paris music schools where he wowed the crowd with his unquestionable talent. His most known works date back to the beginning of the 20th century: the two Romanian Rhapsodies, his first Symphony, Seven songs on lyrics by Clément Marot etc. A very popular work by Enescu is his “Oedip” which is often performed at the “George Enescu” International Music Festival, now at its 19th edition.

Painting

The main founder of modern Romanian painting is considered to be Nicolae Grigorescu. He astonished the public with his talent in a key-moment in building modern Romanian culture, as the poetry scene was being taken over by Eminescu’s genius.

As a young man, Grigorescu realized that he lacked a lot in art education, so that he spent a lot of time abroad, studying in France, Italy, Greece and Austria. His style comprises traces of wall painting practices and impressionist influences. Grigorescu dedicated a large part of his work to the Romanian traditional country life, tackling rustic subjects, painting portraits of peasants, oxen carts, dusty country roads and a large variety of typical Romanian landscapes.

Writer Alexandru Vlahuta talks about Grigorescu: “Grigorescu’s life is best told by his works. A simple, quiet, organized, strong life, entirely dedicated to his art. There was nothing besides art for him. It is there where he put all his love for nature, its jewels and secrets, but, above all, his love for his country and his people, his love for goodness, truth and beauty”.

This article only plays the part of an introduction to Romanian art and culture. Its sole purpose is to make the ones not so familiar with the country realize there are a lot of treasures held by Romania and that there is a good reason why they should try discovering them on their own. Maybe the list below will help get them started:

• Romania's National Museum of Art in Bucharest
• The Village Museum in Bucharest
• The Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest
• Brasov Art Museum
• Cluj Napoca National Art Museum
• Iasi Art Museum
• Timisoara Art Museum
• The Bruckenthal Museum in Sibiu

Author: Adriana Niculescu

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