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Art & Culture
Today’s Romania still bears the mark of the Roman Empire civilization that once administered it. At the same time the Romanian culture – religion, folk traditions, spoken language, the people’s way of thinking — possess numerous multicultural elements in their most intimate structure. Situated at the junction of great empires which dominated Europe’s history, the Romanian provinces were in turn under Byzantine, Ottoman, and Habsburg domination.
In Transylvania influences of a Western culture, mainly of German origin, but also of Italian and French influence, can still be seen in the older medieval cities of Sibiu, Sighişoara, and Cluj. To the South and East of the Carpathians, an Oriental influence is even stronger, as observed in the regional religion, painting, architecture and music. In time, especially towards the end of the 18th century, the influence of Western Europe came to rival that of the Oriental. The French model adopted by the inhabitants of Bucharest at the beginning of the 20th century, regarding the artistic and high life, as well as architecture and fashion, shaped what came to be called, “The Little Paris.”
Romanian culture has contributed to the worldwide cultural patrimony with outstanding values in different fields. George Enescu, a musician of great genius, created notable musical masterpieces with an obvious folk, national and realist character. His work is an example of creative development in the process of the conquests in the European musical art, of their mingling with the traditions of the Romanian folk music.
A visionary artist, Constantin Brâncuşi contributed to modern sculpture. He is credited with having reshaped the sculptural language of the 20th century and bringing back to life the abstract in archaic art. Mircea Eliade laid the foundation for the research of religious history on an international scale. Eugen Ionescu is a remarkable playwright of the theatre of the absurd, his value being acknowledged and appreciated especially in Europe.
Of great value also is the Romanian school of music. A distinguished personality, the soprano Mariana Nicolesco has always captured the worldwide audience, acclaimed on the most famous stages of the world, including The Scala Theater in Milano and The Metropolitan Opera in New York. Angela Gheorghiu, Leontina Vaduva, and Elena Cotrubas are several other valuable sopranos, whose voices echo on the great world stages.
An important aspect of the contemporary Romanian cultural landscape is cinematography. Romanian cinematography features much intense activity in this field. Apart from the acknowledged directors such as Liviu Ciulei and Lucian Pintilie, today’s young generation asserts itself, in particular directors like Cristi Puiu and Radu Muntean, who have been awarded at great cinema festivals in the world.
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