Roman Vlad

Roman Vlad (b Cernauti, Bukovina, 29 December 1919) is an Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist of Romanian birth. He studied with Titus Tarnawski and Liviu Russu in Romania earning a piano diploma. He moved to Rome in 1938 to study at the University of Rome and later the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He eventually became an Italian citizen in 1951.

Vlad's early career was as a performer and composer; he won the Enescu Prize in 1942 for his Sinfonietta, and the Silver Mask Award for his film music. He was the artistic director of " Accademia Filarmonica Romana" from 1955-58 and again from 1966-62. As well, he was the president of the Italian Society for Contemporary Music in 1960 and musical consultant for the third RAI national radio and television network. Currently, he is a member of the Directory Council of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia and artistic consultant for the Ravenna Festival and the Spoleto Festival.

Vlad is an eclectic composer whose works range from symphonies to operas to chamber music to "The Japanese Seasons, 24 Haiku." He is a noted composer of film music, as well, including the score for René Clair's "The Beauty of the Devil". Vlad has written significant books about music, including "The History of Twelve-Tone Music" (1958) and biographies of Stravinsky and Dallapiccola. Works for the general public include "Understanding Music" and "Introduction to Musical Civilization".

ources

*Roberta Costa. The "New Grove Dictionary of Opera", edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5