Musica Prohibita

Human freedom cannot exist without artistic freedom. Censorship and political persecution can often stop the freedom of creation, oppressing creators. In music, however, this is less true, because few oppressors understand the language of sounds and can censor it. And the physical disappearance of the creator of musical works does not lead to the loss of creation, but to its perpetuation, to the transformation of the artist into a hero and his life into a legend that inspires all of humanity. Therefore, those who have generated oppression have always, throughout history, ultimately achieved the opposite effect to what they initially intended.

Material prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cristina Păiușan, researcher at the National Museum of History of Romania.

The Project

On the 80th anniversary of one of the most dramatic episodes in human history – the Holocaust – and in a present moment in which there continue to be many equally dark social contexts, there is an urgent need to talk about culture as the most important and comprehensive witness to history. We have the obligation to constantly bring to the consciousness of the present the catastrophic effect of oppressive systems, the unimaginable loss they generate, and the way in which culture counts for the perpetuation of fundamental values of humanity regardless of the political framework or historical moment.

The composers and the program

Being oriented towards the field of chamber music, the present project creates a succinct collection of creations belonging to composers from different historical eras and cultural spaces, with sometimes contrasting destinies – some of these personalities enjoying universal recognition and others surviving only in archives, being almost disappeared from the public memory. Both Romanian creators and composers belonging to other cultural spaces are present in this collection, pursuing a universal perspective on the phenomenon of resistance through art and the continuity of the belief in freedom. Beyond all, there remains for all the creators included in this collection, a common denominator: opposition to an oppressive political system and, in some cases, the sacrifice that this entailed.

The artists

The protagonists of the recitals are recognized as the most active promoters of Romanian musical creation in the musical life of recent years, with over 650 recitals and concerts presented in over 30 countries on all continents of the world. In 2023 they received the Excellence Award of the Union of Music Critics, Editors and Producers of Romania and in 2024 they became the first musicians in the world to perform on all 7 continents in less than 100 days, their performance, achieved in Antarctica on December 14, being recognized and certified by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.

Partners

The “MUSIC PROHIBITED” project is organized with the funding of the Romanian Cultural Institute through the Cantemir Program and with the valuable support of prestigious partners from Romania and the countries included in the tour.

INNOVARTE

The organizer of the project is the INNOVARTE Cultural Association, one of the most active entities in the independent Romanian music area, which initiated and coordinated in the last 5 years alone more than 250 cultural actions within 30 distinct projects, with the main aim of promoting Romanian culture and spiritual values.

Video

The videos of the works included in the tour program “MUSICA PROHIBITA” are included among the more than 100 video materials produced by Diana Jipa and Ștefan Doniga during the last 5 years.