Международный отдел • International Division

BEN LUNN
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

UDC 78.082
HORAŢIU RĂDULESCU AND ‘THE QUEST’:
PIANO CONCERTO OPUS 90
Romanian Years (1942–1969) Stylistically Rădulescu’s music was at its most radical
and inventive during this period. As he explained in his
Horaƫiu Rădulescu was born in Bucharest, the book Sound Plasma (1975), he was trying to write in a
Romanian capital, in 1942. His irst musical experiences style which transcends classical devices like polyphony
were his violin lessons with Nina Alexandrescu, a pupil of and heterophony and, instead, which is more like a
Georges Enescu. He then attended the Bucharest Academy physical object, an ‘orb of sound’. This is a continuation
of Music, where he studied composition with Ştefan of Ligeti’s and Xenakis’ experiments in writing purely
Niculescu, Tiberiu Olah and Aurel Ströe. During this time textural music and could almost be thought of as a ‘true’
his works often resembled the contemporary music being realisation of Schoenberg’s Klangfarbenmelodie.
written in Romania but also pointed towards his later Rădulescu acknowledged the inluence of Ligeti and
musical aesthetic. Because of the restrictions on Romania Schoenberg but the greatest and probably most direct
during the Soviet years, which were very similar to that inluence on his work at this time was Giacinto Scelsi
of Poland, Rădulescu’s knowledge of the advancements (1905–1988). His respect and admiration for Scelsi is
of music in Germany and France was rather limited, but encapsulated in Byzantine Prayer (for 40 lautists) written
thanks to the tuition of Ştefan Niculescu he was able to in commemoration Scelsi’s death. This ‘in memoriam’ is
study the music of Webern quite extensively, along with not the only gesture of respect, as Byzantine Prayer itself
the Renaissance masters such as Dufay and Tallis. His is playing on the harmonic spectra of a low A, the same
early compositions include his Piano Sonata No. 1 ‘Wiege A that Scelsi used in his pinnacle work Quattro Pezzi una
an den Abgründen’ and his irst string quartet. nota sola (1959).

Hyper-Spectral Years (1969–1991) Later Years (1991–2008)

1969 was a signiicant year for Rădulescu. He Rădulescu’s music was constantly developing and
relocated to Paris, where he resided until his later years leading to new unimagined areas. In 1991, he was commis-
when he moved to Vevey. 1969 was also the year he sioned to write his second piano sonata (Piano Sonata No.
wrote his irst genuinely unique piece: Credo – for nine 2 – being and non-being create each other), which led to a
cellos. This was his irst ‘spectral’ score and predates by radical shift in his work. Whereas previously Rădulescu had
a few years other spectral composers like Grisey, Murail required to adapt the piano to it his spectral language, this
or Tenney. Credo is based on the irst 45 harmonics of work was for the equal tempered piano. Rădulescu had not
the cello’s lowest C and this allows him to superimpose composed anything for the unaltered piano since writing
new spectra based on higher partials of the original his irst piano sonata while still a student in Bucharest.
fundamental pitch. The techniques used in ‘Credo’ After this sonata Rădulescu wrote some of his most
were to become the fundamental basis for everything beautiful works, including Exil Interieur (Sonata for Cello
Rădulescu would subsequently compose. and Piano, 1997). He also managed to inally ind an idiom
During the early 1970s Rădulescu visited the that was all-encompassing; the radical forward thinking
Darmstadt summer courses where he attended classes of his younger years, but also a very strong connection
given by Cage, Ligeti, Stockhausen and Xenakis. In to the musical tradition. One can see in his piano
1972 and 1973 he presented his own works in Messiaen’s sonatas the use of classical structures is rather obvious.
classes at the Paris Conservatoire. Messiaen strongly Also his piano concerto The Quest (see chapter 4c.)
supported Rădulescu, and stated that he was ‘one of the draws on Romanian folk music (Ancestor’s Chants) and
most original young musicians of our time’. Later in in ‘Cinereum’ there is the use of almost medieval-like
1979, he went on to study in IRCAM. melisma in the vocal writing combined with his more
During subsequent years Rădulescu works were recognisable and radical musical palette.
performed in many of the leading European music Rădulescu died on 25th September 2008 and in
festivals including Gaudeamus (1971–1972), Royan the years since his death there have not been many
(1973 and 1975) and Darmstadt (1972). It was also during performances of his work, apart from a few chamber
this time Rădulescu set up the Lucero Players: a group works such as the Fourth String Quartet or Eterno
dedicated to performing his own music. He wrote several for Percussion. It is hard to see any direct impact of
works which include Capricorn’s Nostalgic Crickets Rădulescu’s music outside his ‘cult’ of followers but
were written speciically for the musicians in the group. nevertheless he left an impact on those around him.

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‘The Quest’ Piano Concerto Op. 90 (1996) The A section, parries the opening motif around
the orchestra in an antiphonal fashion, constantly being
The Quest is Horaƫiu Rădulescu’s irst and only passed back and forth by the pianist. Signiicantly,
complete concerto. The work was written for Örtwin although the orchestra and the soloist share material,
Stürmer and was premiered by the Frankfurt Radio the orchestra retains its own identity and sense of
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lothar Zagrosek. The growth. With segments like bar 49, where the use of
work is a leviathan for any soloist and orchestra, with bass drums makes the piano sound much heavier, the
the four dramatically unique movements and the sheer lutes highlight the vertical harmony within the piano
immensity of the length of the concerto (55 minutes) line and add a halo on top of the newly added weight of
makes it a powerful beast to tackle. The concerto was the bass drums.
written around the same time as the Fourth Piano Sonata The B section is a prolation canon. The entire
and the concerto is almost deinitive of Rădulescu’s section does not vary the pitches of the melody like in
style towards the end of his life. Drawing on folklore, section A, but the variation is in the durations of the
folk music, spectral techniques and the sheer magnitude canon. The soloist plays the canon in the right hand,
of the orchestra, The Quest takes the listener on a very with the left hand playing an augmentation of the same
powerful journey that can only be equalled by works canon. Because of the limited pitch materials and the
such as Messiaen’s Turangâlila-Symphonie. constant overlapping of material, the B section almost
The four movements (The Gate, The Second becomes quite timeless of and the previous brutal
Sound, Ancestor’s Chants and The Origin) are written and powerful gestures disappear into a continuously
proportionally to it with the golden section, 21:8:13:5. resonating texture.
The concerto functions in similar fashion to Berlioz’s In classical sonata form, the development section is
Harold in Italy where the soloist takes the listener on a characterised by tonal instability. This ties in with the
journey with the orchestra, instead of showing off their relationships of the tonic and dominant in the exposition
technical prowess. and is then ultimately resolved with the recapitulation.
Rădulescu, knew the historical and rhetorical language
The First Movement – The Gate of writing in sonata form. The Gate adheres to a lot
The irst movement, The Gate, is described by of convention within sonata form and then, in turn,
Rădulescu as an ‘entrance into a magic realm’. The goes against it. The exposition, classically speaking,
powerful brass declamations, building on a cluster of the would be foundations of the musical language and the
8th to 12th partials played in their natural intonation, create juxtaposition of two tonal centres, most commonly, the
an otherworldly sound before the piano enters with its tonic and the dominant. As Radulescu did not write
own response. The additive metre (2+3+4+5/8) almost tonal music he found a spectral way of recreating this,
harks back to Messiaen with its uneven phrasing and instead of two different tonal centres, the music pivots
focus on additive rhythms. Even though the concerto does around certain areas of the harmonic series. Then in
not focus on virtuosic playing, it pivots around the pianist the classical sonata, the development would be where
who ultimately leads with the orchestra, merely reacting the composer adapts motifs to create tonal instability.
to it. Despite its otherworldly sound, the structure of the Radulescu hints at following the tradition but then
irst movement is surprisingly simple. In short, the work goes against it. One form of development is variation
pivots on two materials (see below). but he only varies the material instead of developing
it. The irst key variation is in the switching around of
the piano followed by the brass, rather than vice-versa
in the exposition. Once again the materials reiterate
Fig 1. Material A Fig 2. Material B themselves in a similar fashion to the A section but
the key variation throughout the development is the
Figure 1 shows the building of the brass Bar 1 – 60 variations in pacing and rhythm. The harmonic material
opening and Figure 2 show the Romanian folk remains unchanged. At bar 134 the piano is completely
melody which Rădulescu quoted; this same on its own playing symmetrical patterns in an almost
melody reappears in the third movement. chorale like fashion. The rhythmic cycle is as follows:
These two elements are combined in a loose
sonata form, something that Rădulescu kept 2+3+4+5 – 5+4+3+2 – 5+4+3+2 – 2+3+4+5 – 5+4+3+2
returning to within his piano sonatas. This is – 2+3+4+5 – 5+4+3+2.
the basic structure:Exposition – A Section
Exposition – B Section Bar 61–96 This is then followed by a short recreation of the B
Development Bar 97–192 section but played on the natural harmonics of the string
Recapitulation – A Section Bar 193–216 section. Bar 146 introduces a chorale in the trombone
Recapitulation – B Section Bar 217–230 section and tuba. Once again the use of canon is apparent
Coda Bar 231–End with trombones three and four playing the augmentation

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of main material. The tuba interacts with its own Cycle 1 ‘Motif A’ Bar 2–5
melody in contrary motion to the trombones, giving
Cycle 1 ‘Motif B’ Bar 6–7
the short excerpt a sensation of spiralling on itself. The
development section continues with very short outbursts Cycle 1 ‘Motif C’ Bar 8–9
from each of the three motivic materials but, still, the Cycle 1 ‘Motif D’ Bar 10–12
materials do not vary harmonically; the variation comes Cycle 1 ‘Motif E’ Bar 13–17
from the layering of the motifs and crossing over each Cycle 1 ‘Motif D 1’ Bar 18–20
other like in bar 184 where Material B and the trombone
Cycle 1 ‘Motif E 1’ Bar 21–24
chorale are layered on top of each other with the piano
reiterating ideas from the A section.
With the mosaic nature of the development section, As can be seen within the irst reiteration, some of
the moment of recapitulation goes almost unnoticed. Its the smaller cycles repeat themselves. This gives the work
return, in bar 193, is played in an almost timid fashion, a very intrinsic micro-macro structure, which implies an
rendering it unrecognisable in comparison to its bold and almost kaleidoscopic construction. If we take the second
primal opening at the beginning of the work. After that, cycle we can instantly see the variation (see below):
the reduced A section is almost devoid of brass, giving
the sensation of landing somewhere completely new Cycle 2 ‘Motif B 1’ Bar 26–28
without developing the material. The recapitulation of Cycle 2 ‘Motif D 2’ Bar 29–31
the B section is more obvious, in comparison, with the Cycle 2 ‘Motif E 2’ Bar 32–36
same canonic nature with variations in the orchestration. Cycle 2 ‘Motif D 3’ Bar 37–39
The coda in bar 231 starts layering material in a
Cycle 2 ‘Motif B 2’ Bar 40–41
similar way to the development. The irst key variation
is the layering of the mirrored metre seen in bar 134 (see Cycle 2 ‘Motif E 3’ Bar 42–44
below). Cycle 2 ‘Motif D 4’ Bar 45–47
Cycle 2 ‘Motif B 3’ Bar 48–49
Piano: 2+3+4+5 – 5+4+3+2
Brass: 5+4+3+2 – 2+3+4+5 Looking at the second cycle, the kaleidoscopic
nature of the structure is more apparent. Motifs reiterate
The ending of the work is akin to the opening, with themselves almost at random, making each repetition
the bold brass and piano playing, but this time the two sound familiar but also rather alien. The pacing of ideas
are rhythmically pitted against each other, giving the is similar to Morton Feldman’s String Quartet and Piano
movement one inal surge of energy and intensity before (1985) where the opening gesture remains unchanged
the crescendo to its close. and the pacing gives the sensation of constant renewal
and mysticism.
Second Movement – The Second Sound, This movement is also intriguing due to the fact
The Sacred Rădulescu refers to this kind of device in both his Fourth
The second movement, The Second Sound, The Piano Sonata (1993) and the cello sonata Exil intérieur
Sacred is a much more serene movement in comparison (1997). With the references to this movement comes two
to the irst. Despite the powerful opening from the new orchestrations and renditions of the work. In the
trumpets and high woodwind the movement is extremely Fourth Sonata, the sacred sound is twenty-four bars in
meditative and still. The reiterative nature of the length, so there is only one cycle used in the movement.
movement is heralded by the trumpets and winds, they The opening gesture is identical, only this time the
are paced like this as see below: piano’s rendition relies heavily on the resonance of the
instrument. Also, harmonically speaking, The Second
Cycle 1 Bar 1–24 Sound, The Sacred in The Quest is based on an F# below
Cycle 2 Bar 25–48 middle C, while the sacred sound in the Fourth Sonata
Cycle 3 Bar 49–72 is based on the B a fourth higher. One constant though
is visible: the use of self-generative chords. The opening
Cycle 4 Bar 73–End
is based on the 3rd and 4th partials which in turn produce
the fundamental and the 7th partial (see Fig. 3). There
The movement is perfectly symmetrical in that all are numerous examples of these used throughout the
four reiterations of the material are identically paced. movement, which exactly what gives the movement its
This knowledge adds new understanding to Rădulescu’s natural resonance and openness.
statement that the movement is the ‘musical equivalent
of a Calder mobile’. Within the four repetitions there are
multiple episodes inside themselves which cycle at their
own pace (see below): Fig. 3

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Third Movement – Ancestor’s Chants The movement consists of ive basic materials:
A – Percussion heavy
Ancestor’s Chants is the most dificult movement
B – Piano solo, sometimes accompanied by percussion
to perform but oddly the most ‘approachable’. The
C – Woodwind
movement is a collage of Romanian folk tunes collected
D – Brass, accompanied by percussion
from Bartók’s collection; and spiralling and interacting
E – String
with each of them in irrational metrical combinations.
This is the result of many oral renditions of folk tunes
being notated in irrational tuplets such as 7:10, 9:10 This is how they circulate throughout the movement:
and 8:5. This collision of different metres and folk
tunes is very reminiscent of many of Ives’s, such as the A Bar 1
Universe Symphony where the ive independent groups B Bar 2–3
work solely with one of the ive conductors and the
C Bar 4
whole results in a mesh of all the elements.
A1 Bar 5
The structure of this movement is much harder to
pin down due to the almost spontaneous nature of the B1 Bar 6
folk melodies, but what is noticeable in the structure is A2 Bar 7
the reference to the golden section. This is noticeable B2 Bar 8–9
where the biggest shifts in momentum occur, the irst D Bar 10
occurring one minute in. The next big change occurs B3 Bar 11–12
in the second, third, ifth and eighth minutes. The ifth E Bar 13
minute is when momentum almost dissipates and the A3 Bar 14
eighth is one of the most active moments in whole B4 Bar 15–17
work. After this the energy of the work dies down, it A4 Bar 18
still explores the folk tunes, but without the same intent B5 Bar 19–21
before building to the largest climax of the work, where
C2 Bar 22
the whole orchestra introduce their own folk tunes
B6 Bar 23
creating a huge almost muddy texture before the brass
unite in one folk tune to give the piece a really energetic C3 Bar 24
end. B7 Bar 25
Even though this is not the irst time Rădulescu A5 Bar 26
referenced the music of his native Romania, this is one of B8 Bar 27–29
the biggest references to it due to its sheer size. The later D1 Bar 30
piano sonatas all make reference to either an element B9 Bar 31–32
of folk art or a folk tune ‘Doina – (3rd Movement 3rd A6 Bar 33
piano sonata)’ or ‘Immanence – (1st Movement 2nd piano C4 Bar 34
sonata)’ but it is only really ever to a single element of B10 Bar 35–37
it, while this movement of the concerto almost attempts
D2 Bar 38
to put it all into a coherent piece.
B11 Bar 39
The Fourth Movement – The Origin E1 Bar 40
The inal movement, The Origin, is as powerful C5 Bar 41
and primal as the opening of the irst. This time the B12 Bar 42
brevity of the movement means the energy does not A7 Bar 43
get interrupted by moments of serene calm, but instead B13 Bar 44
the work hammers its way to the end in an almost C6 Bar 45
ritualistic fashion. Like in the second movement, A8 Bar 46
The Origin cycles small bar long gestures over and E2 Bar 47
over again in this technically marvellous ritual. The B14 Bar 48–51
constant change in metre gives the work an odd C7 Bar 52
pulsating sensation which upon each repetition, makes
D3 Bar 53
it more intense and dramatic. To add to the complexity
B15 Bar 54–55
of the work each cycle is constantly expanding, almost
like the ritual coming closer to fulilling its purpose. C8 Bar 56
So unlike the stasis of the second movement, this B16 Bar 57–58
movement constantly tries to build energy on each A9 Bar 59–60
repetition. E3 Bar 61

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B17 Bar 62 As in the second movement, Rădulescu references

C9 Bar 63 this movement in a separate work The Origin (1998) for
two bass drums. This solo percussion rendition pulsates
B18 Bar 64-65
on small rhythmical patterns which build and die away
E4 Bar 66
until it gathers momentum for its inal climax at the end
A10 Bar 67 of the work. Unlike in the concerto, The Origin (bass
B19 Bar 68–69 drum version BDV) looks more like a ritual being carried
D4 Bar 70 out by the performer. The focus needed to perform the
C10/E5 Bar 71 complex rhythms and produce the correct colours on a
B20 Bar 72 bass drum gives the work a profound intensity one can
C11 Bar 73 only get from witnessing a ritual of a similar nature. This
B21 Bar 74–76 reference to the movement in many ways sounds more
D5 Bar 77 successful as a work. The inal movement of the concerto
B22 Bar 78–79 works as a powerful end to the work, but does not have the
C12 Bar 80
same independent strength of the other three movements.
The Origin in the concerto context almost functions as
B23 Bar 81–82
an extremely powerful coda to the whole work ending it
D6 Bar 83
in such a magniicent fashion which is probably why the
B24 Bar 84 movement on its own is not as successful as The Origin
C13 Bar 85–86 (BDV) which breaths its own life through the ritual. That
B25 Bar 87–89 sensation is almost missing in the inal movement but
E6 Bar 90 instead sounds like a powerful conclusion to a fantastic
A11 Bar 91 narrative.
D7 Bar 92 The hour long concerto is a monumental work
B26 Bar 93 both for Rădulescu but also for the piano repertoire. Its
E7 Bar 94 originality and power could easily make it one of the
A12 Bar 95 pinnacle works of the past century and can rub shoulders
with great landmark works like The Rite of Spring or
B27 Bar 96–97
Turangâlila-Symphonie. Because of the references to old
C14 Bar 98
and new musical aesthetics the concerto will forever be a
B28 Bar 99 timeless work. The sheer megalithic stature of the work
E8 Bar 100 should almost guarantee it a place in the repertoire due
C15 Bar 101 just to the sheer spectacle of it.
A13 Bar 102 While in relation to other concerti The Quest is not
D8 Bar 103 quite as ground breaking as other works in the past 100
B29 Bar 104 years, it is still a powerfully original work which only
C15/E9 Bar 105 a handful of previous concerti can equal. In retrospect,
A14/D8 Bar 106 looking at the whole of Rădulescu’s oeuvre, probably
A15/B30/C16/D9/E10 Bar 107–End the greatest shame for anyone loving his work is that
he only attempted two concerti. The second remains
uncompleted but it does seize the imagination; what
As can be seen from the table, the piano’s solo would his other concerti have sounded like? Would he
material is deinitely the central igure in the movement. have stopped there or would he tackle a symphony? As
While the brass and strings do very little apart from speculations they are very exciting as any keen follower
being the key signiiers for every ten bars. Even though of Rădulescu’s work will know. Whatever form he
harmonically C and E are almost identical, they are wrote for, he was almost 100% original every time.
seen and used as separate motifs simply because the What will always be Rădulescu’s greatest and longest
basic colours are the deinitions of each motif used in lasting legacy is his originality and invention. Very few
the movement. What is also very obvious is the brevity composers can ever claim to have had such an impact on
of each motif, very rarely do the ideas expand over any form or tradition, let alone almost impacting every
more than one bar and only once does the piano play form and tradition they tackled. Horaƫiu Rădulescu is
consecutively for three bars on one motif (see B27 on arguably the most inventive composer of the twentieth
graph). What this does is almost negate any develop as century. The shame comes in the fact that, due to the
the motives are not expanded into melodic lines. The complexity it takes to perform his works, he could quite
small ideas just circulate making the movement feel easily become a forgotten gem who will never quite
more ritualistic because of the ‘simplistic’ and non- be equalled by any future composer after his powerful
developmental nature of the movement. legacy.

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REFERENCES

1. Bob Gilmore. Spectral Techniques in Horaƫiu Rădulescu’s 4. Horatiu Rădulescu. Sound Plasma, Music for the future
Second Piano Sonata. Tempo. Vol. 64, Issue 252, April 2010, sign, My High D Opus ∞. Score. 1972–1973. Edition Modern:
pp. 66–78. Munich. Full Score.
2. Ben Lunn. Horatiu Rădulescu: An Introduction. Unpub- 5. Horatiu Rădulescu. ‘The Quest’ – Piano Concerto
lished, Cardiff , 2014, pp. 36–47. Op. 90 (1996). Score published by Lucero Print. Freiburg, 1996.
3. Joshua Fineberg (ed.). Spectral Music. Contemporary Full Score.
Music Review. Vol. 19, part 2 and 3. Bucharest, 2009, pp. 23–32.

Horaƫiu Rădulescu and ‘The Quest’:

Piano Concerto Opus 90

Horaƫiu Rădulescu (1942–2008) was one of the leading igures his experiments and exploration of the well-tempered piano. The
of the Spectral movement. His works drew inspiration from paper will look at his treatment of the piano, the concerto form,
the ideas of the harmonic series, like many Spectralists, but his and its links to the harmonic series.
approach to writing for the piano led him into an intriguing path. Keywords: Horaƫiu Rădulescu, Piano concerto, Harmonic
His only complete concerto ‘The Quest’ – Piano Concerto Op. series, Well-tempered piano, Spectral music, Music of the 20th
90 (1996), originally written for Ortwin Stürmer, is a result of Century

Горациу Радулеску и «Поиск»:

Концерт для фортепиано с оркестром ор. 90

Горациу Радулеску (1942–2008) предстаёт одной из ведущих та и исследования хорошо темперированного фортепиано.
фигур направления спектралистов. В творчестве он черпал Данная статья рассматривает способы использования ком-
вдохновение из обертонового ряда подобно многим спектра- позитором фортепиано, связь концертной формы с обертоно-
листам, однако его подход к сочинению для фортепиано обе- вым рядом.
спечил творческое своеобразие. Единственный завершённый
концерт композитора – «Поиск», Концерт для фортепиано с Ключевые слова: Горациу Радулеску, фортепианный кон-
оркестром ор. 90 (1996), первоначально написанный для пиа- церт, обертоновый ряд, хорошо темперированное фортепиа-
ниста Ортвина Штюрмера, – явился результатом эксперимен- но, спектральная музыка, музыка ХХ века

DOI: 10.17674/1997-0854.2015.2.19.067-072

Ben Lunn Бен Лунн

1st Class honours graduate Выпускник колледжа, диплом с отличием
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Королевский Уэльский колледж музыки и драмы
Castle Grounds, Cathays Park, Cardiff, Кардифф, Уэльс,
Great Britain Великобритания

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