Jora, Mihail

Jora, Mihail, distinguished Romanian composer and pedagogue; b. Roman, Aug. 14, 1891; d. Bucharest, May 10, 1971. He received training in piano in Ia§i (1901–12), where he also studied theory at the Cons. (1909–11). After studies with Teichmüller (piano) and Krell and Reger (counterpoint and composition) at the Leipzig Cons. (1912–14), he completed his training with Schmitt in Paris (1919–20). Settling in Bucharest, he helped to organize the Soc. of Romanian Composers in 1920, serving as its vice-president. From 1939 to 1962 he was prof, of harmony, counterpoint, and composition at the Bucharest Cons. He was the author of Momente muzicale (Bucharest, 1968). Jora was notably influential as a teacher. In his compositions, he made effective use of Romanian folk music. He excelled as a composer of ballets and songs.

Works

dramatic: Ballet: La piata (At the Market Place; 1928; Bucharest, March 17, 1932); Demoazela Manuka (1940; Bucharest, Oct. 5, 1942); Curtea veche (The Old Court; 1948); Cìnd strugurii se coc (When the Grapes Ripen; 1953; Bucharest, 1954); întoarcerea din adîneuri (Return to the Abyss; 1959; Bucharest, 1965); Hanul Dulcinea (The Inn Dulcinea; 1966; Bucharest, 1967). ORCH.: Suite (1914; Ia§i, Jan. 28, 1918); Poveste indica (Hindu Tale), symphonic poem (Bucharest, Dec. 15, 1920); Prweli§ti moldovenesti (Moldavian Landscapes), suite (Bucharest, May 5, 1924); Cortegiu (1926; Bucharest, March 3, 1929; also for Piano, 1925); §ase cxntece sio rumba (6 Songs and a Rumba; 1932); Sym. (Bucharest, Nov. 28, 1937); Burlesca (1949). CHAMBER: Small Suite for Violin and Piano (1917); 2 string quartets (1926, 1966); Viola Sonata (1951); Violin Sonata (1962). Piano: Joujoux pour ma Dame (1925); Sonata (1942); Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Schumann (1943); Portraits and Jokes (3 sets, 1948, 1959, 1963); 13 Preludes (1960); Sonatina (1961).

VOCAL: Baladä for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1955); choruses; numerous songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire