Interferences Between Tradition and Modernity in the Symphonic and Concerto Works by Adrian Pop – (1) The Cello Concerto

Abstract

"The present study marks the beginning of a series of analytical undertakings focused on the symphonic and concerto works by the Cluj composer Adrian Pop. Following the pieces’ chronological line and keeping as a reference their common source of inspiration – the Romanian folklore – the conclusions aim to reveal the way in which the author’s individuality relates to the tendencies of contemporary language, as well as the European music tradition, without overshadowing our autochthonous stylistic matrix. Starting from a carol taken from Sabin Drăgoi’s collection of 303 Carols, the discourse of the Cello concerto provides a masterly example of how the variational technique is applied in the processing and development of microstructural elements, whose archaic essence is preserved and amplified both at the moment of the explicit exposure of the original melody in the second part (following its „genesis” throughout the first part), and during the effervescent unfolding of the final movement. Keywords: folklore, carol, variation, development, tradition, modernity"