The Bretan case: between the modest perception of the epoch and the dilemmatic

contemporary reception

PhD Assoc. Prof. Loredana Iațeșen

„George Enescu” National University of Arts from Iași

Excerpt: On the occasion of 50 years elapsed since the passing away of the
Transylvanian musician Nicolae Bretan (1887-1968), known in the inter-war period through a
complex activity (performer, film-maker, conductor, composer), we deem it necessary to
conduct a critical study from several perspectives. Starting from the dilemmatic comments
from the updated bibliography, we suggest, on one hand, the systematisation of information
related to the reception of his personality in the context of the epoch during which he lived
and worked, and on the other hand, the sketching of prerequisites that generated the
appearance of some controversial writings, but especially the problematisation of their effects
on the distorted stylistic perception of the musician on a national and international level. We
consider that it is one of the methods through which the Bretan renaissance phenomenon can
be reevaluated objectively, by appreciating the existence and real contributions of a minor
musician, gifted with talent, but impossibly to be situated in the same composition direction
that included national models (George Enescu, Mihail Jora, Paul Constantinescu), that may be
compared to those from the universal space of the first half of the 20th century.

Keywords: inter-war creator, critical reception, epigonic style, clichee, minor

musician