The Bretan Case: a Paradox between Value and Promotion

Abstract

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Transylvanian musician Nicolae Bretan (1887-1968), known during the interwar period due to his complex field of activity (interpreter, director, conductor, composer), we consider it necessary to elaborate a study that is critical for several reasons. Starting with the dilemmatic comments existent in the current bibliography, we propose, on the one hand, to systematize the information regarding the reception of his personality in the context of the age in which he lived and worked, and on the other hand, to outline the premises that generated the appearance of controversial writings, but especially to question their effects on the deformed stylistic perception of the musician at national and international level. We consider that this is one of the ways in which the “phenomenon of Bretan's rebirth” can be objectively reevaluated, appreciating the existence and real contributions of a minor musician, who, although endowed with talent, could not be in the same compositional direction that included national models (George Enescu, Mihail Jora, Paul Constantinescu), are comparable to those in the universal space of the first half of the 20th century.