Nicolae Brînduş

Romanian avant-garde composer Nicolae Brînduş (1935-2023), studied piano and composition at the National University of Music in Bucharest. From 1969 to 1980 he attended the Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt and later he also worked at the IRCAM in Paris and GMEB in Bourges. His compositions have been performed worldwide.
This album originally released on Electrecord’s RCM (Romanian Contemporary Music) series in 1986 provides a selection of works which belong to his cycle PHTORA (1968-1972). The cycle comprises five pieces which are five degrees of structuring collective improvisation, leaning towards the spectralist tradition. It’s probably the most eccentric record in the whole RCM series offering a mesmerizing collage of organized cacophony, as a massive but subtly layered whirlwind of abstract orchestral improvisations, Romanian picturesque folklore and free jazz with extensive use of tape manipulation and reverberation. This reissue comes with the beautiful original sleeve artwork by Ana Golici who designed many sleeves for Electrecord.

Production: Timo van Luijk
Sleeve reconstruction: Jeroen Wille
Mastering: EARLabs
Thank you: Tom Brînduş  Christophe Brackx, Ana Golici