The Story of Creative Resistance: Pascal Bentoiu, the Man and His Music
The Story of Creative Resistance: Pascal Bentoiu, the Man and His Music

Summary/Abstract: Through the present study, we attempt to decipher a few dilemmas that have arisen in the process of understanding the creative destiny of Pascal Bentoiu. We wonder, first of all, what the impetus in building a career as a free-lance musician devoid of compromise was in a period when were encouraged circumstantial works, subservient politically through themes, title and/or source of inspiration. At a more general level, we try to uncover the relation between his own aesthetic views, born along the connection between the traditional-modern expression and musical thinking, and the needs of a composer’s career depending upon the acceptance and success of his works. By following the ascent of his career up to international recognition and full professional appreciation – 1968, the year when he was elected to a position of leadership in the Union of Romanian Composers –, we focus our research on key moments in the making of his resistance to political pressure and manipulation: the period of cultural Stalinism (1948-1956) and the years of a violent reprise in the political repression of Gheorghe-Gheorghiu Dej’s regime (1959-1963). We discover his acceptance of forced solutions and a subtle game with the political censorship.

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