Biography

Paul Constantinescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpa.ul konstantiˈnesku]; 30 June 1909, Ploieşti – 20 December 1963) was a Romanian composer. Two of his main influences are Romanian folk music and Byzantine chant, both of which he used in his teaching. One of his students was composer Margareta Xenopol.

From 1928-33 he studied at the Bucharest Conservatory (now known as the National University of Music Bucharest) with Castaldi, Jora, Cuclin and Brǎiloiu, and then in Vienna from 1934-35 with Schmidt and Marx. Returning to Bucharest, he taught from 1937-41 at the Academy for Religious Music, and then from 1941 until his death was a professor of composition at the Conservatory. He received the Enescu prize in 1932, and the Romanian Academy prize in 1956.

Constantinescu used folk and liturgical elements in his works, with a strong command of form and modal harmony. He did much to pave the way for the post-Enescu generation of Romanian nationalist composers.