Beginnings & formation
Petru Stoianov grew up in a Catholic Bulgarian family in northern Banat. His musical education began in Arad with Nicolae Brânzeu and Doru Șerban, continued in Iași, and brought him to Bucharest, where he studied composition with Anatol Vieru.
He graduated in musical pedagogy in 1970 and composition in 1972. His training encompassed harmony, counterpoint, form, orchestration, folklore and conducting, with teachers including Aurel Stroe, Tudor Ciortea, Emilia Comișel and Constantin Bugeanu.
The composer & the researcher
His music includes choral works, art songs, solo and chamber music, and orchestral compositions. Poetry is an enduring source of musical thought, particularly the writing of Mihai Eminescu, Ștefan Augustin Doinaș and Nichita Stănescu.
Under Valentin Timaru at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, he developed his doctoral research, Noduri și Semne. Posibile elemente de structură pe scara unui model modal. The thesis explains a personal approach to proportion, pitch, duration and ornament.
Read about the Stoianov Modal SystemTeaching & cultural life
Alongside composing, he taught and held academic leadership roles at the West University of Timișoara and Spiru Haret University in Bucharest. His cultural work includes the Jeunesses International Music Competition Romania and the International Week of New Music.
His compositions have received UCMR awards and distinctions at international competitions in Italy and Spain. He is married to musicologist Carmen Stoianov; they have one daughter.
Adapted from the composer’s existing biography. Further biographical and catalogue material is available through cIMeC.