Cantus austerus for alto flute solo

Doina Rotaru (1951) is a Romanian composer who often works with archetypes and symbols that she carefully weaves in her liquid-like heterophonies, blending archaic Romanian influences (particularly in the type of ornamentation or the frequent use of the flute) with contemporary techniques and structures.
Born in 1951 in Bucharest, she has written over 120 works to date, spanning nearly every musical genre: from solo, chamber, and choral works to orchestral pieces, and from works that combine instrumental and electronic music to music for puppet theatre.
Her music has been performed in numerous concerts and festivals worldwide. She has received commissions from Warsaw Autumn Festival, Radio France, Radio Graz, Suntory Hall Tokyo, French Ministry of Culture, various ensembles and soloists from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Doina Rotaru was awarded prizes by the Romanian Academy (1996) and the Romanian Composers’ Association (10 prizes between 1981-2015), as well as the First Prize at the Gedok – Mannheim International Competition (1994). She was invited to hold lectures about her music in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Spain.

She has taught since 1990 at the National University of Music in Bucharest, where she was also Head of the Composition Department between 2008-2013.