Literature
Some Moldovan word art, distinct from Romanian, can hardly be discerned until during the 20th century. With the Soviet political dominance of the Moldavans in the Autonomous Republic of Moldova (1924-40), the “progressive” Moldovan literature was established as an alternative to the “bourgeois” Romanian. In the Soviet Republic of Moldova (1940–91), literature was aligned to the demands of socialist realism. The banner of Soviet Moldavian literature was Andrei Lupan (1912–92), who in his lyric and drama gradually became powerful in reality and satirical. Ion Druta (born 1928) became popular from the 1960’s for his healthy rural portraits.
- Countryaah: Population and demographics of Moldova, including population pyramid, density map, projection, data, and distribution.
Art
Moldova’s first artistic heyday reached its peak in the second half of the 15th century, including a lot of construction, fresco painting, bookmaking and crafts. Stylistically, this creation is characterized by a fusion of Byzantine and Gothic influences, as well as the incipient elements of the Italian Renaissance. It also exhibits local peculiarities, especially in architecture.
A second highlight comes during the reign of Petrus Rareș during the first half of the 16th century. From this time a group of monastery churches in northern Moldova can be mentioned, which was provided with an overwhelmingly rich exterior decoration in the form of frescoes. Although this painting is based on post-Byzantine traditions, here in style, iconography and arrangement you find your own features.
Music
The music in Moldova has many features in common with Romanian music but is also influenced by South and East Slavic music. However, the older folk music is predominantly unanimous, multi-part song occurs in the border regions against Ukraine. The music is diatonic, symmetrically constructed, with highly ornamented melody lines and significant rhythmic and melodic improvisation. Smooth rhythms are most common, but uneven and odd rhythms (7/16) also occur.
Prominent genres are doină, free-rhythmic love or complaint notes, and cîntec bătrînesc, historical epic, such as the old and widely distributed “Miorița”. Common instruments are violin (scripcă or vioară), chopping board (balambal), flutes (flies, caval, nai) and bagpipe (cimpoi), often played by professional musicians (lăutari) in ensembles with bass, viola or accordion (taraf). These can consist of a couple of musicians to several dozen. Folk dances are numerous and performed in ring (whore, moldoveneăsca), in line (brîu), or in mixed forms (sîrba, joc. bulgareăsca).
In the 19th century, paired dances from surrounding countries were introduced (vengerka, ruseăsca, învîrtita). Urban folk music developed in the cities from the beginning of the 19th century. Great fame across parts of Europe reached musicians such as Barbu Lǎutaru (born about 1780, died about 1860), Iancu Perja and Gheorge Murga. Traces of art music exist from the Middle Ages, but the music life did not take shape until the 20th century. An opera house was opened in Bessarabia after the First World War; where the famous singer Maria Cebotari (1910–49) began her career. A music school was founded in Chișinǎu in 1901.
Since Tiraspol became capital in 1929, opera (1933), symphony orchestra (1935) and a professional folk music ensemble were founded. When Chișinǎu became capital again in 1940, higher music education, symphony orchestras, opera and ballet (1957) and several professional folklore ensembles were established (Joc 1945, Flueraș 1957). Composers such as fantefan Neaga (1900–57) worked with symphonies and cantatas, Eugen Coca (1893–1954) with string quartets, operas and symphonic works, Eugen Doga (born 1937) with cantatas, ballets and film music, and Arkady Luxemburg (born 1945, since 1995 in the USA) with works for symphony orchestra and piano, among others.
From the 1960’s a vital popular music has emerged, with artists such as the singers Natalia Barbu (born 1979), Nelly Ciobanu (born 1974) and Cleopatra Stratan (born 2002).
Popular in the 1970’s was the rock group Flocai and during the 00’s the world famous pop trio O-Zone (active 1999-2005).
