The composer and professor Dan Buciu was awarded the Marin Constantin Prize during the anniversary Gala "Marin Constantin 100," held on Thursday, February 27th, 2025, at the Romanian Senate. Regarding the significance of this distinction, Dan Buciu spoke with Ioana Țintea.

Mr. Dan Buciu, during the anniversary Gala "Marin Constantin 100," you were honored with the "Marin Constantin" Excellence Award-a recognition of your significant contribution to Romanian culture, as well as your support for the work of Maestro Marin Constantin and the Madrigal Choir. What does this distinction mean to you?

An evaluation, so to speak, in words, I believe is somewhat insufficient, as I had the chance in life to know Maestro Marin very well. More than that, at one point, we even lived in the same building-our family lived on the 4th floor, and Maestro Marin Constantin moved in on the 1st floor.

In the discussions I had with him, he was, at one point, deeply concerned with everything related to peace, world harmony, and the avoidance of catastrophes like the one in Hiroshima. He created a scenario, obviously designed for a choir, based on the verses of an extremely sensitive and valuable Romanian poet (Eugen Jebeleanu), and he asked me to get to work, to follow all the guidelines he had set step by step, and to create this accompanying soundtrack for the piece. And this is how the work Remember Hiroshima was born, a piece to which I am deeply attached. And this is why-because it is directly connected to this brilliant, unique musician, Maestro Marin Constantin.

As you mentioned, over the years, you had numerous opportunities to work closely with Maestro Marin Constantin. How did you perceive him as a person and as a musician?

To be honest, he was a very difficult person. But this character trait was not a whim-it was simply his relentless aspiration for perfection. I don't think I have ever met anyone who pursued perfection as passionately and as naturally as Maestro Marin Constantin. At the same time, he rediscovered a true musical treasure. I am referring to all the Renaissance music we know today, in forms as close as possible to how it was performed at the time-the so-called historically informed performances. However, Marin Constantin had already been doing this before the concept even existed. This is just one of his many merits, not to mention others. All the carols, whether secular or religious, and the religious songs tied to the Romanian Orthodox tradition, which at the time were unthinkable to be sung publicly in our country-Marin Constantin had no restrictions in this regard. Even the communist authorities had no choice but to accept these "curiosities," as they were not in line with the regime's ideology. But they were forced to acknowledge them because Marin Constantin was an emissary of a culture that otherwise would not have existed abroad. Even the political figures of that time eventually understood that this was absolutely necessary.

Marin Constantin redefined choral art, leaving a profound mark both on the Romanian musical landscape and on the international stage. From your perspective, what do you consider to be his most valuable legacy?

His most valuable legacy is everything he left behind. I couldn't say that any part of it is less valuable because, as I mentioned before, his meticulous craftsmanship, down to the finest detail, could only produce something of the highest excellence. That is what Maestro Marin Constantin accomplished.

It is well known that Stokowski once said that until he heard Marin Constantin's Madrigal Choir, he believed perfection did not exist. But when he listened to them, he realized that it actually could exist. Now, when a musician of Stokowski's caliber utters such words, I believe they should be taken into account and kept as a motto for everything that Maestro Marin Constantin did for Romanian music and for the music of this planet we call Earth-something absolutely unique and extraordinary!