The author of the works Dreams, The Joy of Dreams, The Secret of Dreams, Resonances on a Pale Background, Through the Light of Resonances or Mosaic, composer and professor Ulpiu Vlad, the vice-president of the Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists, celebrated his 65th birthday on January 27, 2010.


You have raised your entire universe as a composer upon a constant oneiric feature, purified by a density of restlessness, although being on a permanent quest for expression. I would like to ask what are you dreaming of these days, what are your resonances, or what kind of mosaic of moods mark you?

First of all, I am very happy that I can write during this period, as I have many collateral projects. These activities surely absorb energy, but they also generate energy at the same time, particularly by bringing that state of euphoria, the interior effervescence the life and work of an artist require. At this moment I am writing a Sextet, which is to be performed by a string trio, a soprano, a clarinet and a piano. Of course, I am gathering material for future works.


Your work does not consist entirely of writing, it also has a management part, as your colleagues in the musical field have elected you as vice-president of the Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists many years ago. Right now, on your birthday, I find you in your office at the Union. What kind of projects are you working on?

We have an entire series of projects, most of them centered around supporting and promoting Romanian musical ideas. I would mention here the RUCM purchases project, with the help of the Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony, and the promotion project, set up by the Romanian Cultural Institute alongside RUCM, which encourages the ascension of the best Romanian composers towards international acknowledgement.


You have educated many generations of students at the National Music University of Bucharest. What is the most important idea in the field of music that you would want them to learn from you when they graduate?

It concerns me that a student who graduates NMUB would know what is going on in the music of our times. It is very important that these students needn't avoid talking about issues of contemporary music, instead they should be able to comprehend the systems, what brought this development forth, what are the possibilities of further improvement and so on. That is the most important thing for me.


Maestro, thank you for finding the time to give us this interview today. Happy birthday!

Thank you and good luck in everyhing you do!