We are delighted to share recent conference activity from DTP student Ioana Carina Cirtita, who has presented her research at two academic events in late 2025.
In October, Ioana Carina presented a paper at the Slavonic and East European Music Study Group (SEEM) Study Day, held at Stewart House, University of London. Her paper, “Negotiating Social Realism and Musical Modernism: Carmen Petra-Basacopol’s Piano Works, 1949–1960,” explored how the Romanian composer’s work navigates the aesthetic expectations of socialist realism alongside modernist influences.
Drawing on archival research conducted at the National University of Music Bucharest, Ioana Carina examined compositions from 1949 to 1960, highlighting Petra-Basacopol’s distinctive use of colour and her engagement with broader European musical movements. The research also contributes to ongoing discussions in music historiography, particularly by challenging established centre–periphery narratives.
In December, Ioana Carina presented at the Royal College of Music’s Piano Music of the 20th Century Conference, where she delivered a lecture-recital titled “Creating an Informed Contemporary Performance of Carmen Petra-Basacopol’s Impresii din Muzeul Satului, Op. 15.”
This presentation focused on the practical challenges of preparing a contemporary performance of a work shaped by the cultural context of socialist-era Romania. In response to limited documentation and the absence of established performance traditions, Ioana combined musical analysis with a range of extra-musical sources, including composer interviews, scholarly literature, and materials relating to the Bucharest Village Museum that inspired the suite.
Through this work, Ioana demonstrated how research can directly inform performance practice, offering new insights into underexplored repertoire and expanding understanding of twentieth-century piano music.
As a first-year student in the DTP, these achievements are a wonderful start to Ioana Carina's doctoral journey. We are very proud of her work and look forward to following her future successes.
