Livia Teodorescu-Ciocanea is a Romanian composer and pianist, Professor PhD in composition, forms, analysis, and stylistics at the National University of Music Bucharest. Her music, exploring spectralism, neo-impressionism, and postmodernism, is known for its powerful lyricism and dramatic impact. Between 2017 and 2021, she was Adjunct Associate Professor (Research) at Monash University, Australia, and currently serves as an Affiliate Professor. In 2022, she was elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg, and since 2021 she is recognized as a Price artist.
Teodorescu studied composition with Myriam Marbe, Anatol Vieru, and Margaret Lucy Wilkins. She is a member of the Union of Composers and Musicologists in Romania, and her works have been performed internationally in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and throughout Europe. Leading Romanian orchestras, including the George Enescu Philharmonic and the National Radio Orchestra, have performed her compositions.
Her major works include the opera The Lady with the Dog (2015, rev. 2021), the ballet Le Rouge et le Noir (2000), Archimedes Symphony (2011, rev. 2017), Rite for Enchanting the Air – Flute(s) Concerto (1998), and Mysterium Tremendum – Cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (2016). Her works have been recorded on Toccata Classics, Move Records, and Electrecord, with Le Rouge et le Noir receiving top recognition from Fanfare Magazine and Archimedes Symphony ranked in the Top 10 Best Classical Music of 2023 by The Absolute Sound.
An accomplished pianist, she has performed as soloist and accompanist across Europe, premiering Romanian performances of Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen and the piano part of the Turangalîla Symphony. She has also performed her own piano concertos with the George Enescu Philharmonic.
As a musicologist, she has authored three books and numerous scholarly articles, contributing to journals such as Contemporary Music Review, Tempo, and Perspectives of New Music.
Teodorescu’s work spans composition, performance, and scholarship, making her a significant voice in contemporary classical music internationally.
