All are welcome to attend this free event honoring composer Gheorghe Costinescu on Saturday, December 7th at 3pm at the New York City historic landmark Rutgers Presbyterian Church at 236 W 73rd Street at Broadway.
A program of music by the composer will be presented by Silvelin Costinescu, featuring the internationally-known pianist Stephen Gosling, and will include hearing private recordings of music, and viewing artwork and animation films by the composer, followed by a reception at the church.
Born in Bucharest in 1934 and residing in New York since 1969, Gheorghe Costinescu was active as a composer, conductor, pianist, musicologist, and educator.
After studying with Pascal Bentoiu and earning an M.A. in composition from the Bucharest Conservatory under Mihail Jora, he continued his studies with Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne and Luciano Berio at The Juilliard School in New York. In 1976 he received a Ph.D. with Distinction from Columbia University.
His chamber, choral, orchestral, and stage music has been performed in major cities in Europe and the United States, and at the Royan, Shiraz-Persepolis, and Tanglewood festivals. His stage work The Musical Seminar, a winner in the League-ISCM National Composers Competition was premiered at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Costinescu was a Fulbright Scholar and also received the Romanian Academy’s George Enescu prize; The Juilliard School’s Alexandre Gretchaninoff Memorial Prize; and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He passed away in 2023.
His music is published by American Composers Edition (BMI)