Laments, however, continue to play an important role in the musical life
of the people. They reflect in song the hardships and problems of daily
life and the trials and tribulations of love. Some laments have a
distinctly Oriental quality.

Pastoral music was developed by the shepherds of the Carpathians as a
diversion for their long, lonely days in the mountains and as a means of
communication. The melodies are very simple, usually played on any of
several types of alphorns or on flutes. With the changing way of life in
the mountains, pastoral music has been disappearing as a musical form.

In the early nineteenth century folklorist Anton Pann began to collect
Romanian folk music, to publish it, and to popularize it among educated
Romanians, who were more familiar with the classical music of Germany,
Italy, and France than with their own musical heritage. This resulted in
the emergence of a group of Romanian composers who utilized folk
melodies in the composition of operas, symphonies, and chamber music.

The period between the two world wars saw several composers adding to
the repertoire of Romanian music. One who achieved international fame
was Georghe Enescu. Dinu Lipatti became well known as a pianist,
although he was also a composer.

The music of the interwar composers showed the influence of German
romanticism and postromanticism and of modern French music. All of it,
however, had a strongly Romanian character attained through the use of
intonations and rhythms borrowed from folk music.

Several of the interwar composers were still active in 1970, together
with new younger composers. Their music is regularly performed in
Romania and in some of the other communist countries, but it is not well
known elsewhere. Some of the young composers have experimented with
avant-garde styles that have not been well received by the guardians of
cultural policy. Composers are urged to use folklore as their source of
inspiration and to write compositions reflecting the cultural policies
of the PCR.

THEATER

Theater has always played a vital role in the life of the educated
Romanian, and regular attendance at plays, operas, and ballets is
considered an essential part of his cultural and intellectual life. The
performing arts, therefore, have had a faithful and critical audience in
all urban centers, which has stimulated playwrights and directors. In
cities such as Cluj and Brasov, which have sizable minority populatio