Diana Rotaru (b. 1981, Bucharest) has written from chamber and orchestral music to chamber opera and soundtracks for multimedia or dance shows and short films. Her music explores different expressive directions, from hypnagogia or pre-oneiric aesthetics, feminine psyche, humor or imaginary folklore. 

She is also active as a promoter of new music in Romania, as the artistic director of MERIDIAN International Festival and the main coordinator of the Romanian Music Information Center (CIMRO.ro). Since 2019 she is president of the ISCM Romanian National Section. 

Diana Rotaru has won numerous prizes, among which the Romanian Academy’s "George Enescu" Award (2010), the ISCM-IAMIC Young Composer Award (World Music Days, Vilnius, 2008), the Irino Prize (Japan, 2004) or the "George Enescu" Prize ex-aequo (Romania, 2003 and 2005), as well as multiple awards from the Union of Composers and Musicologists in Romania. Her works have been commissioned by Ryoko Aoki (Japan), Ensemble XXI (Dijon), Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Pärlor för svin (Sweden), Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Takefu International Music Festival, etc. 

She was a resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (autumn 2007), on a George Enescu grant from the Romanian Cultural Institute. In April 2011 she was an Artist-in-Residence at Villa Sträuli, Winterthur (Switzerland), at the invitation of Ensemble TaG, who performed her music in two concerts during that period (Verborgen in einer Muschel/ Hidden Inside a Shell – Theater am Gleis and Meet the Artist: Diana Rotaru -Villa Sträuli). In April-June 2015 she was Artist-in-Residence in Vienna, with a grant offered by the Austrian Federal Chancellery & KulturKontakt Vienna. 

Diana Rotaru is currently teaching composition at the National University of Music in Bucharest, where she studied with Ştefan Niculescu and Dan Dediu (2000-2005) and where she has a PhD in Composition (with the dissertation "The Recent Trance and the Principle of Repetition in New Music", 2012). She also studied composition with Frédéric Durieux at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (2005-2006). She participated at different summer composition courses such as Acanthes (Metz, 2008), Voix Nouvelles-Royaumont (2002 and 2006), or the International Bartok Seminary (Szombathely, 2003), thus working with Jonathan Harvey, Savatore Sciarrino, Brian Ferneyhough or Michael Jarrell, among others. In September 2018 she was invited to be an assistant professor to Toshio Hosokawa at the Takefu International Music Festival in Japan.

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Dr. habil. Zsófia Tallér
(Recipient of the Bartók-Pásztory Award, Artisjus Award, Erkel State Award, Fonogram Award from the Hungarian IFPI, and the Award of the Hungarian Film Critics)

Dr. habil. Zsófia Tallér (1970–2021) was a distinguished Hungarian composer, educator, and creative director celebrated for her significant contributions to classical, drama, and film music.

She earned dual degrees from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, majoring in Music Education (1994) and Composition (1995). Her illustrious career began in 1994, encompassing classical compositions, drama scores for Hungary’s most prestigious theaters, and music for both Hungarian and international film productions. Her classical works were performed by top-ranking artists and orchestras in Hungary and abroad. Her opera Leánder és Lenszirom (Leander and Linseed), presented in 2015, was staged by the Hungarian State Opera House for three consecutive seasons and viewed by over 15,000 people—a remarkable achievement for a contemporary opera. The performance was also released on both CD and DVD.

With over 20 years of teaching experience, Dr. Tallér was an influential figure in music education. She taught composition, music theory, music history, analysis, and dramaturgy, among other subjects. For a decade, she served as an assistant professor in the Music Theory Department at the Liszt Academy. Since 1999, she was a qualified professor at the University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest (UTFA), where she also served as Vice-Rector for Education (2015–2017). She was instrumental in founding and leading the BA program in Composing for Theatre and Motion Pictures.

Dr. Tallér’s academic contributions extended to her habilitation research at UTFA, focusing on music dramaturgy. She also served as the creative director of Twelvetones Production Music, shaping the organization’s artistic direction.

In her memory, the Tallér Zsófia International Composer Competition was established to inspire emerging composers worldwide. This prestigious event encourages young talent to embrace creativity and individuality in composition, reflecting her lifelong dedication to nurturing the next generation of musicians.

Her achievements earned her numerous prestigious awards, both state and professional, and her legacy continues to inspire composers and educators worldwide.

Your safe space for dancing in Budapest, temporarily closed now but reopening soon on a very new spot near river Danube. Until then, dive into our LÄRMCAST mixes 🤙

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