GRAFOART Music Publishing House - an institution of Romanian musical culture

About us

Founded in 1991, GRAFOART Music Publishing House has established itself, over more than three decades of uninterrupted activity, as the principal reference point for private music publishing in Romania. Through consistency, specialization and respect for artistic heritage, GRAFOART has built one of the most extensive specialist catalogues in Central and Eastern Europe, today comprising more than 900 titles dedicated to music, artistic education and written culture.

Our mission is clear: to support Romanian music, to preserve its values, to bring them into circulation and to pass them on to new generations of pupils, students, teachers, performers and lovers of the art of sound.

1. History of the publishing house

GRAFOART was among the first private publishing houses to emerge in Romania after the political and institutional changes of 1989. In a period marked by the reorganization of the publishing market and by the assertion of independent cultural initiative, the publishing house sought, from the outset, to develop a specialized model oriented towards the musical and artistic field.

Beginning in 2005, the publishing house entered a stage of accelerated development, being restructured on modern foundations and strategically oriented towards the systematic publication of scores, treatises, study methods, musicological works and critical editions. During this period, the editorial catalogue grew steadily, currently exceeding 900 titles - a fact that positions GRAFOART as the most important private music publishing house in Romania and one of the most active specialist publishers in the region.

2. Thematic profile of the publishing house

GRAFOART's editorial profile is eminently specialized, focused on the following major directions:

• music scores for didactic, concert and research use;

• revised editions and heritage republications of fundamental works;

• instrumental methods and pedagogical auxiliaries for piano, violin, cello, double bass, viola, guitar, flute, other wind instruments and voice;

• treatises on harmony, counterpoint, musical forms, conducting, music history, music theory and solfege;

• monographs, memoirs, correspondence and biographies of musicians;

• translations from European musicological literature;

• interdisciplinary works on the aesthetics, philosophy and sociology of music;

• specialist musical and encyclopaedic dictionaries.

The publishing house directly serves pupils in music high schools, students at specialist universities, teaching staff, researchers, performers and cultural institutions. For many musical disciplines, GRAFOART publications represent the current working bibliography.

3. A catalogue unique in Romania. The authors in the GRAFOART catalogue

The GRAFOART catalogue includes scores, theoretical treatises, instrumental methods, biographies, memoirs, monographs, heritage editions, reference translations and pedagogical works for all levels of study. Its pages bring together fundamental names of Romanian and universal culture.

Romanian composers - the backbone of the catalogue

At the forefront of the GRAFOART catalogue stands George Enescu, the central figure of modern Romanian music, represented by more than 50 titles: works for piano and violin, chamber music, suites, sonatas, songs, transcriptions, critical and facsimile editions of manuscripts, as well as monographs and studies devoted to his oeuvre, including the works of Pascal Bentoiu.

Dinu Lipatti is represented in the catalogue both through his compositions (from the works of the young Dinu to the Sonatina for the Left Hand, Concertino in Classical Style, op. 3, the Pastorale, the Fantasy, op. 8, the Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Five Songs, op. 9, and others) and through volumes devoted to his life and memory: the two volumes of Letters; the biography by Grigore Bărgăuanu and Dragoș Tănăsescu, in Romanian and French editions; the volumes by Anna Lipatti, Memories of a Grieving Mother / La douleur de ma vie; by Madeleine Lipatti, In memoriam Dinu Lipatti - Testimonies / Hommages; and by Miron Șoarec, My Friend Dinu Lipatti.

Constantin Silvestri, a conductor and composer of European stature, is present in the catalogue with the complete corpus of his piano and chamber works: Suite I, Children at Play, op. 3; Sonatina, op. 3 no. 3; Suite III, op. 6; Romanian Folk Dances from Transylvania, op. 4; Songs of the Wilderness, op. 27; Sonata Breve a 2 Voci; Sonata IV - Rhapsody in 3 Episodes; Sonata for Flute and Piano, op. 23, and others.

Alongside these tutelary figures, the catalogue brings together the reference names of the Romanian school of composition:

• Mărțian Negrea, author of important treatises on harmony, counterpoint and musical forms;

• Zeno Vancea, author of the fundamental two-volume monograph Romanian Musical Creation in the 19th-20th Centuries;

• Victor Giuleanu, author of the Treatise on Music Theory, of Musical Rhythm in two volumes and of the volume Byzantine Melodics;

• Liviu Comes, author, together with Doina Nemțeanu-Rotaru, of the Treatise on Vocal and Instrumental Counterpoint in two volumes, as well as The World of Polyphony and Palestrinian Melodics;

• Tiberiu Brediceanu, Carmen Petra-Basacopol, Mihail Jora, Paul Constantinescu, Hilda Jerea, Alexandru Pașcanu (with Harmony in two volumes), Dimitrie Cuclin (with the Elementary Treatise on Music, the Treatise on Musical Forms and the Treatise on Musical Aesthetics);

• Ion Dumitrescu, Tudor Dumitrescu, Sigismund Toduță (with the monumental work The Musical Forms of the Baroque in the Works of J. S. Bach), Hans Peter Türk (with Tonal-Functional Harmony);

• Ciprian Porumbescu, Adrian Pop, Livia Teodorescu-Ciocănea, Dan Buciu, Dumitru Bughici, Carol Miculi, Tiberiu Alexandru (with the series Folkloristics, Organology, Musicology) and many others.

The great universal classics

The GRAFOART catalogue also includes the great classics of universal music: J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, F. Chopin, R. Schumann, P. I. Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Béla Bartók, Carl Czerny, Otakar Ševčík, Hans Sitt, Ferdinand Beyer, Anton Diabelli, Henri Lemoine and others - in carefully prepared pedagogical editions adapted to current curricular requirements.

Contemporary authors

Alongside them, the publishing house publishes contemporary authors - active teachers, composers and pedagogues - thereby contributing to the living continuity of Romanian musical culture. Among the names most frequently present in the catalogue are Adrian Andrei, Octavia Popescu, Cristina Muntean, Maria Cernovodeanu, Alma Cornea-Ionescu, Mircea Dan Răducanu, Florin Răducanu, Dragos Alexandrescu, Anton Adrian Sarvaș, Ginetta Bănică and others.

4. Reference treatises

Over time, GRAFOART has published numerous works that have become basic instruments in the study of music and are today included in the compulsory bibliography of specialist high schools and universities.

Music theory and solfege

• Victor Giuleanu - Treatise on Music Theory and Fundamental Principles in Music Theory;

• Victor Giuleanu - Musical Rhythm, vol. I (The Theory of Rhythm) and vol. II (The Evolution of Rhythm from the Beginnings to Bach);

• Dimitrie Cuclin - Elementary Treatise on Music;

• Dragos Alexandrescu - Music Theory, vols. I and II;

• Augustin Bena - Music Theory (The Principles);

• Faust Niculescu - Music Theory;

• Ludovic Paceag, Petre Brâncuș - Elementary Notions of Music Theory.

Harmony, counterpoint, fugue

• Alexandru Pașcanu - Harmony, vols. I and II;

• Mărțian Negrea - Treatise on Harmony and Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue;

• Hans Peter Türk - Tonal-Functional Harmony, vol. I (Non-Modulating Diatonic Harmony) and vol. II (Diatonic Modulation and Chromatic Harmony);

• Liviu Comes, Doina Nemțeanu-Rotaru - Treatise on Vocal and Instrumental Counterpoint, vols. I and II;

• Liviu Comes - The World of Polyphony; Palestrinian Melodics;

• Theodore Dubois - Treatise on Counterpoint (translated by Alexandru Pașcanu);

• Werner Tell - New Manual of Counterpoint;

• Knud Jeppesen - Counterpoint;

• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Practical Manual of Harmony;

• Alexandru Zirra - Treatise on Harmony;

• Victor L. Gheorghiu - Theoretical-Practical Course in Harmony;

• Dan Buciu - A Short Treatise on Modal Writing.

Musical forms and analysis

• Mărțian Negrea - Treatise on Musical Forms;

• Dimitrie Cuclin - Treatise on Musical Forms and Treatise on Musical Aesthetics;

• Sigismund Toduță - The Musical Forms of the Baroque in the Works of J. S. Bach (a multi-volume work);

• Livia Teodorescu-Ciocănea - Treatise on Musical Forms and Analyses;

• André Hodeir - The Forms of Music;

• Dumitru Bughici, Diamandi Gheciu - The Forms and Genres of Instrumental Music;

• Dumitru Bughici - Dictionary of Musical Forms and Genres.

Orchestration and conducting

• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Principles of Orchestration;

• Alfredo Casella, Virgilio Mortari - The Technique of the Contemporary Orchestra;

• Augustin Bena - Practical Course in Choral Conducting;

• Wilhelm Demian - Theory of Instruments;

• Alfred Mendelsohn - Melody and the Art of Clothing It.

Music history and musicology

• Zeno Vancea - Romanian Musical Creation in the 19th-20th Centuries;

• Mihail Gr. Poslușnicu - The History of Music among the Romanians;

• Petre Nițulescu - Romanian Music Today (1939);

• Brigitte François-Sappey - The History of Music in Europe;

• Tiberiu Alexandru - Folkloristics, Organology, Musicology; The Musical Instruments of the Romanian People; Romanian Folk Music;

• Victor Giuleanu - Byzantine Melodics;

• Grigore Panțiru - The Notation and Ehoi of Byzantine Music.

Musical dictionaries

• Universal Dictionary of Music (Lupu, Racu, Sandu, Oprea, Caraman-Fotea, Firca);

• Timotei Popovici - Dictionary of Music;

• Avram Levy Ivela - Illustrated Musical Dictionary;

• Titus Cerne - Dictionary of Music, vols. I and II;

• Valeriu Bărbuceanu - Dictionary of Musical Instruments.

Instrumental methods

The GRAFOART catalogue also includes complete methods for piano, violin, cello, double bass, guitar, flute, other wind instruments and voice, as well as specialized manuals for preparing examinations and competitions. These publications are currently used in music high schools, universities, conservatoires, private schools and individual study.

5. Focus on Romanian music

GRAFOART believes that a healthy musical culture is built upon knowledge of its own values. For this reason, a major direction of our activity is the recovery, republication and promotion of Romanian creation.

We publish rare or out-of-print scores, new editions of essential works, Romanian pedagogical compositions, choral, vocal and instrumental repertoire, as well as volumes devoted to the history of Romanian music. Thus, pupils and teachers can gain real access to national musical literature, not only to imported literature.

The catalogue includes special collections devoted to the great Romanian composers, editions dedicated entirely to the Enescu heritage, anthologies of piano miniatures by Romanian composers, Romanian vocal repertoire, choral and orchestral works of the national school, as well as extensive musicological studies and monographs.

6. The importance of re-editions

One of the defining values of the publishing house is its permanent policy of re-edition. We believe that a valuable book or score should not disappear from circulation.

For this reason, we constantly reprint requested works, republish out-of-print volumes, update older editions, correct reported errors and prepare revised or second editions. This policy provides stability to the musical education system: teachers can work for years with reliable and accessible materials, while didactic bibliographies remain coherent from one generation to the next.

Moreover, the observations and corrections transmitted by the academic, teaching and professional public are promptly integrated into new print runs. Our readers are active partners in the editorial process - a continuous dialogue that progressively improves the quality of editions through tacit corrections, published errata and systematic revisions.

This practice distinguishes GRAFOART within the Romanian publishing landscape: almost all of the more than 900 titles in the catalogue remain available, and the essential volumes benefit from periodic updates.

7. Prestigious collaborations

The publishing house has the honour of collaborating with outstanding personalities of contemporary Romanian musical life, whose names are indissolubly linked to the identity of our catalogues.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Oana Rădulescu Velcovici

A distinguished pianist and pedagogue, trained at the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatoire and, for almost a quarter of a century, a continuator of the pianistic tradition of Professor Maria Fotino (herself a disciple of Florica Musicescu, Dinu Lipatti's teacher). A Doctor of Music with a thesis devoted to Maria Fotino and twentieth-century pianism, and a descendant of a well-known dynasty of Romanian musicians (the Dumitrescu family), Oana Rădulescu Velcovici is one of the publishing house's most active collaborators. For GRAFOART she has edited more than 30 editions of scores and monographic volumes, including Maria Fotino and the Art of Piano Playing, the album At the Piano with Maria Fotino, the documentary volume Maria Fotino in Written and Sound Documents and the monograph Tudor Dumitrescu. Her editorial work is an essential contribution to the preservation and transmission of the Romanian pianistic tradition.

Dr Ilinca Dumitrescu

An internationally renowned concert pianist (having performed on five continents, in 46 countries and 39 capitals), musicologist and pedagogue, former director of the George Enescu National Museum in Bucharest (1994-2006). A Doctor of Musicology with the qualification summa cum laude, decorated as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana, and recipient of the Romanian Academy Prize, Ilinca Dumitrescu comes from an illustrious family of musicians - the daughter of composer Ion Dumitrescu and poet Mariana Dumitrescu, and niece of composer Gheorghe Dumitrescu. Her collaboration with GRAFOART has resulted in the editing of a significant number of editions devoted to Romanian music, especially to the work of the Dumitrescu family, as well as previously unpublished scores, many of them produced in collaboration with the great violinist Sherban Lupu.

Camelia Pavlenco

A piano teacher with more than four decades of pedagogical experience, Doctor of Musicology (with a thesis entitled Universal Lyric Resonances in the Romanian Art Song), pianist, soprano and painter - a complete artist. She has written more than 40 music reviews for the journal Actualitatea Muzicală. For GRAFOART, Camelia Pavlenco has created some of the most beloved piano methods for children throughout the Romanian-speaking world: My First Piano. A Method for Children, Parents, Grandparents and Teachers; Do Re Miau. A Piano Method for Four Hands; as well as the volume Enescu. The Songs of Love - a work of musical analysis devoted to Enescu's songs. In her works, pedagogical vocation, artistic talent and stage experience come together in a fresh, inventive and highly attractive piano pedagogy.

These collaborations express the publishing house's vocation to bring together artistic excellence, pedagogy and research.

8. Contribution to the dissemination of research

GRAFOART makes a substantial contribution to the circulation of academic knowledge in the field of music by transforming specialized research into publications that are accessible and usable in teaching. Numerous works prepared by university professors, researchers and practising musicians have been published under the aegis of the publishing house and have entered the national and international university and professional circuit.

From the perspective of international bibliographic accessibility, the publishing house's publications are present in major Romanian libraries - the National Library of Romania, the Library of the Romanian Academy, the libraries of music universities and conservatoires - in accordance with the legal deposit obligation.

Internationally, GRAFOART titles are indexed and accessible through the major global bibliographic systems:

• WorldCat (www.worldcat.org) - the largest collective library catalogue in the world;

• Karlsruhe Virtual Catalogue - KVK (https://kvk.bibliothek.kit.edu);

• Catalogue Collectif de France - CCFr (https://ccfr.bnf.fr).

Through these channels, GRAFOART publications become identifiable and accessible to researchers throughout the world. The publishing house also collaborates with major university and music libraries worldwide, ensuring the physical and digital presence of its titles in the most important international documentation centres.

9. Impact on the field and specialist collections

GRAFOART's impact on Romanian musical life is major, as the publishing house has supplied, in many areas, the absence of a specialized editorial infrastructure. For numerous musical disciplines - music theory, harmony, counterpoint, musical forms, music history, instrumental pedagogy - the publishing house's publications represent the current working bibliography.

The publishing house's collections include:

• Pedagogical collections for piano, violin, cello, double bass, viola, voice, wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba), guitar and accordion;

• Collections of theory and musicology - treatises on harmony, counterpoint, musical forms, conducting, orchestration and music history;

• Collections devoted to the great Romanian composers - complete or partial editions of the works of George Enescu, Dinu Lipatti, Constantin Silvestri, Mărțian Negrea, Liviu Comes, Mihail Jora and others;

• Collections of musical memoirs and biography - correspondence, testimonies, interviews and monographs;

• Collections of choral, vocal and orchestral repertoire;

• Editions devoted to Romanian musical heritage;

• The Classic is Fantastic collection - addressed to the general public and to young audiences, recognized for its contribution to the aesthetic education of new generations;

• The Musical Notebooks collection - study auxiliaries for solfege, dictation, theory and musical writing;

• Collections of translations from European musicological literature.

Through the breadth of its catalogue and the permanence of its titles, GRAFOART functions both as an institution of cultural memory and as a strategic actor in Romanian musical education.

10. Distribution in Romania and abroad, including open availability

GRAFOART publications reach the public through a diversified and extensive distribution network, ensuring the accessibility of the catalogue throughout the Romanian and European cultural space.

In Romania

• Two proprietary bookshops in Bucharest: one located in Piața Sfinții Voievozi, in the immediate vicinity of the George Enescu National College of Music, and one within the National University of Music Bucharest - both strategically positioned in relation to the country's main institutions of musical training;

• The publishing house's own website (www.librariamuzicala.ro), with delivery in Romania and abroad, through which the publishing house receives daily orders from the public;

• Collaboration with the main bookshops and book platforms in Romania - Cărturești, Humanitas, Libris and other distribution networks. The entire catalogue of more than 900 titles is available in their warehouses and on their online platforms;

• Presence of the publications in libraries, schools, high schools, colleges and music universities throughout the country.

Abroad

• Online orders shipped globally through the publishing house's own platform;

• Presence in specialized partner bookshops in important European cultural centres, including Librairie Monnier (Paris) and music bookshops in London;

• Volumes published in French and a significant part of the scores edited by GRAFOART circulate through specialized European bookshops;

• Circulation of titles in university libraries and international catalogues through the network of library partnerships described above.

Open availability

By "open availability" we mean the constant accessibility of the entire catalogue: any GRAFOART title can be ordered directly, through online platforms or through the international library circuit. The permanent policy of re-edition ensures that no essential title goes out of circulation, while new titles are systematically announced to the public.

Presence at book fairs and music competitions

The publishing house regularly participates in Romania's principal book fairs - Bookfest, Gaudeamus, regional fairs and university book salons - as well as in important international cultural salons, with its own stands and dedicated events.

In addition, GRAFOART participates with stands of scores and music books at most music competitions in Romania, as well as at festivals and events organized by specialist high schools and universities. Competitors, teachers and parents are thus offered direct access, during the events, to the publications needed for study and repertoire preparation. The publishing house is present at least once a year in music and arts high schools throughout the country, thereby ensuring the proximity of its catalogues to the target public.

11. Partnerships with foreign publishers

GRAFOART has developed solid editorial collaborations with specialist publishing houses and institutions in Europe. Our network of international partners supports both translations and the international distribution of our own titles.

The principal directions include:

• Translations from French musicological literature, including from the Que sais-je? collection (Presses Universitaires de France) and from internationally recognized reference volumes;

• Volumes translated and published under the aegis of the publishing house, such as Catherine Lepront - Clara Schumann. Life for Four Hands; Brigitte François-Sappey - The History of Music in Europe; Romain Rolland - The Life of Beethoven; Mozart - A Portrait Sketch; Berlioz; Friedrich Nietzsche - Wagner; Igor Stravinsky - Poetics of Music; Claude Debussy - Monsieur Croche, Antidilettante; Robert Schumann - From the Chronicles of the Davidsbündler; Arthur Honegger - I Am a Composer; Thomas Mann - The Sufferings and Greatness of the Masters; Edwin Fischer - The Piano Sonatas;

• Professional relations with Bärenreiter - one of the most prestigious academic music publishers in the world - and with other specialized European publishers, with a view to rights assignments, co-editions and bibliographic exchange.

These collaborations place GRAFOART within the European music publishing network and confer additional academic legitimacy and international circulation upon the titles published.

12. Awards and public recognition

The publishing house's activity has been recognized over time through numerous national and international awards and distinctions - at prestigious book fairs in Romania and abroad, within publishing competitions devoted to music books, through distinctions awarded by foundations and professional associations, as well as through recognition offered by unions of music criticism and musicology.

This recognition confirms GRAFOART's position as a reference publishing house for Romanian musical culture and validates the value of our publications at academic, pedagogical and artistic levels.

13. Newsletters and editorial communication

Under the aegis of the publishing house, a constant system of professional communication operates towards the musical community in Romania and the diaspora. Each month, 2-3 newsletters are sent to approximately 25,000 recipients - teachers, students, musicians, researchers, librarians and lovers of art music - comprising:

• Editorial news and detailed presentations of each newly published volume;

• Critical presentations of published works, with representative excerpts, contextualizations and recommendations for use;

• Bibliographic recommendations for teachers and pupils;

• Information about launches, events, book fairs and the publishing house's presence at competitions;

• Thematic campaigns devoted to educational repertoire and musical heritage;

• Interviews and testimonies by authors and collaborators.

Through its regularity, volume and specialized content, this newsletter system functions as a genuine periodic digital magazine for musical information, maintaining a living connection between the publishing house and its professional public. Each book is accompanied by an extensive presentation that contextualizes the work and guides the reader.

14. Professional ethics and quality-assurance procedures

The works published by GRAFOART comply with the highest standards of professional and research ethics. Editorial quality-assurance procedures are applied systematically, in accordance with national and international frameworks regarding academic integrity and intellectual property.

The editorial process includes:

• Verification of the originality of manuscripts and similarity control through the use of specialized digital tools, including artificial-intelligence applications dedicated to detecting plagiarism and self-plagiarism;

• Consultation with specialists - professors and researchers from music universities in Romania, as well as partners abroad - for the validation of scientific, pedagogical and artistic content;

• Bibliographic control and verification of sources, supported by our own documentary infrastructure: the GRAFOART Library, one of the largest private libraries specialized in music in Romania, with approximately 20,000 volumes of books and scores, represents an essential reference instrument for scientific and documentary verification;

• A manuscript evaluation system with reviewers external to the editorial office - university professors, musicologists, performers and distinguished pedagogues;

• Professional proofreading and final editorial validation before printing;

• Continuous revision of editions through the integration of errata and observations received from the academic and professional public, with the publication of corrected or revised editions wherever necessary;

• Respect for copyright and intellectual property, both for original titles and for translations, on the basis of assignment agreements concluded with authors or with international partner publishers.

These procedures guarantee that GRAFOART publications are not only useful pedagogical resources, but also works that conform to contemporary academic standards and are worthy of inclusion in university bibliographies and in the circuit of international musicological research.

More than a publishing house

GRAFOART is not merely a producer of books, but a living cultural institution, involved in education, memory and the future. Through every volume published, every score reintroduced into circulation and every author supported, the publishing house contributes to the consolidation of Romanian musical culture.

In a world of rapid change, GRAFOART remains faithful to a simple and noble idea:

music deserves to be printed, studied, understood and passed on.

GRAFOART Music Publishing House · 1991 - present · Bucharest, Piața Sfinții Voievozi no. 1, sector 1 · www.librariamuzicala.ro