CASSIAN, Nina

Romanian-American composer, pianist, poet, translator, and visual artist, born Renée Annie Cassian-Mătăsaru in Galați, Romania. She studied piano and composition in Bucharest with Theodor Fuchs, Paul Jelescu, Mihail Jora, and Constantin Silvestri. Although best known internationally for her poetry, Cassian also composed chamber, orchestral, and solo-piano music. Her works include the piano pieces Toccata (1953) and 2 × 5 Fingers (1986), as well as The Magic Clarinet for clarinet and piano, which was performed at Carnegie Hall. 2 × 5 Fingers is a six-movement cycle in which the individual movements focus successively on each finger and finally on all ten fingers. After moving to the United States in 1985 and receiving political asylum, she continued composing alongside her literary work. A concert devoted to her music was presented at the University of Rhode Island in 2008. Cassian died in New York City on 14 April 2014.