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 populations, Hungarian and German theaters thrive beside the Romanian. Since the end of the rigid restrictions of the 1950s, the performing arts have been flourishing with talented performers, directors, and writers. The government has been promoting the presentation of Romanian plays, and Romanian playwrights have striven to compete for audience favor with the best of contemporary and classical foreign plays, which are regularly presented. Among contemporary playwrights who have achieved critical acclaim at home and abroad are Paul Everac, D. R. Popescu, Horia Lovinescu, Iosif Naghiu, and Paul Anghel. Eugene Ionesco, although Romanian by birth, is generally considered a French playwright since he writes in French. Romanians, however, proudly claim him as one of their own, even though his plays do not follow the desired standards of form and content.