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Constantin-Nicolae Silvestri (; 31 May 1913,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
– 23 February 1969,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) was a
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n conductor and
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
.


Early life

Silvestri, born of Austro-Italian-Romanian stock, was brought up mostly by his mother, his father dying from
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
, and his stepfather dying when the boy was 16. He had learnt how to play the piano and organ before the age of six. He played the piano in public at 10 and was a skilled improviser.Morgan K. From Bucharest to Bournemouth. ''
Classic Record Collector ''Classical Recordings Quarterly'' (formerly ''Classic Record Collector'') was a quarterly British magazine devoted to vintage recordings of classical music, across the range of instrumental recordings, chamber music, orchestral, vocal and opera. ...
'', Winter 2009, Vol 59, 16-22.
He studied at the Târgu Mureş Conservatoire, and later at the Bucharest Conservatoire. His teachers in Bucharest included
Mihail Jora Mihail Jora (; 2 August 1891, Roman, Romania - 10 May 1971, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian composer, pianist, and conductor. Jora studied in Leipzig with Robert Teichmüller. From 1929 to 1962 he was a professor at the Bucharest Conservatoir ...
(composition) and
Florica Musicescu Florica Musicescu (21 May 1887, IaÅŸi–19 March 1969, Bucharest) was a renowned Romanian pianist and musical pedagogue, daughter of the renowned composer, conductor and musicologist Gavriil Musicescu. She taught piano music for many decade ...
(piano). Despite not having taken conducting classes, he was already appearing as conductor in his teens, making his debut in 1930 with the Bucharest Radio Symphony Orchestra in a concert which included ''
The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...
'' and his own composition ''Prelude and Fugue (Toccata)''.


Career

Silvestri's success in this 1930 National Radio Orchestra of Romania concert persuaded him to follow conducting as a career. He conducted at the Romanian National Opera from 1935 on, and, following the brief tenures of two caretakers, he also directed the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for six years as successor to
George Georgescu George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associ ...
, in disgrace as a
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
collaborator. Georgescu, ironically, assumed directorship of the Radio Orchestra; following Silvestri's emigration to the West, Georgescu would resume his place at the head of the Philharmonic, shortly thereafter renamed the George Enescu Philharmonic.Biographical sketch
of George Georgescu published for Concursul George Georgescu 2008 International Contest for Performing Artists, Tulcea, Romania
From 1948 to 1956, Silvestri taught at the Bucharest Conservatoire (Conservatorul din București), where he founded its Conducting Department. Among Silvestri's students were Sergiu Comissiona,
Marius Constant Marius Constant (7 February 192515 May 2004) was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Although known in the classical world primarily for his ballet scores, his most widely known music was the iconic guitar theme for ''The Twilight Zone ...
,
Anatol Vieru Anatol Vieru (; 8 June 1926 â€“ 8 October 1998) was a Romanian-Jewish music theoretician, pedagogue, and composer. A pupil of Aram Khachaturian, he composed seven symphonies, eight string quartets, concertos, and chamber music. He also wrote t ...
, Iosif Conta,
Edgar Cosma Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
. By the 1950s Silvestri was accepting guest engagements in the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. His career in Romania came to a climax in 1958 with the highly successful Romanian premiere of ''
Oedipe Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
'' in Bucharest. After leaving his home country Silvestri made Paris his domicile in 1959, also travelling to Australia that year, and appearing with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
and
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
in 1960–61, and making a number of recordings in Paris, London and Vienna for EMI. Having made his UK début with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
in 1957 at the Royal Albert Hall, Silvestri
defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
to Great Britain in 1961 and assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He raised the standard and prestige of the orchestra to one of international standing. He was demanding and meticulous in rehearsal, his scores marked in different colours; however, his performances often differed from one concert to the next. Silvestri made his debut at the
Royal Opera House Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
with '' Khovanshchina'' in the
Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
version (in an English translation by
Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his ...
) in June 1963. He became a British citizen in 1967 shortly before his growing reputation was cut short by increasing ill health, and he died of cancer at the age of 55. His last concert was in
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
on 29 November 1968, and he is buried at St Peter's Church in
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
. At least three biographies are available on Silvestri, by Eugen Pricope, John Gritten and Ioana Raluca Voicu-Arnăuţoiu.
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
holds a substantial documentary archive of his life and work.


Recording

In Romania and Eastern Europe, before moving to the West, Silvestri made around 20 LPs, often of repertoire he did not subsequently re-record. Recordings for which he is particularly well known include
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
's Overture ''
In the South (Alassio) ''In the South (Alassio)'', Op. 50, is a concert overture composed by Edward Elgar during a family holiday in Italy in the winter of 1903 to 1904. He was working on a symphony, but the local atmosphere inspired him instead to write what some ha ...
'', and Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony. His recordings received a First Prize from the Académie Charles Cros (for
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
's '' Symphony No.9, "From the New World"'') and the
Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
(for George Enescu's ''Dixtuor for Winds''). Silvestri conducted and recorded with many of the world's finest orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Concertgebouw,
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Suisse Romande, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,. In addition to commercial recordings, the BBC Legends label has issued six CDs of radio performances from the 1960s with Silvestri conducting the Bournemouth Orchestra. In 2013, EMI re-issued most of his recordings with that company in a 15-disc set in which one reviewer noted the performances' "consistent character and quality".Sanders A. Review of EMI Classics 'Constantin Silvestri – Complete EMI Recordings (7 23347-2). '' Classical Recordings Quarterly'', Summer 2013, 73 : p71-73. Video and Audio rarities with excerpts from Silvestri's concerts, rehearsals, live and studio recordings are featured in Anda Anastasescu Gritten's film series 'CONSTANTIN SILVESTRI: Avant-gardist, Master improviser, Homme passionné' (7 episodes: Prelude, Lead soldiers, The little shepherd, Fireworks, Pictures at an exhibition, Nocturne, Bacchanalia), released in 2021 in Bucharest by the George Enescu International Festival and the Romanian National TV (TVR3): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPLgIBlRgbpwf6CM6n2C4gw/videos. In the films, Silvestri conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the ORTF Orchestra, the Bucharest Philharmonic, the Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of the Romanian National Opera. In 2009, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Silvestri’s death in London and after 19 years of campaigning to revive his memory in Britain and in Romania, pianist Anda Anastasescu and journalist John Gritten produced a unique memorial CD set for the RMA label (Romanian Musical Adventure) with Silvestri conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The album has an unusual history: many of the concerts conducted by Silvestri in Britain were broadcast by the BBC. Tragically, a lack of archive space led to the destruction of the master tapes of the majority of these recordings and there the story would have ended but for Silvestri himself. Hidden away within the archive of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra were 350 reel-to-reel tapes that the maestro himself had made at home, from BBC radio broadcasts. Following his death, his widow had presented the tapes to the orchestra and there they had lain forgotten. A chance re-discovery of the tapes by the orchestra’s librarian led to the involvement of Raymond Carpenter, the orchestra’s principal clarinettist during the maestro’s leadership and latterly the BSO’s and Silvestri’s archivist. For over twenty years he has dedicated himself to the task of rescuing these remarkable recordings, alongside fellow Silvestri enthusiast, American Glen Gould from Silicon Valley, California, who has worked to digitally re-master many of the recordings. It has been a labour of love and this double album is a testament to their success. The set contains a unique list of works recorded by the BBC in the 1960s in the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth and Colston Hall, Bristol: Silvestri conducts his own work 'Three Pieces for Strings', Enescu's Symphony No. 1, First and Second Orchestral Suites, Mozart's Magic Flute Overture, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 and Dvorak's Slavonic Dances.


Compositions

Silvestri also composed over 40 orchestral, chamber and vocal works. These include ''Prelude and Fugue (Toccata)'', Sonata quasi una fantasia, Op 19, No 2 (1940), Chants Nostalgiques, Op 27, No 1 (1944), String Quartet, Op 27, No 2 (1944), Sonata for solo harp, Three Pieces for Strings, Op 4, No 2 (1933), and Romanian Dances from Transylvania, Op 4, No 1 (1930). The UK Premières of the following works were given by pianist Anda Anastasescu in the Wigmore Hall, London: 14 July 2003 - Piano Suite 'Children's Games' No. 2 (Op. 3 No. 2); 28 December 2004 - Sonata Op. 28 No. 1 'Rapsodia in 3 episodi'; 30 December 2005 - Sonata Op. 19 No. 2 'Quasi una fantasia' and 'Chants nostalgiques' Op. 27 No. 1. The UK Première of Piano Suite 'Children Games' No. 1 (Op. 3 No. 1) was given by Anda Anastasescu in the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London, on 15 December 1999 as part of the series 'BRIDGING THE MILLENIA WITH FOUR ANNIVERSARIES. Hommage to Silvestri, Shostakovich, Copland and Turina' 1999 – 2000. The UK Première of the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Op. 19 No. 1 was given by Raymond Carpenter (Silvestri's Principal Clarinettist in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) and Anda Anastasescu in the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre London, 15 December 1999. The UK Première of the 'Romanian dances from Transylvania' Op.4 No.1 (Bihor Dances) for piano 4 hands, was given by pianists Anda Anastasescu and Alberto Portugheis in Kings Place, London, on 4 July 2010. The Piano Suites Nos. 1,2,3 are featured in Anastasescu's film series 'CONSTANTIN SILVESTRI: Avant-gardist, Master improviser, Homme passionné' (7 episodes: Prelude, Lead soldiers, The little shepherd, Fireworks, Pictures at an exhibition, Nocturne, Bacchanalia), dedicated to the 2021 George Enescu International Festival, Bucharest: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPLgIBlRgbpwf6CM6n2C4gw/videos Anastasescu recorded the three piano suites for the 'Patrimoniu' archives of the Romanian National Radio in November/December 2019. On 19 March 2005, The London Schubert Players Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Hu Kun, gave the public UK Première of the 'Three pieces for strings' in the 'Classicalive Festival' in the Olympia Exhibition Centre, London. A second London performance took place in the Romanian Cultural Institute on 15 November 2005 as part of Anastasescu's festival 'A Romanian Musical Adventure' 2005-2006, the first-ever British festival of Romanian composers. The work had been previously performed on 29 April 2004 in the Romanian Embassy in London by the 'George Enescu Youth Orchestra' (the orchestra of the George Enescu Music School in Bucharest) conducted by Bogdan Voda. The concert was part of a concert tour in the UK, organised by Anda Anastasescu who is an alumna. The first commercially released CD with the ‘Three Pieces for Strings’ (‘A World of Music with the London Schubert Players’) was produced by Cressidia Classics in the UK in 1996. The recording was made in 1990 in Bucharest’s Athenaeum concert hall by the official Romanian record company ‘Electrecord’.


References


Bibliography

*Gritten, John. (1998). A Musician Before His Time. Constantin Silvestri – Conductor, Composer, Pianist with a Foreword by Yehudi Menuhin (Lord Menuhin of Stoke D'Abernon), 70 illustrations, 304 pp. (Kitzinger, London)


External links


George Enescu Philharmonic site, Romanian-language site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestri, Constantin 1913 births 1969 deaths Musicians from Bucharest Romanian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Romanian emigrants to the United Kingdom Romanian defectors 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians