George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian
five lei.
Biography
![George Enesco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/George_Enesco.jpg)
Enescu was born in Romania, in the village of
Liveni (later renamed "George Enescu" in his honor), then in
Dorohoi County
Dorohoi County, with its seat at Dorohoi, was a subdivision of the Kingdom of Romania and located in the region of Moldavia.
Geography
The county was located in the northeastern part of Greater Romania, in the north-eastern extremity of the Moldav ...
, today
Botoșani County
Botoșani County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani.
De ...
. His father was Costache Enescu, a landholder, and his mother was Maria Enescu (née Cosmovici), the daughter of an Orthodox priest. Their eighth child, he was born after all the previous siblings had died in infancy. His father later separated from Maria Enescu and had another son with Maria Ferdinand-Suschi: the painter
Dumitru Bâșcu
Dumitru Bâșcu (Romanian pronunciation: ; alternative spelling Dimitrie Bîșcu; 14 September 1902 – 18 November 1983) was a Romanian painter. He is known for his oil paintings of still life, landscapes and portraits as well as for mural paintin ...
.
A
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
, Enescu began experimenting with composing at an early age. Several, mostly very short, pieces survive, all for violin and piano. The earliest work of significant length bears the title ''Pămînt românesc'' ("Romanian Land"), and is inscribed "opus for piano and violin by George Enescu, Romanian composer, aged five years and a quarter". Shortly thereafter, his father presented him to the professor and composer
Eduard Caudella
Eduard Caudella (22 May (or 3 June) 1841 – 15 April 1924) was a Romanian opera composer, also a violin virtuoso, conductor, teacher and critic. He studied with Henri Vieuxtemps
Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps ( 17 February 18206 June 1881 ...
. On 5 October 1888, at the age of seven, he became the youngest student ever admitted to the
Vienna Conservatory,
where he studied with
Joseph Hellmesberger Jr.
Joseph Heinrich Georg Hellmesberger Jr. (9 April 1855 – 26 April 1907), also known as Pepi Hellmesberger, was an Austrian composer, violinist and Conducting, conductor.
Biography
Hellmesberger was born in Vienna and was the son of violinis ...
,
Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in hi ...
, and
Sigismund Bachrich
Sigismund Bachrich (23 January 1841 – 16 July 1913), aka Sigmund Bachrich or Siegmund Bachrich, was a Hungarian composer, violinist, and violist of Jewish origin.
He was born in Žabokreky in 1841. He studied violin at the Vienna Conservatoi ...
. He was the second person ever to be admitted to the Vienna Conservatory by a dispensation of age, and was the first non-Austrian (in 1882,
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...
had also been admitted at the age of seven; according to the rules, nobody younger than 14 years could study there).
In 1891, the ten-year-old Enescu gave a private concert at the
Court of Vienna, in the presence of
Emperor Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
.
Joseph Hellmesberger Sr.
Josef Hellmesberger Sr. (3 November 182824 October 1893) was an Austrian violinist, conductor, and composer.
Born in Vienna, he was the son of musician and pedagogue, Georg Hellmesberger Sr. (1800–1873), and was taught violin by his fath ...
, one of his teachers and the director of the Vienna Conservatory, hosted Enescu at his home, where the child prodigy met his idol,
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
.
He graduated at the age of 12, earning the silver medal. In his Viennese concerts young Enescu played works by
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
,
Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...
and
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
. In 1895, he went to Paris to continue his studies. He studied violin with
Martin Pierre Marsick
Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick (9 March 1847, in Jupille-sur-Meuse – 21 October 1924, in Paris), was a Belgian violin player, composer and teacher. His violin was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1705 and has since become known as the Ex Marsick St ...
, harmony with
André Gedalge
André Gedalge (27 December 1856 – 5 February 1926) was a French composer and teacher.
Biography
André Gedalge was born at 75 rue des Saints-Pères in Paris where he first worked as a bookseller and editor, specialising in ''livres de prix' ...
, and composition with
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...
and
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...
.
Enescu then studied from 1895 to 1899 at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. André Gedalge said that he was "the only one
mong his studentswho truly had ideas and spirit".
On 6 February 1898, at the age of 16, Enescu presented in Paris his first mature work, ''
Poema Română'', played by the
Colonne Orchestra, then one of the most prestigious in the world, and conducted by
Édouard Colonne
Édouard Juda Colonne (23 July 1838 – 28 March 1910) was a French conductor and violinist, who was a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers.
Life and career
Colonne was born in Bordeaux, the son and gran ...
.
Many of Enescu's works were influenced by Romanian folk music, his most popular compositions being the two ''
Romanian Rhapsodies'' (1901–02), the opera ''
Œdipe'' (1936), and the suites for orchestra. He also wrote five mature symphonies (two of them unfinished), a
symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
''
Vox maris'', and much chamber music (three sonatas for violin and piano, two for cello and piano, a piano trio, two string quartets and two piano quartets, a wind
decet (French, "dixtuor"), an
octet for strings, a piano quintet, and a chamber symphony for twelve solo instruments). A young
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
recalled in the 1960s how Enescu, who had developed a deep interest in Oriental music, rehearsed with Shankar's brother
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar (8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian cl ...
and his musicians. Around the same time, Enescu took the young
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
to the
Colonial Exhibition in Paris, where he introduced him to the
Gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
Orchestra from
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
![The Cantacuzino Palace from Bucharest (Romania)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/The_Cantacuzino_Palace_from_Bucharest_%28Romania%29.jpg)
On 8 January 1923 he made his American debut as a conductor in a concert given by the
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 ...
at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in New York City, and subsequently visited the United States many times. It was in America, in the 1920s, that Enescu was first persuaded to make recordings as a violinist. He also appeared as a conductor with many American orchestras and, in 1936, was one of the candidates considered to replace
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
as permanent conductor of the New York Philharmonic. In 1932, Enescu was elected a titular member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
. In 1935, he conducted the
Orchestre Symphonique de Paris and Yehudi Menuhin (who had been his pupil for several years starting in 1927) in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major. He also conducted the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
between 1937 and 1938. In 1939, he married
Maria Tescanu Rosetti
Maria Tescanu Rosetti (1879–1968), was a Romanian aristocrat and royal court official.
Life
Born in Berești-Tazlău, Bacău County, she was a descendant of some illustrious Moldavian boyar families. Her father Dumitru was descended from the ...
(known as Princess Maruca Cantacuzino through her first husband Mihail Cantacuzino), a good friend of Queen Marie of Romania. While staying in Bucharest, Enescu lived in the
Cantacuzino Palace
Cantacuzino Palace is located on Calea Victoriei no. 141, Bucharest, Romania. It was built by architect Ion D. Berindey in the Beaux Arts style, having a few Rococo Revival rooms. Today it houses the George Enescu museum.
History
The pala ...
on
Calea Victoriei CALEA may refer to:
*Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, an act by the US Congress to facilitate wiretapping of U.S. domestic telephone and Internet traffic
*Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a private accredit ...
(now the
George Enescu Museum
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
, dedicated to his work).
He lived in Paris and in Romania, but after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Soviet occupation of Romania
The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1918 that were incorporated int ...
, he remained in Paris.
He was also renowned as a violin teacher. He began teaching at the
Mannes School of Music
Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...
in 1948. His students included Yehudi Menuhin,
Christian Ferras
Christian Ferras (17 June 1933 – 14 September 1982) was a French violinist.
Early years
Ferras was born at Le Touquet in 1933. He began studying the violin with his father. He entered the Conservatoire de Nice as a student of Charles Bistesi i ...
,
Ivry Gitlis
Ivry Gitlis ( he, עברי גיטליס; 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philha ...
,
Arthur Grumiaux
Baron Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist, considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful t ...
,
Serge Blanc,
Ida Haendel
Ida Haendel, (15 December 19281 July 2020) was a Polish-British-Canadian violinist. Haendel was a child prodigy, her career spanning over seven decades. She also became an influential teacher.
Early career
Born in 1928 to a Polish Jewish fami ...
,
Uto Ughi
Bruto Diodato "Uto" Ughi (; born 21 January 1944) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He was the music director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia between 1987 and 1992. He is considered one of Italy's greatest living ...
, and
Joan Field
Joan Field (April 28, 1915March 18, 1988) was an American violinist.
Biography and career
Joan Field was born in Long Branch, New Jersey. She began violin studies at the age of 5. She was a pupil of Franz Kneisel, Albert Spalding and Michel P ...
.
![Grave of George Enescu -Père Lachaise Cemetery 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Grave_of_George_Enescu_-P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery_3.jpg)
He promoted contemporary Romanian music, playing works of
Constantin Silvestri
Constantin-Nicolae Silvestri (; 31 May 1913, Bucharest – 23 February 1969, London) was a Romanian conductor and composer.
Early life
Silvestri, born of Austro-Italian-Romanian stock, was brought up mostly by his mother, his father dying fro ...
,
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 ...
,
Jonel Perlea
Ionel Perlea (13 December 190029 July 1970) was a Romanian conductor particularly associated with the Italian and German opera repertories.
Biography
Born Ionel Perlea to a Romanian father, Victor Perlea, and a German mother, Margarethe Haberl ...
and Marţian Negrea. Enescu considered Bach's
Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
The sonatas and partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001–1006) are a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are sometimes referred to in English as the sonatas and for solo violin in accordance with Bach's headings in the autograph ...
as the "Himalayas of violinists". An annotated version of this work brings together the indications of Enescu regarding sonority, phrasing, tempos, musicality, fingering and expression.
Enescu died on 4 May 1955. On his death, he was interred in
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...
in Paris.
Today, Bucharest houses a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
in the Cantacuzino Palace in Bucharest in his memory; his house in Dorohoi is also open to the public; likewise, the
Symphony Orchestra of Bucharest and the
George Enescu Festival
The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition hel ...
—founded by his friend, musical advocate, and sometime collaborator, the conductor
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 ...
—are named and held in his honor. Recently,
Bacău International Airport
George Enescu International Airport is an airport located in Bacău, Romania. Named after the Romanian composer George Enescu, it serves as a focus city of the low-cost airline Blue Air. Bacău Airport shares its runway with RoAF 95th Air Base, ...
was named George Enescu International Airport.
Reception
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals, described Enescu as "the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart"
and "one of the greatest geniuses of
modern music".
Queen Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parent ...
wrote in her memoirs that "in George Enescu was real gold". Yehudi Menuhin, Enescu's most famous pupil, once said about his teacher: "He will remain for me the absoluteness through which I judge others", and "Enescu gave me the light that has guided my entire existence."
He also considered Enescu "the most extraordinary human being, the greatest musician and the most formative influence" he had ever experienced.
Vincent d'Indy
Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...
claimed that if
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's works were destroyed, they could be all reconstructed from memory by George Enescu.
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...
, one of the greatest pianists of all time, once said that Enescu, though primarily a violinist, had better piano technique than his own.
Enescu's only opera, ''
Œdipe'' (''Oedipe''), was staged for the first time at the
Royal Opera House
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 Op ...
in London in 2016, 80 years after its Paris premiere, in a production directed and designed by
La Fura dels Baus
La Fura dels Baus () is a Spanish theatrical group founded in 1979 in Moià, Barcelona (Spain), known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan mea ...
which received superlative reviews in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' and other publications. An analysis of Enescu's work and the reasons why it is less known in the UK was published by musician Dominic Saunders in ''The Guardian''.
Near Moinesti there is a mansion from
Tescani, donated by Enescu's wife to the Romanian state, provided that a cultural centre be built there. In Liveni is the house where the composer grew up. There is a George Enescu memorial house in
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after t ...
(Villa Luminiș, Cumpatul neighborhood). In the mansion in Tescani, Bacău (the "Rosetti-Tescanu Cultural Center"), the Romanian state opened a creative center in the 80s, where literary works were composed (Jurnalul de la Tescani, Andrei Plesu) during annual painting and philosophy camps.
Enescu's maternal grandfather's house in Mihăileni, where Enescu spent part of his childhood, declined to an advanced state of deterioration by 2014. In August 2014 it was rescued from demolition by a team of volunteer architects.
Eugène Ysaÿe
Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar".
Legend of the Ysaÿe violin
Eugène Ysaÿe ...
's
Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 "Ballade" was dedicated to Enescu.
Selected works
Operas
* ''
Œdipe'', ''tragédie lyrique'' in four acts, libretto by Edmond Fleg, Op. 23 (1910–31)
Symphonies
*
Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 13 (1905)
*
Symphony No. 2 in A major, Op. 17 (1912–14)
*
Symphony No. 3 in C major, with chorus, Op. 21 (1916–18)
*
Symphony No. 4 in E minor (1935; completed by
Pascal Bentoiu
Pascal Bentoiu (22 April 1927 – 21 February 2016) was a Romanian modernist composer.
Life and career
Bentoiu studied harmony, counterpoint and composition with Mihail Jora and piano with Theophil Demetriescu. He spent three years res ...
in 1996)
*
Symphony No. 5 in D major, with women's chorus and tenor solo (1941; completed by Pascal Bentoiu in 1995)
Other orchestral works
* ''
Poème roumain'', symphonic suite for orchestra, Op. 1 (1897)
* ''
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1'' in A major, Op. 11 (1901)
* ''
Romanian Rhapsody No. 2'' in D major, Op. 11 (1901)
* Symphonia concertante in B minor, Op. 8 (1901)
*
Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, Op. 9 (1903)
*
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in C major, Op. 20 (1915)
*
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major ''Suite Villageoise'', Op. 27 (1937–38)
* Overture on Popular Romanian Themes, Op. 32
Chamber works
String quartets
*
String Quartet No. 1 in E major, Op. 22, No. 1 (1916–20)
*
String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 22, No. 2 (1930–32)
Sonatas
*
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 2 (1897)
*
Violin Sonata No. 2 in F minor, Op. 6 (1899)
*
Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor ''dans le caractère populaire roumain'', Op. 25 (1926)
*
Cello Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 26, No. 1 (1898)
*
Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major, Op. 26, No. 2 (1935)
Other chamber works
*
Octet for Strings in C major, Op. 7 (1900)
*
Cantabile et Presto, for flute and piano (1904)
* ''
Decet'' in D major, for wind instruments, Op. 14 (1906)
* ''
Concertstück'', for viola and piano (1906)
* ''
Légende'', for trumpet and piano (1906)
*
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 16 (1909)
* ''
Impressions d'enfance
The (Childhood Impressions), Op. 28, is a suite for violin and piano written by George Enescu and completed on 10 April 1940. The score is dedicated to the memory of Eduard Caudella, the composer's first violin teacher.
History and music
E ...
'' in D major, for violin and piano, Op. 28 (1940)
*
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 29 (1940)
*
Piano Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 30 (1943–44)
*
Chamber Symphony, for 12 instruments, Op. 33 (1954)
Piano music
*
Piano Suite No. 1 in G minor, ''Dans le style ancien'' Op. 3 (1897)
*
Piano Suite No. 2 in D major, Op. 10 (1901/1903)
*
Piano Suite No. 3, ''Pieces impromptues'' Op. 18 (1913–16)
*
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op 24, No. 1 (1924)
*
Piano Sonata No. 3 in D major, op 24, No. 3 (1933–35)
* Piano Arrangement of
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, Op. 11 (1951)
Songs
Three songs setting Lemaitre and Prudhomme
Four songs setting Fernand Gregh
In German:
Various settings of Carmen Silva (Queen Elisabeth of Romania)
In Romanian – 3 songs
* ''
Trois Mélodies'', Op. 4 (1898)
* ''
Sept Chansons de Clement Marot'', for tenor and piano, Op. 15 (1907–08)
* ''
Trois Mélodies'', Op. 19 (1916)
Media
See also
*
:Compositions by George Enescu
*
George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra
The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra ( ro, Filarmonica George Enescu) is a musical institution located in Bucharest, Romania.
Founded on 7 May 1868 under the supervision of Eduard Wachman, the Romanian Philharmonic Society had as purpose t ...
*
George Enescu International Competition
The George Enescu International Competition is a music competition for young piano, pianists, violinists, cellists and composers, that takes place in Bucharest, Romania. It has helped launch the careers of many musicians, and among its list of fi ...
*
List of 20th century classical composers
References
Sources
* Axente, Colette, and Ileana Ratiu. 1998. ''George Enescu: Biografie documentara, tineretea si afirmarea: 1901–1920''. Bucharest: Editura muzicala a U.C.M.R.
*
Bentoiu, Pascal. 2010. ''Masterworks of George Enescu: A Detailed Analysis'', translated by Lory Wallfisch. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. (cloth) (ebook). Translation of ''Capodopere enesciene''. Bucharest: Editura muzicala a U.C.M.R., 1984.
* Brediceanu, M. et al. 1997. ''Celebrating George Enescu: A Symposium''. Washington, D.C.:.
* Gheorghiu, V. 1944. ''Un Muzician Genial: George Enescu''.
*
Cophignon, Alain. 2006. ''Georges Enesco''. Paris:
Librairie Arthème Fayard
Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre.
In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...
. . Romanian version as ''George Enescu'', translated by Domnica Ilea, Bucharest: Editura Institutului Cultural Român, 2009, .
* Cosma, Viorel. 2000. ''George Enescu: A Tragic Life in Pictures''. Bucharest: The
Romanian Cultural Foundation The Romanian Cultural Foundation ( ro, Fundaţia Culturală Română) is a Romanian non-governmental organization created in 1990 by writer Augustin Buzura, with the objective of stimulating cultural, artistic and scientific creations, promoting Rom ...
Publishing House.
* Malcolm, Noel. 1990. ''George Enescu: His Life and Music'', with a preface by
Sir Yehudi Menuhin
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...
. London: Toccata Press. (cloth); (pbk)
* Malcolm, Noel. 2001. "Enescu, George." ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', second edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
and
John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
*
* Roth, Henry (1997). ''Violin Virtuosos: From Paganini to the 21st Century''. Los Angeles, CA: California Classics Books.
* Slonimsky, Nicolas (ed.). 2001. "Georges Enesco." ''
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in 20 ...
''. Centennial Edition. New York: Schirmer Books.
* Voicana, Mircea. 1971. “Anii de formare: Copilǎria (1881–1888); Studiila la Viena (1888–1894)”. In ''George Enescu: Monografie''. 2 vols, edited by Mircea Voicana, 1: 7–129 (part 1, chapters 1–2). Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România.
* Voicana, Mircea (ed.) 1976. ''Enesciana, I''. . (in Fr., Ger., and Eng.)
External links
*
Legendary ViolinistsInternational Enescu Society*
ttp://www.festivalenescu.ro/ International Festival and Competition "George Enescu"*
*
Pascal Bentoiu: George Enescu, the composer*
ttp://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/May05/Enescu_part1.htm Review on Musicweb-International by Evan Dickerson of available recordings featuring Enescu's compositions (updated May 2005)Review on Musicweb-International by Evan Dickerson of Enescu's recordings as a performer (violinist, conductor & pianist)(updated July 2005)Romanian Rhapsody No.1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enescu, George
1881 births
1955 deaths
People from Botoșani County
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
20th-century classical composers
Romanian opera composers
Romanian classical composers
Romanian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Romanian classical pianists
Male classical composers
Male classical pianists
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century classical violinists
Male conductors (music)
Romanian conductors (music)
20th-century male musicians
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Academics of the École Normale de Musique de Paris
Titular members of the Romanian Academy
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery