Symphony No. 1, Op. 13, in E♭ by the Romanian composer George Enescu reflects the composer's training in both Vienna and Paris. In the former location he studied the Brahmsian tradition with

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 in the latter the French tradition 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 ...

History

Enescu completed the symphony in 1905, and it was premiered on Sunday, 21 January 1906 at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

in Paris, on the fourteenth concert of the 1905–06 series of the Concerts Colonne, 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 ...

. It was published by Enoch et co., Paris, in 1906. The score is dedicated to Alfredo Casella, Enescu's former classmate at the Paris Conservatoire and lifelong friend. In turn, Casella would dedicate his Second Symphony to Enescu in 1908.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (third doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, E clarinet, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum), 2 harps, 20 first violins, 18 or 20 second violins, 14 violas, 12 cellos, and 12 contrabasses.

Analysis

The symphony falls into three movements: *Assez vif et rythmé *Lent *Vif et vigoureux The first movement is dominated by the three component motives of the first theme, announced in unison at the beginning. It is in the traditional

sonata-allegro form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...

, with a rather short development section and the culmination in the recapitulation. The slow movement can be regarded as an extended ''

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

'' form: ''A–B–C–B–C–A'', preceded by an introduction and concluded with a coda. However, the second half (the ''B–C–A'' portion) does not simply repeat the material from the first part, but develops it, and is not followed with a full recapitulation but closes rather suddenly with only the ''A'' material, and then the coda, The exposition of the finale, also in sonata-allegro form, is similar to that of the first movement, with the main difference being that the place of a first theme is taken by a group of clearly defined thematic elements (the first, in the unison strings, forms a quasi-permanent background, followed by a second figure in the brass, a third in the trombone, and so on). The second theme is anticipated in triplets, only gradually achieving a stable profile after several attempts.

Discography

* Enescu, George. ''Simfonia 1-a in mi bemol major, op. 13''. Orchestra Simfonica a Filarmonicii de Stat "George Enescu" din București, George Georgescu, cond. Electrecord ECD 58 (LP), ca. 1960–69. Reissued on Artia ALP 118 (LP) * Enescu, George. ''Symphony No. 1, Sinfonia Concertante for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 8''. George Enescu State Philharmonic, Mihai Brediceanu, cond. (Symphony); Valentin Arcu, cello; Orchestra of the Romanian Radio and Television, Iosif Conta, cond. (Sinfonia Concertante). Marco Polo 8.223141 (CD). .p. Pacific Music Co., Ltd., 1988. Reissued (streaming audio) Naxos Music Library, 2004. * Enescu, George. ''Orchestral Works, Volume 3''. Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, op. 13; ''Vox maris'', op. 31. Philharmonia Moldova, Alexander Lascae, cond. With Marius Budoiu, tenor; The Gavril Musicescu Choir (Doru Morariu, choir master). Ottavo OTR C59346 (CD). The Hague: Ottavo Recordings, 1994. * Enescu, George. ''Complete Orchestral Works, Vol. 1''. Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, op. 13; Romanian Overture; Study Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major. Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Horia Andreescu, cond. Electrecord atalog number and date unknownReissued, Olympia Explorer Series. Olympia OCD 441 (CD). London: Olympia Compact Discs Ltd., 1994. * Enescu, George. ''Symphony No. 1; Suite No. 3 'Villageoise'.'' BBC Philharmonic, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, cond. Chandos CHAN 9507 (CD). * Enescu, George. ''Symphonies 1 et 2''. Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Lawrence Foster, cond. EMI Classics CDC 7 54763 2 (0777 7 54763 2) .p. EMI France, 1993. * Enescu, George. ''Suite d'orchestre no. 1; Intermède op. 12; Symphony no. 1''. "George Enescu" Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra, Cristian Mandeal, conductor. Arte Nova 74321 37314 2 (CD). ermany Arte Nova, 1996. Reissued Arte Nova 373140 (CD). ermany Arte Nova, 2007. *Enescu, George. ''Symphonie Concertante; Symphony No. 1''. Tampere Philharmonic, Hannu Lintu, cond.; Truls Mork, cello. Ondine ODE1198-2 (CD). .p. Ondine Records, 2015.

References

Cited sources

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External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by George Enescu Enescu 1 Compositions in E-flat major 1905 compositions