George Enescu
My favorite masterpiece
of George Enescu is "Impressions from Childhood", because it combines elements
of the Romanian folklore and childhood symbols through the eyes of composer.
"I love my native place just as much, I cannot remain anywhere for more
than two months" said the artist.
“George Enescu was one of
the most prodigiously gifted musicians of the twentieth century: a great
violinist and composer, a distinguished conductor, an accomplished pianist,
able cellist and a famous violin teacher who numbered Christian Ferras,
Arthur Grumiaux and Yehudi Menuhin among his pupils. His musical memory
was phenomenal, a fact that contributed to the loss of some of his own
works which he composed, but never wrote down.
As a composer, Enescu's published
output was relatively modest, though it contained some substantial works,
including his masterpiece, the opera Odeipe. The fact that his three published
symphonies were composed between 1905 and 1918 might suggest - wrongly
- that his interest in the genre was modest and lasted for less then fifteen
years. Actually, as a student Enescu was a prolific composer (nearly three
hundred works date from the period up to 1900) and he completed three other
symphonies (as well as a Chamber Symphony finished in 1954) and began work
on another three in the years 1894-1941. (Paul Banks, 1996)
George Enescu (1881-1955)
is a Romanian violinist, pianist, conductor, and composer. He scored remarkable
successes in the many tours made since the early years of his youth, until
the end of his life. When he was three years old the child built a violin,
just for the fun of it, and then he received a real one, as a gift, and
learned to play it. He began study of the violin at the age of 4 and entered
the Vienna Conservatory at 7 and the Paris Conservatoire at 13, being preoccupied
by the great music of Beethoven and Wagner. He was returning every summer
in his country to receive new forces, which could be easily recognized
in everything he composed.
Enescu's performing skill
as a violinist has already become a legend. As far as we know, it was in
1911 that the American public come for the first time in contact with Enescu's
creation, respectively with the "Suite for orchestra" no. 1 and the "First
Symphony". In 1923 he made his debut as a conductor in a New York concert
of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Enescu was also a noted teacher; the violinist
Yehudi Menuhin was his pupil. "Enescu's genius makes the violin, his chosen
instrument, a wonderful medium for his musical personality" (Herbert Peyser)
Enescu is considered the
outstanding Romanian composer of his time. A versatile musician, he wrote
in a number of styles: Romantic, Neo-Classical, atonal. His fame as a composer,
however, rests on such works as the two Romanian Rhapsodies, in which he
makes use of national folk melodies. His other works include three symphonies,
chamber music, and the opera Śdipe (1936). "The Romanian Poem" was produced
in the summer of 1896, after a trip in his native place.
Raluca Antonache
"Al. I. Cuza" National College,
Focsani, Romania
