The Life and Significance of
Gheorghe Enescu
(George Enesco)
1881-1955
Donald Maurice
New Zealand School of Music
November 26, 2006
How was he viewed?
Yehudi Menuhin (in his 70s) – “the greatest musician and the most
formative influence I have ever received”
Pablo Casals – “the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart…For
Enesco I would do anything…He is the most amazing musician I have
met in my whole life”
Nadia Boulanger – “Deep down only composing mattered to him... no-one
met Enescu without revering him; he was a great person…he remained
an emblem of generosity, of profound musical knowledge, in his
innermost soul”
André Gédalge – “Of all my pupils [who included Ravel, Boulanger,
Honegger, Ibert and Milhaud] Enescu was the only one to have real
ideas and inspiration”
Martin PJ Marsick (Enescu at 15) – “this pupil possesses in the highest
degree all the qualities which belong to a great virtuoso, in timbre,
intonation, technique and profundity of style
Memory
His prodigious memory absorbed virtually the entire classical canon, from
Bach to Stravinsky
He could sit down at the piano and begin at any point in The Ring, or a
Beethoven Quartet, or the Rite of Spring, or any one of at least 150 Bach
cantatas, and play from memory, bringing out every nuance of the
writing
After reading once through Ravel’s Violin Sonata, with Ravel at the piano,
Enescu closed the music and played it from memory and performed it the
next day. An identical anecdote applies to a performance of Bartók’s
Second Violin Sonata, with the composer at the piano.
Bartók was deeply impressed by his power of musical understanding and
spoke of Enescu reading through one of his (Bartók’s) orchestral works,
giving him back the score, and then on the following day conducting the
rehearsal from memory, bringing out every nuance of the writing
Recordings
Over 60 as conductor
 Over 20 as violinist
 Over 10 as pianist
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Why does he remain obscure?
Noel Malcolm’s observations (1990) :
 Gross inefficiency of Romanian Communist regime in producing scores and
recordings
 Unlike Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, no western importer has ever
managed to obtain a regular supply of recordings from Romania
 Ceaucescu’s cultural policy narrowed his reputation and diminished his
stature by presenting him as a nationalistic, “folkloric” composer
 Judging him on his early Romanian Rhapsodies is like forming an opinion of
Ravel based only on Bolero
 Enescu was the last person to engage in self-advertisement of any kind
 The public’s reluctance to accept him as a composer when he was a musical
giant as a violinist, pianist and conductor
Personal observations
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His music is not generally included in musicological
studies
Even today, many scores and recordings are difficult to
locate
His music, to play, ranges from difficult to very difficult
His music is rarely programmed by soloists, chamber
groups or orchestras*
His music is rarely broadcast*
* With the exception of the two Romanian Rhapsodies
Early childhood
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Born 19 August 1881
At 4 - took violin lessons from lăutari (gypsy), Lae Chioru.
Learned to read music and began piano
At 5 - composed a hymn tune, a waltz and a 24 bar “opera” for
violin and piano
At 7 - violinist Eduard Cuadella advised him to go to the Vienna
Conservatorium. Studied German and French
At 8 - began concert career
At 9 - performed Paganini’s D major Concerto. Studied
harmony, counterpoint, history, chamber music, violin, piano
and cello
At 10 - gave nine concerts in Vienna including Mendelssohn’s
Concerto and dazzling showpieces by Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski
and Sarasate
Age 13-15
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At 13 - gave debut in Bucharest including his Piano Sonata
At 14 - began study at the Paris Conservatoire. Composition
lessons with Massenet. Began writing his first full-scale
symphony. Several works for violin. Violin study with Marsick
At 15 - wrote two movements of a violin concerto, never
completed. First public concert entirely of his own works. Two
more symphonies, numerous other piano and orchestral works
In 1896 Fauré replaced Massenet as professor of composition.
Counterpoint teacher, André Gédalge, required him to write a
different fugue on the same subject every week for a year
From age 15-23 wrote drafts of ten string quartets
Age 16-20 – sample of 30+ works
 1897 - Poème Roumain Op. 1
This was so successful that 9,000 francs was raised towards a Stradivarius violin for him
 1897 - First Violin Sonata Op. 2
Beethoven, Schumann and Saint-Saens influence
 1898 - First Cello Sonata
Schumann and Brahms influence
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Op. 26, No. 1
1898 - Variations for two pianos Op. 5
Brahms and Fauré influence
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1899 – Second Violin Sonata Op. 6
Dedicated to Thibaud
 1900 - Octet for strings Op. 7
Described as massively contrapuntal – dedicated to André Gédalge
 1901 - Two Romanian Rhapsodies Op. 11, Nos.1&2
By the end of his life he was heartily sick of the success enjoyed by his Rhapsodies, which
had eclipsed all his other works
Overall output
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Aged 11-20
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Aged 21-30
Aged 31-40
Aged 41-50
Aged 51-60
Aged 61-74
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About 100 works
(33 published)
31 works
12 works
7 works
8 works
8 works
The decline in quantity of works reflects his increasing
career as a violinist and conductor – necessary to provide
him with a livelihood
Some of the major works
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Oedipe (opera) – 21 year gestation period (1910-1931)
Four youthful symphonies
Three completed symphonies, two uncompleted
Three orchestral suites
Numerous other orchestral works
Various works for solo instrument with orchestra
Two string quartets
Two piano quartets
One piano quintet
One piano trio
String octet
Three violin sonatas
Three piano sonatas
Two cello sonatas
Composer Influences
Brahms
First Violin Sonata (1897)
 Romanian folk music in traditional harmonic setting
Poème Roumain (1897) and the Two Rhapsodies (1901)
 Fauré and Franck
Second violin sonata (1899)
 Wagner
First Symphony (1905)
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Use of Folk and Gypsy Music
Lăutari (gypsy) influence, while incorporated into
earlier works, appears in a new kind of harmonic
setting from 1924.
Enescu was feeling dissatisfaction with the idea of
subjecting simple folk tunes to complicated
musical development. He likened the practice of
placing folk melodies with exotic tonality within a
major/minor texture to setting a diamond in
concrete.
Enescu on gypsy musicians
Enescu’s attitude to gypsy musicians was
markedly different to that of Bartók, though
he does differentiate between the lăutari and
the café musicians. “I have derived a great
deal from the music of the lăutari, we
should be thankful to the gypsies for having
preserved our music, this treasure which we
are only now appreciating”
India – Gypsy relationship
Gypsy migrations westward from North India are acknowledged
as early as 390BC, arrival in Constantinople by 1068 and
right across Western Europe from the 15th century.
The relationship between traditional Romanian music and Indian
music is yet to be clearly identified but it is highly likely that
the Lăutari, while preserving traditional Romanian music,
seasoned it more than lightly with imported Indian musical
spices.
It is also likely that what is referred to as traditional Romanian
music had to some degree already been affected by gypsy
migrations in the early years of the second millenium.
It is this hypothesis that will drive my future research into
Enescu’s composition.
The Third Violin Sonata
Notes by the composer
"First Movement: The cries and complaints of
unhappy Rumanian refugees (in the days of their
tribulation as an oppressed people) in their
mountain retreats…anguished lamentations of
those who lost their homes and fertile valleys. In
the relative peace of their mountain refuge where
the enemy could not reach, they stretch out their
arms with hope and prayer to the distant horizon,
awaiting a miracle to happen for their salvation
and deliverance. In vain do they pray; their misery
deepens and grows until it reaches desperation.
Second Movement: Mysterious voices and strange
cries out of the deep and dark night, sinister
omens, oriental, distant sounds shrouded in the
shadows of pessimism.
Third Movement: Among the unhappy folk is one
who, in a fit of drunkenness, finds his consolation
in a sort of deliberate philosophical and abstract
indifference, and thus reaches sublime serenity
and splendid isolation, a state of ‘Nirvana’ in the
midst of the unhappy world around him."
Indian Influence
Dr Chintamani Rath
A Raga is a complex concept that comprises several features
of which the use of certain specific notes to the exclusion of
others and in specific combinations are but two. Other
features are certain types of ornaments to be used (or
avoided) permissible registers, tempi and time of
performance. All of these characteristics must be present for
it to be called Raga music.
For this reason I will not go so far as to say that Enescu’s
subjects or motifs in this work bear the stamp of Raga.
However I was distinctly reminded of certain Raga through
the course of listening to this beautiful and evocative sonata.
Observations –
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1
movement
1st subject – The first phrase somewhat resembles a Raga
we call Basant Mukhari. This is soon replaced by the Raga
Bhairavi. Because these two are closely related, I chose
Bhairavi as the closest Raga.
Audio examples:
1. Enescu’s original…
2. with the rhythmic cycle Keherva Tala added by tabla
3. Auchar Alap (short introduction) in Bhairavi
4. Approximation of Enescu’s melody…
5. supported by percussion cycle (Keherva) and
improvised upon, as an episode, in Bhairavi, before
returning to the melody, and then ending with the Indian
equivalent of a coda (here a very short codetta!)
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2nd subject – I was reminded of three Raga in the course of this
short subject: Brndavani Sarang, Megh Malhar and Bhairavi.
Bhairavi occurred naturally to the mind on account of the clever
manner in which Enescu guides the second subject back to the
very first little motif of his first subject, meshing together the two
very different subjects as if the contrasting sentiment of the
second cannot but lead to that of the first.
Audio examples:
1. Enescu’s original…
2. with the rhythmic cycle Tala Addha added by tabla
3. Auchar Alap in Brndavani Sarang
4. Auchar Alap in Megh Malhar
5. Auchar Alap in Bhairavi
6. Approximation of Enescu’s melody, slowed down to fit the
dictates of Addha Tala…
7. supported by (Addha Tala) and improvised upon, as an
episode, in Brndavani Sarang, Megh Malhar and “modulating”
through Bhairavi to go back to the motif that sets the first subject
in motion.
CONCLUSION