# Enescu…why?



## CeeVee (Apr 18, 2021)

So I have absolutely fallen in love with George Enescu, his violin works and piano works. I’ve bought the Enescu Complete Works for Violin and Piano by soloists, by Azoitei (violin) Stan (piano).
Then I purchased The Complete Works for Solo Piano by soloist, Josu De Solaun. Each set is a lot of music (approx 2-3 hours of pure heaven). I’m flabbergasted as to why Enescu doesn’t get much play at all. His works are stunning…absolutely amazing. 
Are you a fan of his works? What Enescu stuff do you have? Recommend? If you’re curious, and unfamiliar with him, please check out his Violin Sonatas to start, specifically sonata #3. Wow!
I would post some pics but I’m a noob (as far as posting) and haven’t figured out the pics part.


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

I like Enescu's music--what I've heard of it. I think his Octet is fabulous, and have enjoyed listening to his 3rd symphony. Sadly, I've not listened to much of his music for violin and piano, though that will be coming in the near future.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

A great, great musician and sadly neglected composer. I've played Romanian Rhapsodies a number of times. They're challenging but so much fun. Audiences love them. The symphonies are another matter: the three canonical ones are quite good; the third in particular. It's a very haunting, beautiful work that takes time to really appreciate. The 4th and 5th are out there, but Enescu didn't really finish them - there's a lot of speculative writing. The opera Oedipe is terrific if you like opera it's well worth seeking out a recording. The chamber music is excellent, but there's a lot of it still in need of recording. Enescu is one of those people that I am in awe of: a world-famous concert violinist who could also play any piano concerto in the repertoire. A thoroughly professional composer and conductor of such ability that he was offered the Music Director job at the New York Philharmonic. There's been no one close to his ability since. The Olympia label used to have a large number of his works in their catalog, all sourced from Romania. I don't know if any of those are still available somewhere, but for sure check out the third symphony.


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## CeeVee (Apr 18, 2021)

Thank you, guys. It’s so crazy to me that there are so many neglected beauties out there collecting dust, meanwhile artists keep putting out the same stuff with (usually) nothing new to add to an already saturated, absurd amount of, Tchaikovsky 1 piano, Beethoven #3, etc. _certainly no offense to those giants_. I’ve only delved into this world of classical music for about 10 years now. It’s the greatest mistake I’ve ever made (only bc it’s bankrupted me🥺).
Edit:
Regarding the symphonies, any specific recording recommendations?


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

CeeVee said:


> So I have absolutely fallen in love with George Enescu, his violin works and piano works. I’ve bought the Enescu Complete Works for Violin and Piano by soloists, by Azoitei (violin) Stan (piano).
> Then I purchased The Complete Works for Solo Piano by soloist, Josu De Solaun. Each set is a lot of music (approx 2-3 hours of pure heaven). I’m flabbergasted as to why Enescu doesn’t get much play at all. His works are stunning…absolutely amazing.
> Are you a fan of his works? What Enescu stuff do you have? Recommend? If you’re curious, and unfamiliar with him, please check out his Violin Sonatas to start, specifically sonata #3. Wow!
> I would post some pics but I’m a noob (as far as posting) and haven’t figured out the pics part.


He was a wonderful composer. Though Romanian, Enescu studied composition at the National Superior Conservatory in Paris (usually referred to as the Paris Conservatoire) and lived in Paris much of his adult life. His Cantabile et Presto, dedicated to Paul Taffanel, legendary flute professor at the Conservatoire, was the annual flute examination piece for 1904. Quite an honor, as only the most prominent composers of the day were asked to write original examination pieces. Faure wrote one, as did Debussy (for the clarinet examination). I played it at my college senior recital.

But my favorite wind piece by Enescu is without doubt the Dixtuor, or Decet. Check it out.
Enescu Dixtuor for Winds


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## CeeVee (Apr 18, 2021)

hmm…here is an Enescu Symphonies 1-3 conducted by Rozhdestvensky. Must listen to this.
I feel the same about Szymanowski and Martinu as well, btw.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I'm a fan of the String Quartets and the intriguing Octet. I've tried the symphonies a few times but they've never stuck. I'll return to them sometime in the future.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Kudos for doing a thread about Enescu. I would recommend following works and performers.
-Symphony 3, Foster
-Chamber Symphony op 33, Ruzicka
-Orchestral Suite no 3, Foster
-Romanian Rhapsody no 3, Jansons
-SQ 1-2, Quatuor ad Libitum
-Violin Sonatas 2, 3, Strauss-Poletaev
-Cello Sonata 2, Radutiu-Rundberg
-Octet, Frang-Foster-Altstaedt etc..
-Dixtuor, Oslo Phil Wind Soloists
-Piano Quintet, Kremerata Baltica
-Piano Sonata 1, Varga
-Oedipus, Foster


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

There are some Enescu works on one or two Dinu Lipatti compilations. Can't truthfully say they float my boat but they make for interesting listening.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Worthwhile composer no doubt, but lacking one or more pieces that really stand out in my opinion. I like his symphonies (especially the 3d), and I think his chamber music is also very good (I have not heard his string quartets unfortunately).


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Enescu is a favorite of mine. His chamber music, symphonies, and solo piano works are especially rewarding. Although I don't keep track of my listening regimen, I likely listen most to his Octet and Symphony 3.


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

*Octet in C major, Op. 7* (1900)
:: Jansen & friends [Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht 2009 video]

Jansen & friends give a corporate-minded and cosmopolitan performance of Enescu’s wonderfully dense and industrious Octet. I occasionally miss some of the ultra-characterful solos from the old Silvestri-led all-Romanian account [Electrecord ’56?]—a wonderfully deconstructed and skeletal affair that allows/encourages a good deal of individuality—but Jansen & friends are never less than stylish in their solos. Their corporate mentality is backed up by tight, focused ensemble playing that contributes greatly to the assuring sense of structural integrity found here, which in turn makes the work’s overarching sonata form that much easier to comprehend (though I have trouble comprehending it even so): the first movement serves as the exposition, the second and third movements serve as the development, and the final movement serves as the recapitulation. The quality of the playing, which is excellent by any standards and outstanding by live festival standards, also makes the work’s myriad counterpoint—including episodes of canon and fugue—that much easier to discern.

The eight players are a tonally consistent lot, each producing a clean, smooth, rounded sound that’s easy on the ear. Phrasing is suave (in a good way) and stylish and deftly inflected, with the more rhythmic music being impressively crisp and defined owing to a certain classical discipline and rhythmic backbone in the ensemble’s constitution. Tension is beautifully managed and sustained at all times, allowing the players to generate much suspense and build potent climaxes in support of a compelling dramatic narrative. The internal dialog among the players balances an involving sense of give-and-take with the need to keep moving, an underlying sense of urgency and purpose that is felt throughout. All this is fueled by playing that’s as vigorous and passionate as it is disciplined and polished—very compelling.

In addition to introducing a lot of thematic material in its capacity as the work’s exposition, the Très modéré first movement immediately establishes an anxious, pulsating, restlessly urgent atmosphere that never quite goes away, even when it goes away. It’s this quasi-prevailing atmosphere and its rhythmic implications that bind this work together as much as anything—or so it seems to someone who’s unable to fully savvy/correlate all of the thematic goings-on.

The “very ardent/impetuous” Très fougueux second movement (a scherzo in effect) is more severe than usual via this performance, as the players go at it with trenchant _Große fuge_-like intensity from the git-go, making most other accounts sound downright casual and matter of fact by comparison. It’s not the forcefulness of the attacks that makes you take notice so much as it is the togetherness and crisp incisiveness of the attacks—there’s no easing into or rounding off going on here, yet it’s all quite polished at the same time.

The lovely and lyrical Lentement third movement, whose themes have a Dvořák-like beauty, is a harmonic respite from the surrounding counterpoint and is played here in a poised and dignified but expressive manner that insinuates a subtle mix of moods and emotions rather than milking any one in particular. Such a finely differentiated interpretation might easily have devolved into something expressively nebulous, but I think that Jansen & friends pull it off, giving the movement a more multifaceted appeal than usual in the process.

The grotesque final movement, which sounds like a UFC-sanctioned waltz to the death between Berlioz and Ravel—billed as “La valse au supplice”—held at a seedy octagon ballroom in the bad part of Hell as nostalgically recollected by Schnittke, is more insidious and schizophrenic here than in other accounts, gradually but relentlessly accumulating impact as it goes, with an almost ghostly Viennese lilt underlying the uncouth and occasionally unsavory goings-on on the dance floor. Jansen & friends manage to keep these superimposed couth and uncouth elements of the music discernable from each other even as they interact, whereas other performances tend to muddy the mix and make things murky. 

The recording is naturally blended and easy on the ear if a bit lightweight, with the lower strings not ideally present and impactful. Even so, this is easily my favorite of the surprisingly many live concert accounts of the Octet floating around in cyberspace—the work seems to have become almost popular in the last twenty years or so, especially at festivals. It used to be the norm that performances of the Octet were formally conducted—the work does test the boundary between chamber music and chamber symphony—but most newer accounts that I’m aware of make do without a conductor. The video I have is of decent quality, with 192 Kbps AAC audio, but I’m always on the lookout for something better … perhaps an official Utrecht Festival release. The YouTube video is of lesser quality, but it’s not terrible.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

My favorite Enescu work at this point is the 3rd violin sonata, but I wish Oedipe were more popular.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Dirge said:


> *Octet in C major, Op. 7* (1900)
> :: Jansen & friends [Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht 2009 video]
> 
> ... *The grotesque final movement, which sounds like a UFC-sanctioned waltz to the death between Berlioz and Ravel—billed as “La valse au supplice”—held at a seedy octagon ballroom in the bad part of Hell as nostalgically recollected by Schnittke*, is more insidious and schizophrenic here than in other accounts, gradually but relentlessly accumulating impact as it goes, with an almost ghostly Viennese lilt underlying the uncouth and occasionally unsavory goings-on on the dance floor. Jansen & friends manage to keep these superimposed couth and uncouth elements of the music discernable from each other even as they interact, whereas other performances tend to muddy the mix and make things murky....


Lol, love the description, Dirge. The Octet is certainly a highly unique and challenging work.


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## darylchambers61 (8 mo ago)

CeeVee said:


> So I have absolutely fallen in love with George Enescu, his violin works and piano works. I’ve bought the Enescu Complete Works for Violin and Piano by soloists, by Azoitei (violin) Stan (piano).
> Then I purchased The Complete Works for Solo Piano by soloist, Josu De Solaun. Each set is a lot of music (approx 2-3 hours of pure heaven). I’m flabbergasted as to why Enescu doesn’t get much play at all. His works are stunning…absolutely amazing.
> Are you a fan of his works? What Enescu stuff do you have? Recommend? If you’re curious, and unfamiliar with him, please check out his Violin Sonatas to start, specifically sonata #3. Wow!
> I would post some pics but I’m a noob (as far as posting) and haven’t figured out the pics part.


I agree. A very underrated composer. You`ve reminded me to explore further.


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## darylchambers61 (8 mo ago)

CeeVee said:


> hmm…here is an Enescu Symphonies 1-3 conducted by Rozhdestvensky. Must listen to this.
> I feel the same about Szymanowski and Martinu as well, btw.


Very fond of Martinu`s work too.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I have the superb EMI recording of "Oedipe " with. Jose van Dam in the title role, conducted by dedicated Enescu champion Lawrence Foster . This opera would e well worth a. production by the Met . Rene Pape or. Bryn Terfel. could be outstanding in this role . I think Met music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin might be a really good choice to conduct .


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Oedipe is my favorite opera of the 20th century. It's an epic, astounding, cinematic, startlingly original masterwork.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

Interesting thread. Never really listened to anything form Enescu. My favorite genre is solo piano so i will have to take a look


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## CeeVee (Apr 18, 2021)

golfer72 said:


> Interesting thread. Never really listened to anything form Enescu. My favorite genre is solo piano so i will have to take a look


Please do, and let me know what you think👍🏻💪🏻


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