On a small meadow close to the river Crisul Repede is the bust of the
Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher George Enescu. The bust,
made of stone, rests on a square pillar with the following inscription:
George Enescu
1881 - 1955
George Enescu
"George Enescu (19 August [O.S. 7 August] 1881 – 4 May 1955), known in
France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and
teacher and is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian
history. [...]
Biography
Enescu was born in Romania. A child prodigy, 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 Pamînt 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. On 5 October 1888, at the age of seven, he became
the youngest student ever admitted to the Vienna Conservatory. 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 1891, the ten-year-old Enescu gave a private concert at the Court of
Vienna, in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph.
He graduated at the age of 12, earning the silver medal. In his Viennese
concerts young Enescu played works by Brahms, Sarasate and Mendelssohn. In
1895, he went to Paris to continue his studies. He studied violin with
Martin Pierre Marsick, harmony with André Gedalge, and composition with
Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré.
Enescu then studied from 1895 to 1899 at the Conservatoire de Paris.
On 6 February 1898, at the age of 16, Enescu presented in Paris his first
mature work, Poema Româna, played by the Colonne Orchestra, then one of the
most prestigious in the world, and conducted by Édouard Colonne.
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 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 recalled in the 1960s how Enescu, who had developed a
deep interest in Oriental music, rehearsed with Shankar's brother Uday
Shankar and his musicians.
On 8 January 1923 he made his American debut as a conductor in a concert
given by the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City. 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 as permanent conductor of the New York
Philharmonic. In 1932, Enescu was elected a titular member of the Romanian
Academy. 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 between 1937 and 1938.
He was also renowned as a violin teacher. He began teaching at the Mannes
School of Music in 1948. His students included Yehudi Menuhin, Christian
Ferras, Ivry Gitlis, Arthur Grumiaux, Serge Blanc, Ida Haendel, Uto Ughi,
and Joan Field.
Enescu died on 4 May 1955. On his death, he was interred in Père Lachaise
Cemetery in Paris.
Reception
Pablo Casals described Enescu as 'the greatest musical phenomenon since
Mozart' and 'one of the greatest geniuses of modern music'. Queen Marie of
Romania 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.[...]"
Source and further information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Enescu
See also the Romanian version:
ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Enescu