George Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1; Suites 2 & 3

George Enescu (1881-1955) is still remembered today, fifty years after his death, as Romania’s greatest classical composer. He was also a virtuoso violinist. His many works in numerous genres remain largely unknown outside his native land except for the immensely popular Romanian Rhapsodies, but they deserve wider circulation in view of the beauty of their melodies, their brilliant orchestrations, and their strong characterization and originality. This recording offers two of Enescu’s orchestral suites in addition to the beloved Rhapsody No. 1. Dancing vivacity and colorful instrumentation are characteristics of these effervescent orchestra pieces. The Romanian Philharmonic Society was founded in 1868. Its conductors have included significant figures in Romanian music not to mention Enescu himself, whose name the orchestra incorporated into its title in 1955 as the George Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic. The current conductor is Cristian Mandeal, who studied with both Karajan and Celibidache. He has conducted numerous major orchestras and more than forty world premieres. Listen to samples

Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody no 2

This is the finest performance of the complete Hungarian Dances. Antal Dorati, a Hungarian himself and a specialist in dance music, handles each of these jewels with just the right combination of rhythmic control and schmaltz. Brahms orchestrated only a few of them; the remainder were done by friends (Dvorák included) or commissioned by various music publishers to fill out the complete set. In this respect, they are less substantial than Dvorák's two sets of Slavonic Dances, which they in turn inspired. If you know only No. 5, or perhaps No. 1, then you owe it to yourself to hear this delightful collection. --David Hurwitz Listen to samples

George Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody in D Major, Op.11 No.2

George Enescu (1881-1955)

Born at Cordaremi, Romania in 1881, George Enescu was educated musically for the most part in Austria and France. In the latter country he studied with Gabrie Fauré (composition) and Martin Marsick (violin) at the Paris Conservatory. Enescu once admitted that most of the creative work by Romanians had been done in the early part of this century. The music is not influenced by the neighboring Slav, but by the Indain and Egyptian folk songs, introduced by the members of those remote races, now classed as gypsies, brought to Romania as servants of the Roman conquerors. However, Enescu’s music is considered to be his own, with traces of French and German influences but of a sensuous character that reflected personal esthetics rather than national moods.

Enescu composed two Romanian Rhapsodies and himself conducted the world premieres of his two Rhapsodies at one of Pablo Casals’ concerts in the Salle Gaveau, Paris, on February 7, 1908. The second Romanian Rhapsody opens with a slow subject which, although it is not the principal theme, is given considerable employment in the course of the work. The first subject is announced by the strings and twice repeated, each time more fully scored. Soon a melody is played by the English horn, while the strings play a tremolo near the bridge of their instruments. This idea is worked over and is followed by a return to the first theme fortissimo, this leading to the closing section, the theme of which is played by a solo viola.