Biography and work

 

George Enescu (born on the 19th of August 1881, Liveni, Botoşani - died 4^th May 1955) is considered as the most important Roumanian musician. His artistical personality manifested in several hypostases: composer, violinist, pedagogue, pianist and conductor.

 

 He started to play violin at the age of 4., and received the musical guidance from his parents and from a famous fiddler, Niculae Chioru. At the age of 5-6 he had his first attempts of compositions. His professional musical study was due to the professor Eduard Caudella.

 

Between 1888-1894, he studied at the Conservatory of Vienna, and among several professors he had Joseph Hellmesberger Junior for violin and Robert Fuchs for composition. In fact, he started his career as a violinist, at the age of  8. The Press of Vienna named him as “a Roumanian Mozart”.

 

After graduating the Conservatory of Vienna, he continued his studies at the Conservatory of Paris (1895-1899) under the guidance of Martin Pierre Marsick (violin), André Gédalge (counterpoint), Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré (composition). Among the colleagues from Paris could be counted Mauric Ravel, Florent Schmitt, Charles Koechlin and Theodor Fuchs.

 

He started composition under exceptional conditions, in part due to the protection of Elena Bibescu. The first public representation of one of his works took place on the 6^th of February 1898, in the Colonnes Concerts from Paris with Poema Română, op. 1 – which ends with the Roumanian Royal Hymn.

 

In the same year, the musician aged of 17. started to give violin lessons and performed recitals at Bucharest. Admired by the Queen Elisabeth of Roumania (well known under the pseudonym of Carmen Sylva), he was invited to play at the Peleş Castle in Sinaia. Enescu composed a large number of lieder, inspired by several poems of Queen Carmen Sylva.

 

During the first years of the 20^th Century, his compositions are very well known, for example two Roumanian Rhapsodies / Rapsodiile române, op. 11 (1901-1902), Suite nr. 1 for orchestra, op.9 (1903), First Symphony in E b, op. 13 (1905), Seven songs on lyrics of Clément Marot, op. 15 (1908).

 

His musical activities alternated between Bucharest and Paris. He undertook tours in many European countries, with prestigious partners, such as Alfredo Casella, Pablo Casals, Louis Fournier.

 

Under the time of the First World War he stayed in Bucharest. He conducted the IX-th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven (first time with an integral audition in Romania), compositions from Hector Berlioz, Claude Debussy, Richard Wagner, and also his own compositions: Symphony nr. 2 (1913),  Suite for orchestra nr.2, op. 20  (1915).

In 1913, the first edition of the National Contest of Composition took place. It was created by him in order to stimulate Roumanian musical creations. The winners received a generous amount of money and the chance for their compositions to be performed in public concerts; it was also the first offer for the winners to make studies in Paris.

After the War, the Master continued a series of tours through Europe, even in the United States and America. Oversea he conducted, since 1923, prestigious orchestras; among them: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

 

His role as a pedagogue also gained an important consideration. Among his pupils could be counted several violinists, like Christian Ferras, Ivry Gitlis, Arthur Grumiaux and Yehudi Menuhin. This last one kept a true worship and a profound affection for Enescu. “  As I am concerned, Enescu remained one of a true wonders from the world. (…) His strong roots and noble soul came from his own country, a country of an unique beauty”. (Yehudi Menuhin)

 

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