"George Enescu" International Musicology Symposium

 

 

We sometimes think if and when we could find some answers to the whole questions about the complex personality of the ‘unpaired’ musician, our master George Enescu…The topics never seem to be exhausted…

 

‘George Enescu’ International Symposium of Musicology - Bucharest 2009.

 

The 2009 edition of the International Symposium of Musicology ‘George Enescu’ represented an important step in order to recognize Enescu worldwide. His music and its correspondence with the music of the world has became the interest of  researchers from Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium.

 

Being on the stage of the Cantacuzino Palace's hall, they communicated extremely interesting and current studies. They joined some old ‘partners’ of the Symposium - coming from Germany, Republic of Moldavia, France, Austria - for publicly disclosing their unique works, within the four days of communication (5-8 September).

 

 

‘George Enescu’ International Symposium of Musicology – 2007 retrospective view.

It has been 40 years since the first edition of the International Symposium of Musicology ‘George Enescu’.

Initiated in 1967, in the context of the IVth ‘George Enescu’ Festival and Competition, the Symposium proposed, from the beginning, to promote the general image of our musician, by relevant papers and discussions, by perpetuating the discovery of some unique aspects of the enescian personality. The 22 communications of the first scientific event gathered important names of Roumanian composers and musicologists, such as: Z. Vancea, T. Ciortea, S. Toduţã, G.W. Berger, Şt. Niculescu, A. Raţiu, C. Ţăranu, O. L. Cosma, V. Tomescu, A. Hoffman, Gh. and C. L. Firca, A. Brumaru, R. Ghircoiaşiu and G. Manoliu, and seven participants from abroad: C. Rostand (France), E. Schenk (Austria), I. Lowens ( S.U.A.) , D. Zenghinov ( Bulgaria) and M. Druskin, J. Vyslouzil, B. Kotliarov (U.R.S.S). Some approaches have stressed, in general, the role of George Enescu in the context of a Roumanian and universal music, the dramaturgic style of the opera Oedipus, Chamber Enescu’s style or the aspects of natural interpretative-violinist.

 

After this first edition, in 1970, when it was the time for a Fifth edition of the ‘G. Enescu’ Festival, the Symposium was substituted by a round table focused on the theme: George Enescu and the Beethovenian tradition, and it was supported with the celebration of  the two centuries since L. v. Beethoven’s birth.

 

The Symposium’s dimensions had been restored in 1973, when the Institute of Art History of the Academy of Social and Political Sciences organized a series of scientific communication, during the last day of the Festival. Enescu and Rumanian composition during the two decades of the twentieth century, humanism or contemplation and meditation on Enescu were some of the landmarks of this event.

In 1976, the international profile of the Symposium was dropped; the event benefited only the scientific support of composers and musicologists from the country. The year of 1979 registered a first (and last one, until now) absence from the ‘George Enescu’ International Festival and Contest.

 

Symposium’s image has been rectified during the next edition - 1981, when it was the centenary celebration of the Roumanian music Maestro’s  birth. The scale of the international events, which has not been reached until now, has been strengthened by the 40 scientific papers, supported by composers and musicologists from: Roumania, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, R.S. Czechoslovakia, USSR, P. R. Mongolian, China, Japan and Mexico. A great part of the guests from abroad mentioned the manner in which the art of Enescu has been reflected in their country. Administrators and other cultural personalities were present, for example: the critic of Art M. Deac and the Academician Z. D. Buşulenga.

 

20 papers were the contents of the 1985 Symposium; 5 from them belonged to some foreign musicians: R. Woebling and H. E. Schmidt (Germany), P. Miller (S. U. A), I. Hlebarov (Bulgaria), L. Grabovski (USSR) and the rest to Roumanian musicologists: O. L. Cosma, V. Donose, Al. Leahu, and composers: T. Olah, D. Popovici,. All of them have seen the actual art of Enescu, its influences which it provoked over contemporary music.

 

Issues, values and perspective by developing the musical Roumanian culture constituted the theme of the symposium held in 1988, with a number of participants higher than the previous edition (29) and with guests from: Italy - R. Vlad, Swiss Confederation - W. Labhard, Russia - R. Leites, and Japan - S. Tamura.

 

An other edition, similar to the last one from the centenary year, proved to be the one in 1991; held under the slogan George Enescu and the twentieth century music.

The structure of the Symposium focused on three broad coordinated: Men and Artists, in which the contribution of A. Paris (France), V. Cosma, V. Râpeanu, O. L. Cosma, A. Hoffman, V. Tomescu, C. Cazaban, I. Staicovici had been added; Analyze, style, sound language, in which V. Timaru, G. Constantinescu, D. Popovici, G. Firca, W.G. Berger have participated; Reception, bio-bibliography, documents and discography, which counted the contributions of N.  Malcolm (England), G. Manoliu, L. Manolache.

 

The Symposium took place at the same time with the Thirtieth edition of the Festival in 1995, beneficiated of the presence of a large number of guests from abroad, 13 in a total of 26 participants. Name that will be found in subsequent editions were listed: L. Wallfisch and Williams (S. U. A.), M. Milin (Yugoslavia), M. Caranica-Fulea and L. Furedi (Germany), M. Schimek (Austria), C. Cazaban and G. Corn (France), V. Galaicu (R. Moldova), but no representants from Russia, Swiss Confederation and Japan.

 

The year of 1988 offered two types of communications: musicological and cultural management. The ‘George Enescu’ International Symposium of Musicology of that year had 25 referrers (9 from abroad, and 16 from our country), and Seminar I.A.M.A. (International Artist Managers Association), organized by Artexim ( member of  I.A.M.A.) and The Cultural Minister.

 

Quantitative but also qualitative density of the Symposium grew up during the editions that followed: in 2001- 22 participants (16 from Roumania, 6 from abroad- Germany and S.U.A), in 2003-32 participants (15 from Rumania, 17 from abroad – France, Swiss Confederation, Holland, Austria, Germany, S.U.A., R. of Moldavia, Bulgaria, Poland and Israel). They were grouped in two sections: Esthetics and style and Enescu in the mirror of documents. The edition included four books launching, two of them signed by J. J. Nattiez (Confrontation between Cronos and Orfeu – Art Edition, Iaşi and Music, research and life - Musical Edition, Bucharest), following the  book of an evaluation of the communications from the Symposium of 2005 - we must emphasize that,  thanks to the Union of the Composers and Musicologists from Roumania and to Musical Publishing House ,  this book included the scientific discourses from some anterior editions that haven't been printed since 1984,-  and a second edition of George Enescu Interviews, critical edition by Laura Manolache. Also, a unique attractive point of the Symposium is the presentation made by trio Contrasts: a fragment from the opera Oedipus, in arrangement for flute, piano and percussion, realised by Sorin Petrescu.

 

Camelia-Anca Sârbu

english translation by Emilie Morelle

 

 

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