George Enescu

George ENESCU (1881-1955)

Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, Op. 11, No. 1 (1901)

If you ask musicians to name a Romanian composer, unless they draw a complete blank they almost certainly will answer "George Enescu" (1881-1955), or, as the French say, "Georges Enesco." As fate would have it, Enescu was born the same year as the Kingdom of Roumania (the "u" was dropped later), and he became a national hero in his fledgling homeland. Enescu's compatriots have named an international airport after him, and changed the name of the village where he was born to "George Enescu."

Young George's extraordinary musical gifts were recognized early. He earned the silver medal for his prodigious virtuosity when he graduated from the Vienna Conservatory at age 12, and entered the Paris Conservatory at 14. Among the greatest masters and teachers of the violin, Enescu also was so highly regarded as a conductor that he was considered as Toscanini's replacement for the New York Philharmonic, and he just as easily could have become a leading piano virtuoso.

At age 19 Enescu produced the brilliantly-orchestrated Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1, his most famous composition. In the span of about 13 minutes the piece dances through a dozen or so folk and folk-like tunes, beginning gently, but growing more feverish as it progresses. Although Enescu would complain that this early effort was just a trifle that detracted from the appreciation of his later compositions, he continued to conduct the delightful showpiece through the five decades of his illustrious career.