53-543: The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition ), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu , is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition held in Romania and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe. The festival proposal was authored by Andrei Tudor in 1955. Enescu's close associate George Georgescu organized
106-775: 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
159-461: A cultural centre be built there. In Moinești itself there is a street named after the composer, as well as a middle school. In addition the renamed George Enescu International Airport at Bacău is some twenty miles away. Then in 2014 the home of Enescu's maternal grandfather in Mihăileni, Botoșani , where the composer spent part of his childhood, was rescued from an advanced state of dilapidation by
212-696: A few remarkable guests, such as Nikita Magaloff, Viktor Tretiakov, Ludwig Hölscher and Sheila Armstrong. The international instrumental ensembles that came to Bucharest had a chamber music repertoire (Deutsche Kammerakademie, the Sextet Gabrielli Brass Ensemble and the Contemporary Music Atelier in Poland). A novelty was the presence of two choreographical ensembles: Alvin Ailey Ballet Company from
265-750: A juror in 1991. The Theatre of Classical Ballet from Kiev, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Percussionists from Hague, the Saint Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra, Rheinisches Barocktrio, and Concerto Averna from Warsaw were the international ensembles present in the festival.A distinctive feature of this festival was the presence of works such as "Missa Brevis" by Joseph Haydn, "Requiem" by Mozart, "Palestrina Missa Brevis" operas impossible to interpret in
318-523: A letter from André Gédalge to Lucien Rebatet , dated 16 October 1923, Gédalge said that Enescu was "the only one [among his students] who truly had ideas and spirit" (fr: le seul qui ait vraiment des idées et du souffle) . On 6 February 1898, at the age of 16, Enescu presented in Paris his first mature work, Poema Română , played by the Colonne Orchestra , then one of the most prestigious in
371-520: A performance of Carl Orff 's Carmina Burana before an audience of over 4,000 at the Sala Palatului . The competition portion of the Festival lasts about a week, and it consists of three different categories: composition (118 participants in 2007), piano (44 in 2007), and violin (41 in 2007), each a record number of participants. In the 2005 and 2007 presentations a daily open-air concert
424-484: 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. Around the same time, Enescu took the young Yehudi Menuhin to
477-575: A round table with the theme "George Enescu and the Beethovian tradition". The international personalities who performed in 1970 on the Bucharest stages were Paul Badura- Skoda, Gyorgy Cziffra, Henryk Szeryng, Mstislav Rostropovich, Nicanor Zabaletta, Jean Pierre Rampal, who replaced Valentin Gheorghiu (who became unavailable in the last minute), Virginia Zeani, Paul Klecky and André Previn. If in
530-414: A useless investment. Among the international soloists and conductors present this year were: Leonid Kogan, who replaced Sviatoslav Richter, who was supposed to perform in the opening concert, Yehudi Menuhin, Philippe Entremont, Ghenadi Rojdestvenski and Radmila Bakocevici. Artists were invited exclusively on political criteria, most of them coming from socialist countries or from the ones sympathizing with
583-822: The Colonial Exhibition in Paris , where he introduced him to the Gamelan Orchestra from Indonesia . 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, and subsequently visited the United States many times. It was in America, in the 1920s, that Enescu was first persuaded to make recordings as a violinist. He also appeared as
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#1732787355488636-942: The New York Philharmonic between 1937 and 1938. In 1939, he married Maria Tescanu Rosetti (known as Princess Maruca Cantacuzino through her first husband Mihail Cantacuzino), a good friend of Queen Marie of Romania. 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 . (See: List of music students by teacher: C to F#George Enescu .) He promoted contemporary Romanian music, playing works of Constantin Silvestri , Mihail Jora , Ionel Perlea and Marțian Negrea. Enescu considered Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin as
689-872: The "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radiotelevision Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra in Cluj, the Madrigal Choir, the "George Enescu" Quintet or the "Muzica Quartet"), international performers or ensembles were also present, such as Los Angeles Philharmonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Grand Paris Opera Ballet, Czech Nonet and Tatrai Quartet. These ones and other artists such as Van Cliburn, Isaac Stern, Claire Bernard, Friedrich Gulda, David Oistrah, Mstislav Rostropovich, Zubin Mehta, Kiril Kondrashin and Kurt Masur have filled
742-627: The "Himalayas of violinists". An annotated version of this work brings together the indications of Enescu regarding sonority, phrasing, tempos, musicality, fingering and expression. Enescu died on 4 May 1955. On his death, he was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. 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
795-676: The 1930s, Enescu lived in the Cantacuzino Palace on Calea Victoriei and married its then owner, Maruca Cantacuzino, in 1939. After the Communist takeover, the couple occupied a part of it briefly before moving to Paris in 1947. Following Enescu's death in 1955, Maruca donated the palace to the Romanian state in order to organize a museum [1] in memory of the musician. Likewise, the Symphony Orchestra of Bucharest and
848-850: The Dolezal Quartet from Czechoslovakia and Brodsky Quartet from Great Britain. The 1988 edition took place during the Romanian Antheneum Centenary. Also, 120 years from the foundation of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic was celebrated that year. From the peak of the interpretative moments of George Enescu's creation we mention: "Symphony I" conductor Mihai Brediceanu, "Vox Maris" symphonic poem conducted by Iosif Conta, "Rapsody I" conducted by Yekoslav Sutej and "Two Intermezzi for String Orchestra" – Târgu-Mureș Chamber Orchestra. The international personalities who participated in this edition were Georges Pludermacher , Michael Roll, Levon Ambartumian and Ferdinang Klinda. During
901-749: The Enescu Festival each edition. The 2015 edition of the Enescu Festival (30 August – 20 September 2015 Bucharest) brings on stage interpretations from Enescu's works by record-breaking German violinist David Garrett, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Pulitzer Prize for Music), or Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Highlights of this edition of the Festival also include violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra. The concerts are held in three different venues in Bucharest , Iași and Sibiu . The 2007 presentations ended with
954-537: The George Enescu Festival), Lorin Maazel, Ghenadi Rojdestvenski with George Georgescu, Mircea Cristescu, Mircea Basarab, Iosif Conta and Mihai Brediceanu. The third edition debuted with a regrettable event – the death of the conductor George Georgescu, a few days after the beginning of the international event, depriving the Romanian stage of an indisputable artist. The success of the previous editions
1007-608: The George Enescu Festival—initiated by the musicologist Andrei Tudor [2] and supported by his friend, musical advocate, and sometime collaborator, the conductor George Georgescu—are named and held in his honor, and the composer's childhood home in Liveni was inaugurated as a memorial museum in 1958. Earlier still, in 1947, his wife Maruca donated to the state the mansion near Moinești where Enescu had lived and where he completed his opera Oedipe , provided that
1060-703: The Madrigals in Belgrad, Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the "Studio der Frühen Musik" Vocal-Instrumental Quartet. Among the Romanian artists could be mention: Radu Lupu, Ştefan Ruha, Ludovic Bacs, Mircea Basarab, Mihai Brediceanu, Iosif Conta, Emil Simion and Cornel Trăilescu. The Festival "George Enescu" was becoming rather a national manifestation, as a shadow of the Competition "Cântarea României", which could thus celebrate its laureates at an international artistic level. Despite this drawback, this year's edition had
1113-877: The Opera and Ballet Theatre Orchestra in Leningrad, the Bach Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig and other chamber orchestras, such as the Juilliard American Quintet and the Gasparo da Salo Chamber Orchestra. The sixth edition of the International Festival "George Enescu" was reduced to only one week, due to the discomfort presented by the political authorities, who considered an artistic manifestation of this kind to be
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#17327873554881166-591: The Russian, Italian and French romantic lyrical repertoire. From the Romanian personalities present at the festival we mention: Valentin Gheorghiu, Dan Grigore, Radu Lupu, Ion Voicu and many names of the lyrical stage such as: Victoria Mann, Emilia Petrescu, Mihaela Agachi, Ionel Pantea, Florin Diaconescu. An unprecedented number of Romanian creations was registered at the 10th edition, being interpreted 80 contemporary works, an impressive number, considering that in
1219-473: The US and Miyagi Minoru Traditional Dance Troupe from Japan. Although the organizers did not dispose of great funds, they made efforts to start this edition, with the occasion of the 100 years anniversary from the birth of George Enescu. Some of the international personalities present were: Annerose Schmidt, François Joël Thiollier, Vladimir Spivakov, Emil Ceakarov, Isaac Karabtchiewisky and Herbert Kegel. Three of
1272-525: 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 . In
1325-545: The age of seven; according to the rules, nobody younger than 14 years could study there). In 1891, the ten-year-old Enescu gave a private concert at the Court of Vienna , in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph . Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. , one of his teachers and the director of the Vienna Conservatory, hosted Enescu at his home, where the child prodigy met his idol, Johannes Brahms . He graduated at
1378-516: The communist era. George Enescu George Enescu ( Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdʒe̯ordʒe eˈnesku] ; 19 August [ O.S. 7 August] 1881 – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco , was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, and teacher and is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Enescu was born in Romania, in
1431-672: The concert halls once again. Due to the Beethoven bicentenary, an initial characteristic of this edition was the massive presence of the creation of Bonn titan – 12 works interpreted – during the festival. According to this and considering Enescu's affinity for the great classic, the Research Sector of the History of Art Institute, part of the Academy of Social and Political Sciences and the "George Enescu" Studies Center organized
1484-502: The doctrine of the communist government. Three from the five international orchestras come from the communist countries. This year, the Festival did not include a competition and an organizing committee. Also, the International Musicology Symposium did not benefit from the participation of international researchers, becoming a national symposium. The soloists and the orchestras invited to participate in
1537-597: The festival were again selected based on political criteria. Among the notable international personalities, the Romanian public could attend the concerts of Pierre Cochereau , Christian Ferras , Grace Bumbry , Victoria de Los Angeles , and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , three years before the retirement of the great artist. There were four international ensembles present: the Hungarian Symphony Radiotelevision Orchestra in Budapest,
1590-416: The festival were performers such as David Oistrakh, Halina Czerny-Stefanka, Nadia Boulanger, Monique Haas, Iacov Zak and Claudio Arrau, and conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli, Carlo Felice Cillario and Carlo Zecchi. On 22 September of the same year, the national premiere of George Enescu's lyrical tragedy "Oedipe" took place, starring a young David Ohanesian in the lead role. This role was going to mark out
1643-506: The festival, original moments were offered by Alexander Rudin, present both as a pianist and a cellist, in two concerts by J. Haydn and the French conductor Francoise Legrande. Starting with this edition, the first after the events of December 1989, the International Festival "George Enescu" begins to recapture its former glory. The combined efforts of the organizing institutions succeeded to bring to Bucharest international renowned guests. It
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1696-452: The first festival in 1958; highlights included a performance of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins with Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh as soloists and a staging of Enescu's sole opera, Œdipe , with Constantin Silvestri conducting. The official opening day of the Enescu Festival took place on 4 September 1958, merely three years after George Enescu's death. Among the music world's personalities that were present for this first edition of
1749-926: The first time, there were opened three new concert halls: the Grand Hall of the Palace, the Small Hall of the Palace (now the Auditorium Hall) and the Concert Studio of the Romanian Radiotelevision (now the Mihail Jora Concert Studio). In this edition participated the following: Sviatoslav Richter, Aldo Ciccolini, Leonid Kogan, Henryk Szeryng, Valentin Gheorghiu, Ştefan Gheorghiu, Vladimir Orlov, Radu Aldulescu, Ion Voicu, Sir John Barbirolli (his second time at
1802-677: The greatest pianists of all time, once said that Enescu, though primarily a violinist, had better piano technique than his own. Enescu's only opera, Œdipe ( Oedipe ), was staged for the first time at the Royal Opera House in London in 2016, 80 years after its Paris premiere, in a production directed and designed by La Fura dels Baus which received superlative reviews in The Guardian , The Independent , The Times and other publications. An analysis of Enescu's work and
1855-434: The painter Dumitru Bâșcu . 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 Pămînt 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
1908-602: The previous editions the range of instruments was reduced to piano, violin and cello, during this edition a greater variety was observed, by inviting the most notable harpist of the time, Nicanor Zabaletta, and the legendary flautist Jean Pierre Rampal. Probably the most important symphonic ensemble was the London Symphony Orchestra for which the Palace Grand Hall proved to be too small. Besides these two, other orchestras were also present such as
1961-506: 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 , where he studied with Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. , Robert Fuchs , and Sigismund Bachrich . 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 1882, Fritz Kreisler had also been admitted at
2014-674: The program were included only 76 Romanian composers. The Enescian creation was also generously represented, 25 works were interpreted, the highest number registered until then. Highly appreciated interpretations of the Enescian works were performed, among others, by Cristian Mandeal ("Third Suite") and Ion Baciu ("Second Symphony"). Internationally reputed interprets performing in the Festival were: Viktor Tretiakov, Siegfried Lorenz, Herbert Kaliga , Rudolf Innig, Jose Miguel Moreno Aguado and Jean Périsson . There were only two international instrumental ensembles in this edition, due to limited funds,
2067-746: The reasons why it is less known in the UK was published by musician Dominic Saunders in The Guardian . Enescu founded the Enescu Prize in composition, which was awarded from 1913 to 1946, and afterwards by the National University of Music Bucharest . Eugène Ysaÿe 's Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, subtitled "Ballade" (composed in 1923), was dedicated as an act of homage to fellow-violinist Enescu. While staying in Bucharest during
2120-472: The rest of his career as a soloist (conductor: Constantin Silvestri, Directed by Jean Ranzescu, Scenery: Roland Laub). Violinist, teacher, conductor and composer, worldwide known for his lush opera composition Oedipe , George Enescu presented his first work as a composer with the Collonne Orchestra in Paris, 1898; he also performed as a conductor at prestigious Carnegie Hall (NY). Enescu was also
2173-440: The same year, the national premiere of George Enescu's lyrical tragedy "Oedipe" took place, starring a young David Ohanesian in the lead role. This role was going to mark out the rest of his career as a soloist (conductor: Constantin Silvestri, Directed by: Jean Ranzescu, Scenery: Roland Laub). Compared to the first one, the second edition paid much more attention to repertoires from the lyrical theatre and vocal art. This initiative
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2226-504: The seven musical troupes present in the festival were choreographical ensembles: Eurythmeum Troupe from Stuttgart, Lar Lubovitch Company and Sopianae Ballet Company. The critics had very good reviews for the Great Academic Theatre Ensemble of URSS which performed "The Queen of Spades" and "Iolanta" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and "Mozart and Salieri" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, along with other famous pieces of
2279-458: The teacher of one of the greatest violinists of the past century – Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Their bond was so strong that in 1995, Menuhin accepted the invitation to come to Romania to open the George Enescu International Festival. Menuhin also accepted to be the President of Honor of the Enescu Festival in 1998, though his schedule as a soloist was full up to 2003. Today, an average of around 20 works by Romanian composer George Enescu are interpreted in
2332-431: The village of Liveni (later renamed "George Enescu" in his honor), then in Dorohoi County , today Botoșani County . His father was Costache Enescu, a landholder, and his mother was Maria Enescu (née Cosmovici), the daughter of an Orthodox priest. Their eighth child, he was born after all the previous siblings had died in infancy. His father later separated from Maria Enescu and had another son with Maria Ferdinand-Suschi:
2385-432: 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,
2438-428: Was a new beginning, which resulted, in the coming editions, in an array of famous international music names. From the guest artists we mention: Mathias Weber, Jean Francois Antionioli, Gerhard Oppitz, Teiko MaMaehashi, Carlos Paita, Levon Ambartumian and Michiyoshi Inoue. Yolanda Marculescu , who had been the prima dona of the Romanian National Opera of Bucharest from 1948 to 1968, was invited to return to Romania as
2491-413: Was added to the festival program. It is known as the Festival Piazza and features 3½ hours of classical music, in addition to movies about the life of George Enescu. The official opening day of the festival took place on 4 September 1958, merely three years after George Enescu's death, thus marking the official debut of the most important international musical manifestation hosted by Romania. The festival
2544-445: Was an edition of first auditions, among the most important being the interpretations of the poem Vox Maris (by the Radiotelevision Orchestra, conducted by Iosif Conta) and the Piano Quartet no. 1, both signed by George Enescu. During the 1967 festival, a great importance was given again to promoting both Enescian music and Romanian contemporary creations. It was one of the editions when the highest number of George Enescu's musical pieces
2597-532: Was auditioned (12) and when 18 Romanian composers were included in the concert programs. This edition also brought the first world audition of the Enescian creation: "Trio in A minor for violin, cello and piano". Other important first auditions were: "String Quartet No. 2" by Mihail Jora, "String Quartet No. 7" by Wilhelm Berger and "Scene nocturne" by Anatol Vieru. Besides the presence of Romanian orchestras and artists (Valentin Gheorghiu, Ion Voicu, Radu Aldulescu, Mircea Basarab, Constantin Bugeanu and Antonin Ciolan,
2650-523: Was meant to occur once every three years, being accompanied by an international competition, that was interrupted after the 5th edition, only to be reintroduced in the festival in 1991. Among the music world's personalities that were present for this first edition of the show were performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrah, Halina Czerny-Stefanka, Nadia Boulanger, Monique Haas, Iacov Zak and Claudio Arrau, and conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli, Carlo Felice Cillario and Carlo Zecchi. On 22 September of
2703-530: 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. Vincent d'Indy claimed that if Beethoven 's works were destroyed, they could be all reconstructed from memory by George Enescu. Alfred Cortot , one of
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#17327873554882756-446: Was reconfirmed in 1964 mainly by the presence of exceptional international artists such as: Arthur Rubinstein, Henryk Szering, Gaspar Cassado, Monique Haas, Miroslav Ceangalovici, André Navarra, André Cluytens, Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta and John Pritchard. Beside them there were also Romanian artists such as Valentin and Ştefan Gheorghiu, Ştefan Ruha, Ion Voicu, Radu Aldulescu, Vladimir Orlov, Mircea Basarab and Mihai Brediceanu. It
2809-466: Was supported by several renowned soloists such as Dimitr Uzunov, Ivan Petrov and Anton Dermota. Five lyrical spectacles were presented by the Bucharest Theatre of Opera and Ballet: "Oedipe" by George Enescu, "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgski, "Fidelio" by Ludwig van Beethoven, "Othello" by Giuseppe Verdi and "O Noapte Furtunoasă" by Paul Constantinescu, alongside two ballet acts in the forms of "La Piata" by Mihai Jora and "Priculiciul" by Zeno Vancea. For
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