Georges Enescu

[Florestan]

I am a great fan of Enescu (particularly his later works), but....he does have a tendency to extend the final movements of his works unnecessarily (at least, I see it so   ). I get this impression in, for instance, the Third Piano Sonata op. 24 - 3, and the Piano Quintet op. 29 (two works I admire very much). In both works, when you've thought the closing movements have come to an end, and that the thematic material has been exhausted, the music restarts, and we get into a sort of long-winded coda that seems to last forever and really does not add anything new. The end effect is that the formal balance of these works is (slightly distorted).

You feel like screaming "Stop! You've nothing more to say here"!" at notre cher Georges. 

Exactly.

[Parsifal]

Still trying to recover my love of Enescu. If Symphony No 2 doesn't work the only path forward will be what I consider the three main works, the Chamber Symphony, the Decet and the Nonet.

[ritter]

Still trying to recover my love of Enescu. If Symphony No 2 doesn't work the only path forward will be what I consider the three main works, the Chamber Symphony, the Decet and the Nonet.

Those are three great pieces IMHO...but I recommend the Piano Quintet op. 29 as well. Enescu at the top of his game (despite the wayward last movement).

Regards,

[amw]

By my count (people will put the beginning of the coda at different places) the coda to the finale of the Piano Quintet lasts 128 bars, beginning with a deceptive cadence (no.57 in the Salabert score) which manages to hold off resolution until the tonic 6/4 finally arrives at 4 after no.64, and is then prolonged for 53 bars until finally cadencing onto a 15-bar tonic pedal that ends the piece. Also the dynamic level is fff for most of that time.

Another notable offender is the Violin Sonata No.3, which ends with a 72-bar tonic pedal (sometimes implied). Given how long he spent working on these pieces, Enescu must have been convinced that conclusions of great length were necessary to balance the works, but it's hard to hear why.

[ritter]

By my count (people will put the beginning of the coda at different places) the coda to the finale of the Piano Quintet lasts 128 bars, beginning with a deceptive cadence (no.57 in the Salabert score) which manages to hold off resolution until the tonic 6/4 finally arrives at 4 after no.64, and is then prolonged for 53 bars until finally cadencing onto a 15-bar tonic pedal that ends the piece. Also the dynamic level is fff for most of that time.

Another notable offender is the Violin Sonata No.3, which ends with a 72-bar tonic pedal (sometimes implied). Given how long he spent working on these pieces, Enescu must have been convinced that conclusions of great length were necessary to balance the works, but it's hard to hear why.

Very interesting, amw. Many thanks!

As you say, it is hard to hear why Enescu felt the need to have these conclusions drag on and on (and, yes, the fact that in the Quintet it's almost constantly at fff makes it even more unnerving). The real pity is that earlier in the movement, he transition between its two sections (or is it actually two movements played attacca?) is IMHO nothing short of magical. A long rising arch, slightly crescendo, with shimmering textures form the strings and with the piano meandering in the background. The thematic material is only tentatively exposed, to then be stated triumphantly by all the instruments. Stunning!

It's at the beginning of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/v/BimxfuaSn1I

[ritter]

Cross-posted from the New Releases thread:

Talking about Enescu, this certainly is new (announced for September):

[asin]B07DY2H1LS[/asin]
Strigoii ("Ghosts") is a fragmentary oratorio from 1916, "restored, rebuild (sic), orchestrated and prepared" by Gabriel Bebeșelea, on a text by Mihai Eminescu. The CD includes another rarity, the Pastorale-Fantaisie pour petit orchestre.

[Mirror Image]

I thought I would bring this thread up a few notches. I've been much more forgiving, and, more importantly, open to Enescu's sound-world as of late. It seems I'm starting to unlock composers who have given me a bit of trouble in the past starting with Fauré and now with Enescu. Now if only I can warm up to Messaien.

[david johnson]

I thought I would bring this thread up a few notches. I've been much more forgiving, and, more importantly, open to Enescu's sound-world as of late. It seems I'm starting to unlock composers who have given me a bit of trouble in the past starting with Fauré and now with Enescu. Now if only I can warm up to Messaien.

That is nice to hear 

[Mirror Image]

That is nice to hear 

Thanks, but I'll just chalk this up to gaining more listening experience and also getting older, which is, unfortunately, unavoidable.

[JBS]

There are several choices for Enescu's complete piano works. Does anyone have a decided opinion in favor or against any of them?

[Mirror Image]

There are several choices for Enescu's complete piano works. Does anyone have a decided opinion in favor or against any of them?

I haven't heard any other of the piano sets except for Stirbat on Hänssler. I wouldn't mind picking up another box set, because the music is outstanding, IMHO. Other than the aforementioned set, I love Luiza Borac's recording of The Three Piano Suites.

[Mirror Image]

This seems to be a good buy:

[asin] B01MY729YU[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Jeffrey, just buy the Stirbat set on Hänssler. The price is right and the playing is glorious. You couldn't ask for more.

Very good price on Amazon right now and if you have Prime you'll get the customary two-day shipping:

[asin]B014ESS0JG[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

A great discovery of my own over the past few weeks has been the Cello Sonata No. 2. This work is deeply emotional, but the emotion isn't of the fiery kind, it's more subtle and introspective. I loved it on first-listen, but I've heard it three times now and each time has given me a greater appreciation for it than before. Dare I say it's one of his finest creations. It has this 'haunted Romanian village beyond the forest' sound-world to it (if I may use some imagery of my own). The best performance I've heard of this piece has been with Valentin Radutiu and Per Rundberg on Hänssler.

[Mirror Image]

I wonder if our Jeffrey (JBS) has bought the Enescu piano set from Stirbat yet? He did, after all, inquire about it days ago.

[Mirror Image]

I believe I'm good on Enescu's piano music as I own the Stirbat set and today I should have the last installment of Luiza Borac's survey on the Avie label.

[JBS]

I wonder if our Jeffrey (JBS) has bought the Enescu piano set from Stirbat yet? He did, after all, inquire about it days ago.

No, I am behaving at the moment. Incredible as it may seem, I have not ordered anything in a week and a half, although I do have some things in my shopping cart....

[Mirror Image]

No, I am behaving at the moment. Incredible as it may seem, I have not ordered anything in a week and a half, although I do have some things in my shopping cart....

Not hard to believe at all. Yeah...right! Anyway, I hope one of those items in your queue is the Stirbat set of Enescu's piano music.

[Mirror Image]

For those interested in buying back issues of BBC Magazine (not many here I'd imagine, but you never know), this issue has a cool feature on Enescu:



I find their choice of 'Recommended Recordings' to be quite lopsided, though. Here's the list:

Complete Works for Violin and Piano (Hänssler):



Oedipe (Warner Classics --- originally EMI)



Symphony No. 3, Ouverture de concert (Ondine)



Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 (Chandos)



My own two cents:

One of the nice things about this list (and it scores some major points here) is it doesn't include the Romanian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2. These are nice enough works and are dazzling orchestral tour-de-forces, but they don't really get to the heart of the composer, IMHO. Anyway, I'm glad BBC Music Magazine didn't recommend these works. Now onto the two issues I have with the list:

1. It's just too limited in scope. I mean have BBC Music Magazine writers ever heard of the Piano Sonata No. 3 or the Chamber Symphony? There should've been at least two/three more choices from them on the list or make it a 'Top 10' or something along these lines.

2. Why recommend Symphony No. 3? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a fine work, but Suite for Orchestra No. 3, "Villageoise" would have been a better pick, IMHO. Of course, the Foster recording would have been an easy nomination. Also, the recording of Symphony No. 3 from Lintu, while quite good from an audio quality point-of-view, it doesn't have the same kind of interpretative weight Lawrence Foster's had on EMI or Rozhdestvensky's on Chandos.

Of course, I have to realize it's BBC Music Magazine, but I find the list a bit sloppy and had to comment on it.

[Mirror Image]

[Crickets chirping]

I wonder if Rafael saw the list above?