Enescu: Three Symphonies & Violin Sonata No. 3
Enescu:
- Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op.13
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Lawrence Foster
- Symphony No. 2 in A major, Op.17
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Lawrence Foster
- Symphony No. 3, Op. 21
Chœur de Chambre Les Eléments & Orchestre National de Lyon, Lawrence Foster
- Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25 ‘dans le caractère populaire roumain’
Valery Sokolov & Svetlana Kosenko
George Enescu (1881-1955) was known primarily as one of the great virtuoso violinists of his day, although he was also a celebrated conductor and influential teacher of his instrument: Yehudi Menuhin, Arthur Grumiaux, Ivri Gitlis, and Christian Ferras were just a few of the great violin soloists of the latter half of the 20th century who passed through his classes in Paris.
Apart from the First Romanian Rhapsody, it is only recently that Enescu, the composer of a small but substantial catalogue of works, has become better known, and this set of his three completed symphonies and his best-known Violin Sonata, should certainly further enhance his reputation as a composer.
Here is a section of the first movement of George Enescu’s Symphony No 2
And to get a sense of Enescu as a violinist, here he is playing Bach – the Partita No.1 in B minor BWV 1002 for solo violin – 3. (George Enescu, 1948)
Finally, here is Saint Saens’ Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso in A minor Opus 28, as performed by the artists on this CD, Valeriy Sokolov, Violin accompanied on the piano by Svetlana Kosenko. And watch that violinst!!! I’ll be writing a lot more about him!
Tags: George Enescu, symphonies 1-3, violin sonata