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Under the Sign of Enescu

Wednesday, 27 November 2013 , ora 10.30
 
The ‘George Enescu’ National Museum has recently purchased several art works and extremely interesting documents through the Artmark auction, which are now presented to the public in an exhibition of real interest, in an evening fulfilled with an outfit recital.

On the first Bucharest winter day of this November, the fairly large public either discovered the pen picture of Enescu made by Gheorghe Tomaziu in 1946, or the pencil drawing of Mihail Jora in Theodor Pallady’s vision, both of them being commented by the art historian Dana Dragomir. You can also find a novel photograph of Maestro alongside editor Enoch, taken probably in Paris where the two of them were talking about a score or Maruca Cantacuzino’s famous signed portrait.

There are two documents in a show-window that may catch one’s attention - one of them is a memoir by Enescu addressed to the Athenaeum’s president, and the other is the book of honour of the Orchestra of the Ministry of Public Instruction , ensemble which was active during 1906-1919, becoming the Bucharest Philharmonic in 1920, as stated by the musicologist Viorel Cosma - a real history of concerts conducted by prestigious batons and important soloists, each of them addressing to the orchestra, commendatory appreciations and thoughts. Among them we can either find Enescu, Jora, Castaldi or even the young Arthur Rubinstein.

No one will ever know how these documents ended up in private collections or who put the out for auction, but it must be highly appreciated the fact that they entered the Museum’s patrimony.

In such context it was natural for someone to hear again Enescu’s violin in Cantacuzino Palace’s auditorium - that splendid Guarneri - the Cathedral which also belongs to the Museum’s ‘collection’, made available for the excellent violinist Gabriel Croitoru who for starters played the Lauratul sequence from the Impresii din copilarie suite by Enescu, and after that, he approached Impromptu concertant of the same composer in the company of Horia Mihail, and opposites by Kreisler - Liebesleid and Liebesfreud-, following Melodii lautaresti by Sarasate and Beethoven’s Sonata no. 8 op. 20.

Performing for the first time in this ‘formula’ in the ambiance of the ‘Enescu’ Museum, the interpreters convinced the public that their duo relationship was balanced and well welded after so many recitals held during the last seasons, completing each other and often intuiting the expressive intentions of the dialogue partner, succeeding versions more robust and temperamental than those in which prevails the poetry, the sensitivity, and filigree’s delicacy that is scarcely suggested, but with a strong impact on the public which, delightedly applauding, was rewarded with a conquering encore - Frumosul rozmarin by (the same) Kreisler.

A special evening of the great music and grand musicians that, under the sign of Enescu and through the acquisitions that have been made, have found their proper place in the Museum that deserves to be visited by those willing to discover, that book of honour which keeps between its covers illustrious signatures, the evidence of our musical life level from the beginning of the last century.

It is a pity that there were no columnists in the room - at least those who claim the necessity of promoting the creation and our creators - but the important thing is that the public is justly interested in the events suggested by the Museum, it’s director, Cristina Andrei, announcing from now other attractive events, even on the eve of the Holidays.



Anca Florea
Translated by Corina Gidea and Elena Daniela Radu
MTTLC, The University of Bucharest