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An
early release of Georges Enesco's recording
of Bach's Sonata No. 2
The
billboard of the first performance of OEDIPE in 1936 in Paris, France.
(Image taken from the documentation accompanying the Electrecord 4 Lp
set of the 1964 recording from Rumania.)
The
opera will be performed at the opening night of
The George Enescu Festival & Competition, August 30th, 2009.
(Coproduction of the National Opera from Bucharest
and the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse.)
Bach's
Sonatas for Violin Solo were recorded around 1949 and appeared on
the Continental label. The Sonata No. 2 was released on the Remington
label.
Georges
Enesco and pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez performing Schumann's
Sonata Op. 121 on a 10" Remington, R-149-50.
Enesco,
Lipatti and Radulesco on Electrecord.
Enesco's
own performance of his Sonata No. 2 with pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez
on R-149-42 (reissued at the end of the nineteen seventies on Varèse
Sarabande VC 81048)
Sonata
No. 2 and String Quartet No. 2 on Monitor
Sonata
No. 2 on Electrecord ECD61
Liszt's
Les Preludes conducted by George Singer were coupled on R-149-47 with
Georges Enesco performing his Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1 with l'Orchestre
des Concerts Colonne. The Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 was available on R-149-52,
also conducted by Enesco and had as coupling The Moldau (Smetena) conducted
by Georges Singer. The two rhapsodies were later released again on a
Musirama disc while they were not real Musirama recordings.
Below
the French release of the same coupling on Concerteum 269.
French
Columbia FC1058
See also:
The
page about pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez on The Remington Site
The
World Violinists Links
The
timeline of Georges Enesco's life at the International Enesco Society.
Electrola
STE 80749: Chfristian Ferras and Pierre Barbizet play Enesco's Sonata
No. 3.
This sonata was also recorded in 1936 by Yehudi Menuhin and Hepzibah
Menuhin, piano (Victor Set M-318)
Discover
Enesco on YouTube
What
is important in art is to vibrate oneself and make others vibrate.
Rumanian
Rhapsody conducted by Sergiu Celibidache
See
also the extensive discography of Enesco
as conductor.
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"Perfection,
which is the passion of so many people, does not interest me. What
is important in art is to vibrate oneself and make others vibrate."
- Georges Enesco.
(My translation
of: "La perfection, qui passionne tant de gens, ne m'intéresse
pas. Ce qui importe, en art, c'est de vibrer soi-même et de
faire vibrer les autres.")
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George
Enescu around 1950 when he had already recorded the Sonatas and
Partitas for Violin Solo by Bach for Don Gabor's Continental label
in New York.
(The
well known photograph of Georges Enesco, but this time taken from
the listing on the back of an original Remington cover, edited
and restored. His Romanian signature was taken from the Electrecord
cover of Poème roumain.)
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To
most people Georges Enesco is mainly known for his Romanian Rhapsody
No. 1 composed at the age of 20. The less popular No. 2
was conceived one year later, in 1902, and is foreboding his later,
more personal style.
Older generations and knowledgeable music lovers remember him not
just as a composer or a conductor but as the great violinist who concertized
in many countries and who educated Arthur Grumiaux, Ivry Gitlis,
Ida Haendel and Christian Ferras, but most of all the name
of Yehudi Menuhin is linked to the famous Romanian.
Georges
Enesco composed more than just the Romanian Rhapsodies (the arrangement
for two pianos of No. 1 was also played by the maestro himself; it
is said that Enesco was a gifted pianist and a cellist as well).
He composed 'Romanian Poem' (Poème roumain - Paris, 1897) which
was his first opus, and also Suites for orchestra, Symphonies
(3), Sonatas for piano, and for violin and piano (3) and for
cello and piano (2), Octuor for Strings (Octet for Strings,
Octet à cordes), Dixtuor for Wind Instruments, and a
Chamber symphony. And he composed an opera: 'Oedip'
(Oedipe, Oedipus) on a libretto by Edmond Fleg after Sophocles.
Igor Strawinsky's expressive "Oedipus Rex" - which was first
performed nine years earlier in Paris - stands in stark contrast to
Enesco's "Oedip".
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The
front of the box of the Electrecord 4 LP Set, ST ECE 0676, with
the recording of Oedip (Oedipe) made in the period of April till
June, 1964, in Bucarest. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Romanian
Opera of Bucarest was conducted by Mihai Brediceanu. Singers were
David Ohanesian (baritone), Ioan Hvorov (bass), Dan Iordachescu
(baritone), Valentin Teodorian (tenor), Viorel Ban (bass), Valentin
Loghin (bass), Constantin Gabor (bass), Ladislau Konya (baritone),
Constantin Iliescu (tenor), Elena Cernei (mezzo-soprano), Zenaida
Pally (mezzo-soprano), Maria Sindilaru (soprano), and Maria Sandulescu
(mezzo-soprano).
(From the SoundFountain Archive)
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Oedip
was premiered on March 13, 1936, in Paris, and was well received.
This 'lyrical tragedy in four acts' can well be labeled as Enesco's
most important work as a composer. Far more than his sonatas, his
chamber music and other compositions for chamber ensembles and orchestra,
Oedipe can be considered as the man's pinnacle of the expression of
ideas, of drama, of humanity. It shows that for a long time he put
most if not all of his creative energy in this work which, as individualistic
as it may be, breathes in its themes and orchestration the era it
was composed in. It has a specific flavor and at instances reminds
one of the style of Zoltán Kodály, and of the late romantic,
Viennese school, of the new expressionism as well, and also a French
influence is undeniable. But it is above all Central European in character.
Symphonist Ion Dumitrescu - in an article written in 1961
on Georges Enesco, his compositions and the significance of the Romanian,
wrote:
"In
the opera 'Oedipous' the links with Rumanian music are clearly
noticeable, by the turning to account - sometimes in a discreet
way, at other times obviously enough - of its modal, rhythmical,
and intonational forms."
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On
March 13, 1936, Henri Malherbes - author of 'La flamme au poing'
(the flame in the fist), The Flame That Is France and winner of the
Prix Concourt - said that Romania now ranks from the spiritual point
of view with the most advanced countries. About the structure of the
opera he noted:
"For
any expert who examines the score it clearly appears that the
four acts of 'Oidipous' constitute the four movements of a vast
symphony with its Allegro, Andante, Scherzo and Finale. On every
page one discovers new timbre effects, valuable harmony innovations,
an instrumentation of extreme subtlety, a complete renewal of
the musical patterns which have been in use up to our days."
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Arthur
Honneger, creator of the expressive oratorios 'Le roi David' and
'Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher' said in an article in Le Figaro Littéraire
(1955):
"This
opera is as far from any Wagnerite succedanea as it is from
any Debussyan or Puccinian pastiches (...). It is highly original
and possesses a dramatic force that is simply formidable."
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Of
Georges Enesco himself is the following comment:
"It is not up to me to state whether Oidipus is or is not
the most accomplished of my works. But I am fully entitled to
say that it is the one I cherished most... I have put in it
everything that was mine, up to the point of becoming almost
identified with my hero."
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George
Enesco loved the music of Richard Wagner, admired the music of Claude
Debussy and of Giacomo Puccini. The accompanying documentation of
the 1964 Electrecord recording gives ample information about the opera,
the nature of the music, and how the various performances were received.
Plus the libretto in Romanian, French and English. In 1956, one year
after Enesco had died, the opera was performed again in Paris.
Georges Enesco can not be categorized as a protagonist
of a specific style or school. For that he was too individualistic
in character and his compositions do not have a common signature.
Nevertheless he is considered to be the founder of the first
national music movement in Romania after it came into existence
in 1861 and was officially recognized as a country by foreign
powers in 1878.
A
few of Enesco's works do have a popular nature and are loved
by many as they fall into the category of music for millions.
His opera Oedipe is a masterpiece, but much of his music, specifically
his chamber music, often has a gloomy character and is not easily
accessible and understandable. Its nature indicates a contradictory
personality, a searching soul, but most of all it shows a vulnerable
sensitivity.
Though
the variety in his oeuvre shows that the man was a many faceted
artist, it is difficult to grasp the complex nature of this
talented musician, of the disciplined, hard working man who
divided his energy between conducting, teaching, performing
as a soloist, and composing.
He must have put a spell on his audience when performing in
the concert hall, when teaching at the conservatory and when
conducting a master class. Only those who did meet the maestro,
and those who worked with him, did experience this and often
gave testimony of the impact.
Were
it not for Donald Gabor's Continental recordings, it would all
be hearsay and being the teacher of great talents would have
been Enesco's major and great significance.
Despite the many articles, biographies, references and his own
recordings (many are of historical significance only), Georges
Enesco, as a composer and as an interpreter, has a relatively
small audience of musicians, scholars and admiring music lovers
who - after more than 50 years - try to understand the outcome
of his creativity. - R.A.B.
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Georges
Enesco was born on August 19, 1881 in Liveni-Virnay, a small town
in the district of Dorhoiû (Dorohoi), in the very North of Romania,
in the middle of the province of Moldavia (Moldova), close to the
Ukrainian border. His great grandfather was a church singer. Other
ancestors were musicians. Enesco's father was the son of an orthodox
priest and had considered to follow a religious vocation as well,
but choose differently. He and his wife had seven children. Two died
at a very young age and when a diphteric angina struck the region,
the five remaining children also died. The couple prayed and prayed
for a new child and finally George was born, the eighth child, the
only child they could give all their love to. This fact is of course
of significance for the development of the child.
In certain publications Cordareni is mentioned as Enesco's birth place,
and 1882 is mentioned as year of birth. Enesco himself mentioned in
his conversations with Bernard Gavoty - Les souvenirs de Georges
Enesco (Paris 1955 - 2006) - that 1881 was the year and his place
of birth was Liveni (today called George Enescu).
At
the age of three he accidently heard music played by gipsies which
awoke the seed of love for music - although gypsy music differs from
Romanian popular music completely. At five he received his first musical
instruction from his local teacher and two years later his father
sent him to Vienna to study at the Conservatory. His violin teacher
was Joseph
Hellmesberger Jr. (1855-1907) who had founded the Helmersberger
String Quartet. Young Enesco studied composition and harmony with
Robert Fuchs (1847-1925), lessons he liked very much. Four
years later, George was awarded the Grand Medal of Honor (Silver Medal).
It was Helmesberger who suggested that Enesco would go to Paris. Vienna
had nothing more to offer to the development of the young student
as it was no longer the music centre of Europe and had been replaced
in importance by Paris. At the age of 14, the age when a young boy
is impressed most by events and cultural experiences which will mark
him for his entire life, Enesco went to Paris to study at the 'Conservatoire
national' with composer Jules Massenet (1842-1912), with composer
and scholar André Gédalge (1856-1925), with composer
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), and with Belgian violinist Armand
Marsick (Marsieck) (1877-1959). These important figures, as well
as the vast possibilities and atmosphere of musical and cultural Paris,
have influenced Georges Enesco's musical development and maturation.
In 1899 - at the age of 17 - he won first prize.
During
World War I Enesco stayed in Romania. Before and after that war he
made numerous concert tours in Europe and traveled to the United States.
He played Beethoven with Felix Weingartner (1863-1942), conducted
the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of the New
York Philharmonic Society, and appeared together with Béla
Bartók.
From
1927 on he choose France as his second home and his Christian name
was written the French way with an 's' as is shown on all the publications,
books, record labels and covers. He appeared with many musicians.
He conducted the Paris Symphony Orchestra and the 'Orchestre de l'association
des concerts Colonne'. He also performed and conducted in other European
countries.
In those years Enesco taught both in Romania and in France. He again
travelled to North America to appear in front of the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra in the 1936-37 season, not long after the premiere of
Oedipe, the opera on which Enesco worked for merely ten years,
leaving hardly any time to write other music, except for Symphony
No. 2.
During this stay in the US, French pianist, composer and teacher,
Maurice Dumesnil (who had been accompanying Enesco on several
occasions), prepared an article on Enesco for The Etude Music Magazine,
published in Philadelphia. The article tells how in 1917 a box with
Enesco's manuscripts was sent out of Romania to Moscow to safety,
but was lost for almost ten years and was finely discovered in the
basement of the Kremlin. Dumesnil also mentions the importance of
the maestro as a pedagogue. Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) was
his most famous pupil. This is how it came about:
One evening of January, 1927, Enesco had given a recital in
the Salle Gaveau in Paris, previous to his departure of a two-month
tour of his native Romania. The customary crowd of friends and
admirers surrounded him in the artists' room. A young boy, with
light brown hair, made his way to him, shook his hand and simply
said, "I want to see you." Enesco instinctively sensed
a personality and gave the boy an appointment for the next morning.
Menuhin - it was he - went to the apartment of the rue de Clichy,
with his violin. Enesco had just concluded a rehearsal with
Gerard Hekking, the violoncellist. "I want to study with
you," the boy said this time. "All right, will you
play something for me?" When Menuhin did play, Enesco and
Hekking looked at each other in amazement, and the former immediately
accepted him as a pupil.
Gérard
(Gerard) Hekking was a French-Dutch violoncellist (August 22,
1879, Nancy - June 5, 1942, Paris.) He studied at the Paris
Conservatoire. He often performed in the Netherlands. For a
few years he was first cello player of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
From 1927 on he was a professor at the Paris Conservatory and
a well known pedagogue. His most famous pupils were Maurice
Gendron and Paul Tortelier.
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In addition to violin lessons Enesco advised the study of harmony,
fugue and counterpoint - as he himself had done and had benefitted
from it. Yehudy should have a strict regime in order not to be distracted
by the temptations a city like Paris offers, especially to a growing
up boy. In an interview for French radio, Enesco later said:
"I would like to say that I molded him, but I would lie, he already
was marvelous when I took him on my hands." The friendship between
Enesco and Menuhin resulted in a collaboration which can be witnessed
on many (historical) shellac recordings.
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J.S.
Bach's Concerto for Two Violins and Strings with Yehudi Menuhin
and Georges Enesco, with Pierre Monteux conducting, was recorded
in the 78 RPM era before World War Two (1933) and was re-released
in 1944 on Victor 932 (His Master's Voice D.B.1718/19).
(From the
SoundFountain Archive)
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Together
they played Bach's Concerto for Two Violins with Pierre Monteux
conducting, a recording from January 1933 and later issued on Lp (Victor
LCT 1120, HMV FJLP 5018). Critics remarked that their playing was
"spirited" and that the performance was "immaculate".
Critic Irving Kolodin however finds the recording a delusion and prefers
the Joseph Szigeti-Carl Flesch shellac recording with Walther Goehr
conducting (Columbia X90), or the Lp recording with Adolf Busch and
Frances Magnes and the Busch Chamber Orchestra (Columbia ML-4002).
Menuhin performed Dvorak's Violin Concerto with Enesco conducting
the 'Orchestre symphonique de Paris' (Columbia GM-254).
With "l'Orchestre des concerts Colonne" they recorded Lalo's
Symphony Espagnol (Victor VM-136; His Master's Voice DB1999/2002).
Again with the Paris Symphony Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3
and 7 (Victor VM-485; HMV DB2729/31).
Ottokar Novacek's Perpetuum Mobilé
was also recorded with George Enesco conducting the Paris Symphony
Orchestra (Victor V-8383; HMV DB2283).
With Enesco at the piano Menuhin performed Paganini's 'Tremolo'
(Caprice No. 6) (HMV DB2841).
Georges
Enesco and young Yehudi Menuhin.
(Photo
taken from an old Dutch encyclopedia.)
In
his late fifties, in 1939, George Enesco married Maria Rosetti
(Princess Maria Cantacuzino), and he lived in Romania during World
War II.
On April 21, 1946, he conducted Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4
in the Peter Tchaikovsky Hall (Great Hall) of the Moscow Conservatory.
Many years later this live performance was released on Melodiya M10-49209
004.
Enesco returned to Paris in that same year.
In 1947 he gave a noteworthy performance of the Three (3) Sonatas
and Three (3) Partitas for Violin Solo of Johann Sebastian
Bach. From 1948 until 1950 he taught at the Mannes School of Music
in New York and, for a short period, joined the faculty of the University
of Illinois. In these years he conducted several concerts with the
National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. On the program works
by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Enesco and Chopin. With various soloists.
Among others pianist Menahem Pressler in Chopin's Concerto No. 2 (as
is wel documented on
Muzica
Clasica - a blog in Romanian written by an American who was
born in Bucarest). It was during this stay in the US that he - on
the instigation of violinist
Helen Airoff, also a pupil of
his - recorded Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo for Don
Gabor's Continental Records label. Although the tape recorder
had been introduced as the new and important recording medium, the
Sonatas & Partitas were recorded on acetates.
On
January 21st, 1950, Georges Enesco gave a farewell-concert
in New York, performing as a violinist, as a pianist and as a conductor.
After that his health did not allow him to play the violin any longer,
but he still was able to conduct from time to time. There is a BBC
radio broadcast of Bach's Hohe Messe (Mass in B minor), BWV 232, George
Enesco conducting the Boyd Neel Orchestra, the BBC Chorus, and singers
Suzanne Danco (soprano), Kathleen Ferrier (contralto), Peter Pears
(tenor) and Norman Walker (bass). The broadcast took place on July
15th, 1951.
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Céliny
Chailley-Richez and Georges Enesco at the time when they did the
recordings of the Concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach in the early
nineteen fifties.
Image courtesy Musica et Memoria/The
Chailley Family (Edited by R.A.B.).
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After
he had returned to Paris he recorded the Concertos for Clavier ("für
Klavier") of Johann Sebastian Bach for French Decca, with Céliny
Chailley-Richez as principal pianist and with the "Orchestre
de l’association des concerts de chambre de Paris":
Decca FAT-173053 - Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra
No. 1 & 5
Decca FAT-173050
- Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 & 7
Decca FAT-173119
- Bach: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 and Concerto for Two
Pianos and Orchestra No. 3 with Françoise Le Gonidec
Decca FAT-173068 - Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra
No. 4 & 6
Decca FAT-173530 - Bach: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.
8 coupled with Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with Jean-Pierre Rampal,
flute, and Christian Ferras, violin
Decca FAT-173094 - Bach: Concertos for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Nos. 1 & 2
Decca FAT-173097 - Bach: Concertos for Three Pianos and Orchestra
No. 1 & 2 with Françoise Le Gonidec and Jean-Jacques Painchaud
Decca FAT-143.538 - Bach: Concerto for Four Pianos and Orchestra
with Françoise Le Gonidec, Jean-Jacques Painchaud and Hélène Grimaud;
a 10" record.
For CD-transfers consul
Baroque-Music-club.com
In the last years of his life only with great pain Enesco could play
the violin. In 1954 he suffered a stroke. Georges Enesco died on May
4th, 1955 in Paris.
Georges
Enesco made various recordings for the Remington label. This collaboration
could have helped in the distribution of Remington recordings on the
French
Concerteum label. On Remington Records Enesco not only plays
Bach and conducts own orchestral compositions, but he also plays his
own Sonata No. 2 with pianist
Céliny
Chailley-Richez
with whom he recorded J.S. Bach's Concertos for Clavier and Orchestra
for French Decca.
Enesco's
Remington discography:
Enesco:
Dixtuor. Winds of the National French Orchestra/Georges Enesco.
(coupled with Kodaly's Cello Sonata Op. 4 performed by Richard Matuschka
and pianist Otto Schulhof) - Remington R-199-107
Enesco:
Octet for Strings. String Ensemble/George Enesco -
Remington R-199-52
Enesco:
Romanian (Rumanian) Rhapsody No. 1. Orchestre des Concerts Colonne/George
Enesco (coupled with Liszt: Les préludes) - Remington
R-199-47 (Varèse
Sarabande VC 81042 -1978)
Enesco:
Romanian (Roumanian) Rhapsody No. 2. Orchestre des Concerts Colonne/George
Enesco. (coupled with Smetena: The Moldau) - Remington
R-199-52
Enesco:
Sonata No. 2 in F minor. With Celiny Chailley-Richez, piano -
Remington R-149-42 (the name of
the pianist wrongly spelled as Chaillez-Riches). This performance
was reissued on Varèse Sarabande VC 81048 (The Remington Series,
1978) coupled
with Dohnányi's Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 21 (written
in 1912 in Berlin), which was recorded in 1952 with violinist Albert
Spalding and Ernö Dohnányi at the piano, never released
on Remington records.
Schumann:
Sonata No. 2 in D minor Op. 121. With Celiny Chailley-Richez,
pianist - Remington R-149-50.
Enesco:
Rumanian Rhapsody Nos. 1 and 2. Orchestre des Concerts Colonne/George
Enesco (coupled with Villa Lobos conducting the RIAS Symphony Orchestra
in his Choros No. 6) - Remington R-199-207.
Bach:
Sonata No. 2 in B minor for Violin Solo - Georges Enesco - . Remington
PL-1-149. In
the early nineteen fifties Bach's Sonata No. 2 appeared in various
disguises: in a yellow and red cover, a gray and red cover, and as
a single record in a box.
The Sonatas
and Partitas for Violin Solo:
Sonata No. 1 for Solo Violin in G minor BWV 1001
Partita No. 1 for Solo Violin in B minor BWV 1002
Sonata No. 2 for Solo Violin in A minor BWV 1003
Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D minor BWV 1004
Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin in C Major BWV 1005
Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin in E Major BWV 1006
Recorded in 1949, in New York, originally released by Don Gabor on
his Continental label - Continental CLP 104/105/106.
Click
here for a Sound Clip of Fugue from Sonata No. 2
for Solo Violin in A minor BWV 1003.
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Images
of the original box and the label of the third record courtesy
Chuck Miller, writer and columnist ("Goldmine" and "Warman's
American Records 1950-2000").
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In the 78 rpm shellac
era there was no complete recording of all Sonatas and Partitas. The
only set which could be considered as most complete was the one of
Georges Enesco's pupil Yehudi Menuhin. He played Sonata No.1,
Partita Nr. 1, Sonata Nr. 2 - 3rd movement only, Partita Nr. 2, ,
Sonata Nr. 3, Partita Nr. 3. These data are given in The Gramophone
Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music from 1948. The recordings were
made over a period of several years. Various dates are given in various
publications. For the earliest recording 1931 is given, but generally
1934 is the year of the first recording. The last year was 1944. Some
of his playing was considered to be outstanding and even unchallengeable.
Available
recordings in the 1950's of
Johann Sebastian Bach's Complete Sonatas and Partitas for
Unaccompanied Violin (BWV 1001-1006).
 The
September 1950 edition of Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog
lists two complete sets, one performed by violinist Alexander
Schneider on Mercury MGL-1 (4x 12" lp discs), and the other
performed by Georges Enesco on Don Gabor's Continental Records
(CLP 104-106).
 With
the arrival of the tape recorder and the Long Playing record,
recordings of complete works could easily fit on the new 12
inch platic disks. The Enesco Continental performance however
were recorded on acetates, aluminum discs of 10, 12 or 16 inches
in diameter, coated with a layer of wax or lacquer. The year
of recording was 1949. From this source the sound was transferred
to the actual lacquer which became the matrix or plate from
which the LP records were pressed.
Enesco's
Continental Set was still available in January 1952, but was
deleted from the Schwann catalog by March of that year. A reason
could have been that sales were not very high since the technically
better sound recording done by Mercury was obviously
preferred by many, despite the fact that the three Continental
records were cheaper than the four Mercuries (thoug a single
Continental record had the same price as a Mercury LP as is
indicated by the price list in the Schwann catalog) . From March
1952 on only Enesco's playing of Sonata No. 2 on a 10
inch Remington (PL1-149) remained in the catalog and Alexander
Schneider's Mercury set was the only complete issue available.
In January
1953 the complete set played by José Figueroa
on four twelve inch discs with reference NRLP 408/409/410/411
was released (again according to Schwann, but the recordings
were not listed in The Long Player). For one year this set competed
with Schneider's and in the Schwann of December 1955 the Figueroa
set was listed for the last time.
 In
the autumn of 1951 Jerome Hill and Robert C. Fine
had recorded the Sonatas and Partitas with violinist Rolph
Schröder in the Church of Günsbach (Germany) for
Columbia Records. This performance was not yet released. The
Schröder recordings were financed by Dr. Albert Schweitzer.
Schröder plays with the curved bow (arched bow/archery
bow, "Rundbogen").
Only two years later, by the end of 1953, the Schröder
performances were released for the first time on 3 discs (Columbia
ODL 159 = SL 189 = ML 4743/44/45).
In 1954
the performances of Jascha Heifetz became available on
Victor LM 6105 (3 x 12") in the US and by April 1957 in
Great Brittain on His Master's Voice ALP 1449-51. In November
1954 Emil Telmanyi's complete recording followed in Great
Brittain on LXT 2951-3 and in the the USA in 1955 on 3 x 12"
London LPs (LLA 20).
Also in 1955 the complete set of Henryk Szeryng was issued
in France on Odéon ODX-122/23/24, but was available in
Europe only. These performances were later released on the CBS
and on the Odyssey labels after Columbia had bought labels in
various European countries in order to set foot on European
soil. In Holland it bought Artone. In France Odéon.
The recordings
of Johanna Martzy became available as three different
releases in November 1955, March 1956 and October 1956 respectively:
Columbia 33CX 1286/87/88 in Great Brittain, and Angel D-35280/1/2
in the USA. They had been recorded in 1954 and 1955.
 The
performances by Georges Enesco were again available on
the red/gold Remington MUSIRAMA label without being listed
in both Schwann and Long Player. The labels did not have the
original reference numbers but only the reference numbers of
the plates of the six sides were indicated: TA-16/17/18/19/20/21.
Although the MUSIRAMA black-gold label series was first announced
in the September 1953 Schwann catalog, the later variation of
the label in red/gold was first used around 1957.
This Remington edition of the Sonatas and Partitas was
issued at the time when the Martzy recordings had been released
and when by the end of 1957 the recordings of Enesco's pupil
Yehudi Menuhin became available on Electrola 90897/8/9
in the USA (His Master's Voice ALP 1512/1531/1532 in Great Brittain).
Obviously a reason to re-release the performances by Menuhin's
teacher.
Producing
recordings of specific works - be it operas, concertos, symphonies
or rather peculiar titles - and having these performed by popular
artists or new talents, and releasing the ready products at
well chosen dates, has always been the marketing strategy of
most record campanies. The strategy is determined for a large
part by what the competiton does or what the compettion does
not. - R.A.B.
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From Japan there is the
look alike Continental-reissue of the 3 LP Box with the reference
numbers CLP 104/105/106 of the original issue. The look alike
with red velvet covered box is smaller in width and the labels are
differently styled. Modern technology have made it possible to restore
the sound of the original recordings to such an extent that one thinks
to deal with a rather recent recording. The sound is very clean, yet
fully conveys all nuances and dynamics of the interpretation. Even
the striking of the clock in the room where the recording was made
can be heard in the background and is very realistic. This may indicate
that the recording took place in Gabor's home. These newly pressed
records are of the 180 gr. quality.
It is possible that a modern 180 gr. pressing of whatever performance
or label is encountered of which the vinyl is rather vulnerable. This
is not caused by the chosen type of vinyl which is of a different
recipe than used by Philips, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon or Nippon
Columbia in the 1970s and 1980s. The cause may be that during the
pressing the vinyl was not heated through and through.
For this set the notes of the original Continental issue were reproduced
on an inlay to accompany this look alike release. They give a short
biography and an explanation of the Sonatas and Partitas. From notes
I quote the following paragraph:
Georges Enesco ranks today as one of the greatest living musicians
and there are many who will claim for him the top rung as the
world's foremost living musician. (...) His masterful interpretations
and playing of the six Bach unaccompanied violin sonatas, presented
by Continental Records in this series, not only fill a much
needed requirement for the master compositions, but provide
an achievement which will go down in recorded history as one
of the most unique presentations of all time. This series presents
the works as one of the greatest of music's past immortals played
and interpreted by the most important living figure capable
of doing justice to Bach's music. Enesco's approach to Bach
shows technical mastery, but it also reveals a deep humility
and reverence toward his subject matter which he has studied
so well over many decades. As such, it approaches the millennium
in the art of preservation of these masterworks.
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The 3 LP set
of Olympic Records (8117/3) from 1974 also contain the complete
performances of Bach's Three Sonatas and Three Partitas but after
the transfer to tape they were electronically re-recorded to simulate
stereo which was the fashion in the beginning of the stereo era of
the LP when companies were afraid that the public would not buy mono
recordings any longer. Despite this electronic manipulation, the engineers,
who literally spent hundreds of hours, did a remarkable job. They
did not loose too much of the character of the violin but filtered
out a lot of the hiss and surface noise. The liner notes rightfully
say: "This recording was made before the advent of modern tape
technology". It is regrettable that the sound of the Everest
release is not too clear if compared to the much better Continental
reissue.
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Nippon
Columbia DXM-128-30-AX.
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Olympic
Records OL-8117/3 (distributed by Eeverest): Bach Sonatas and
Partitas in electronic stereo.
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These transfers
were released in Japan by Nippon Columbia as a 3 Lp set with reference
DXM-128-30-AX. The accompanying book was in Japanese only.
The Sonatas and
Partitas for Violin Solo also have been released on CD by Philips
in Japan. And these performances have also been released on a 2-CD
set labeled Continental CCD104-105.
The Continental
recordings were made when George Enesco was of age and suffered from
arthritis. When evaluating a batch of Remington Records
Music-Critic Cecil
Smith commented on the Enesco performance: "George Enesco's
playing of Bach's E minor Sonata for unaccompanied violin, offers,
like Enesco's appearances in public, painful proof that even a fine
musician cannot play an instrument effectively without adequate technique."
It is true, his
style sometimes lacks precise intonation. If a firm bow touch is missing
it is because of the work he is playing or it is caused by the recording
technique, although his style of playing the violin shows similarities
with his treatment of the violin in his Sonata No. 3 as examplified
by Christian Ferras (accompanied by Pierre Barbizet,
piano) on His Master's Voice ASD 531 / Electrola STE 80749.
The re-recording of the Sonatas and Partitas on the recent Continental
set are most revealing of the strength of his playing because of the
improved dynamics. Enesco did not say "perfection does not interest
me", to provide an alibi for himself. His performance of the
Sonatas & Partitas do show this. Today many a music-lover is in
the position to listen in a different manner to Enesco's legacy on
Continental and the Remington issues and reissues, different from
the way critic Cecil Smith did. Naturally collectors do cherish these
performances and may collect other original and rare recordings of
Georges Enesco as a violinist. He made many recordings of works by
various composers: Ambrosio, Bach, Beethoven, Chausson, Corelli, Haendel,
Kreisler, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Pugnani, Ravel, Schumann and also Wagner.
And he recorded works of his own.
Despite Enesco's failing health, his performances on the Gabor recordings
bring the music close to the listener. And the listener can go to
the heart of the score. Enesco's timing and phrasing are exceptional
and above all very natural. And even Enesco's technique still has
a remarkable ease and is never an obstacle for the full enjoyment
of these works. (See also George Mircea's review of the 2 CD set of
the Sonatas and Partitas on
J.S.
Bach Home Page.)
When checking
the 1942 and 1948 editions of The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia
of Recorded Music it is amazing that there is no recording of
a Sonata and/or Partita listed with Georges Enesco performing. And
Irving Kolodin does not mention the Continental recordings
in his "New Guide to Recorded Music" (New York, 1950). The
performances on whatever medium available today (and affordable!)
are the sole recordings of these works played by Enesco. The CD issue
of the Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1001-1003 (originally produced by
Don Gabor and released on his Continental label), were reviewed by
Pierre-E. Barbier in the French monthly Diapason of October
1989. He wrote:
"Certainly one can be astonished by the manifold liberties,
above all rhythmic, Enesco permitted himself, while nowadays
the text comes well before the spirit of this music. The violinist
Enesco proposed an astonishing mixture of virtuoso gypsy style
and severity, but possessed above all an incomparable sonority,
the imprint of an infallible melancholy and at the same time
a muted rudeness. This recording, historical because of the
resulting frequency band, permits finding the spirituality,
the haughty and generous freedom of this artist, whose eloquence
has never been equaled." -
Pierre-E. Barbier.
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There are other
recordings of the master. From about 1963 is Monitor 2049 with
Georges Enesco playing his Second Sonata accompanied by Dinu Lipatti
(originally recorded on 78 RPM shellac discs, very well transferred
to LP) together with Enesco's String Quartet No. 2 performed by the
Romanian Radio String Quartet (in a more modern recording technique).
It is an original Electrecord recording from Romania. That
same recording of the Second Sonata for Violin and Piano with Enesco
and Dinu Lipatti was originally released on Electrecord
ECD 61 in 1958.
On Electrecord FCD-95, a 10" LP from Rumania, Georges
Enesco and Dinu Lipatti perform Enesco's Sonata No. 3, coupled
with 'Pièce de concert pour alto et piano' played by Alexandru
Radulesco (alto) and Georges Enesco at the piano (also dubbings
from 78 RPM recordings).
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An
extremely rare set of 2x 78 rpm records on the Columbia label
contains the Sonata No. 4 in D major by Georg Friedrich Handel
performed by Georges Enesco accompanied by pianist Stanford
Schlussel, recorded in 1929 in New York. Columbia 50187-D
and Columbia 50188-D electrical recording.
(Images courtesy Takeshi Miura.)
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Takeshi
Miura,
who owns this performance, says: "The impeccable simplicity
in his performance of the Handel Sonata No.4, together with La
Folia (Corelli) and Poème (Chausson), makes us forefeel
his performance of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas in the later stages."
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There is another
rare recording of Enesco and Chailley-Richez performing Beethoven's
Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 9, 'Kreutzer', made in 1952
and released in France on Columbia FC1058 in 1957.
Text written
by Rudolf A.Bruil.
Page first published on June 5th, 2002 and updated since.
Famous pianist
Lory Wallfisch, who formed a duo with her late husband, violinist/violist
Ernst Wallfisch, is President of the
George
Enescu Society of the United States, Inc. She is also "Iva
Dee Hiatt Professor Emeritus of Music", an honorary title of
the Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.
The year 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of the death of George Enesco.
On the occasion Mrs. Lory Wallfisch (also from Romania) wrote to me:
I have known
personally George Enescu (in Romania, then in Paris) as did
my late husband, the great violinist Ernst Wallfisch. We made
music with and for Enescu. In Paris we visited him several times
and once - at his own invitation - we witnessed one of his masterclasses,
at the home of Madame Yvonne Astruc, one of his former students.
Besides Ivry Gitlis, Arthur Grumiaux, he also taught Ida Handel
- great American violinist, still performing!
Of course, the relationship with Yehudi Menuhin is legendary...
Together with my husband, we ("Wallfisch Duo") participated
many, many times, in the Menuhin Music Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland.
In 1981, and on the occasion of Enescu's centennial birth-anniversary,
I performed an all-Enescu concert, at the invitation of Menuhin:
3rd piano & violin sonata, 2nd piano quartet, and the string
octet (great reviews in the Swiss newspapers!).
The last time we visited Enescu in Paris, was in January 1955;
he was already bedridden.
I have recently returned from a European trip which took me
first to Berlin ("Berlin-Enescu Days"), lecturing
and performing Enescu. For the same purpose, I went also to
the "Yehudy Menuhin School" in Surrey, England, and
to the "International Menuhin Music Academy" in Switzerland.
All in connection with the observance of 50 years since Enescu's
death (1955).
- Lory Wallfisch
- December 7th, 2005
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Original text written by Rudolf A. Bruil. Page first published June
5th, 2002.
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