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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.

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.)
Enesco
on R-149-50.
Enesco's
own performance of his Sonata No. 2 with pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez
on R-149-42 (Varèse Sarabande VC 81048)
Enesco,
Lipatti and Radulesco on Electrecord.
Sonata
No. 2 and String Quartet No. 2 on Monitor
Sonata
No. 2 on Electrecord ECD61
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 page 61 of Radio France
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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Georges
Enesco around 1950 when he had recorded the Sonatas and Partitas
for Violin Solo by Bach for Don Gabor's label in New York.
(The well known photograph of Georges
Enesco, but this time taken from taken from the listings on the
back of an original Remington cover, edited and restored.)
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To
most people Georges Enesco is known for his two Romanian Rhapsodies
(No. 1 composed at the age of 20 and No. 2 one year later in 1902).
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 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 violin and piano (3), Octuor
for Strings, Dixtuor for Wind Instruments, and a Chamber
symphony. And he composed an opera: 'Oedip' (Oedipe, Oidipous)
on a libretto by Edmond Fleg.
Oedip
was premiered on March 13, 1936, 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
compositions for orchestra, Oedipe can be considered as the man's
pinnacle of the expression of ideas, of drama, of humanity, despite
the fact that Enesco can not be categorized as a protagonist of a
specific style or school. For that he was too indiviualistic and his
music has a very personal character. Specifically his chamber music
often has a gloomy character and is not easily accessable.
The variety in his oeuvre shows that the man was a many faceted artist
and that it is difficult to grasp the complexity of the personality
of a hard working man who divided his energy between conducting, teaching,
performing as a soloist, and composing.
Georges
Enesco was born on August 19, 1881 in Liverni-Virnay a small town
in the district of Dorhoiû, in the very north of Romania, close to
the Russian border. At the age of nine he went to Vienna to study
the violin. There his violin teacher was Joseph Hellmesberger Jr.
He also studied composition and harmony with Robert Fuchs. As a youngster,
only 14 years of age, he went to Paris to study at the 'Conservatoire
National' with Jules Massenet, André Gédalge,
Gabriel Fauré and Armand Marsieck, and won first prize
in 1899.
During
World War I he 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, 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 conducted the Paris
Symphony Orchestra and the 'Orchestre de l'association des concerts
Colonne' (he also conducted in other European countries, and again
in North America where he conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
in the 1936-37 season).
Enesco
taught both in Romania and in France. His most famous pupil was Yehudi
Menuhin.
Enesco: "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 by His Master's Voice (D.B.1718/19) and also
issued on Victor (VM 932) and was later dubbed to Lp (Victor LCT
1020).
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Together
they played Bach's Concerto for Two Violins with Pierre Monteux
conducting, and Menuhin performed Dvorak's Violin Concerto
with Enesco conducting the 'Orchestre symphonique de Paris'. With
"l'Orchestre des concerts Colonne' they recorded Lalo's Symphony
Espagnol. Again with the Paris Symphony Mozart's Violin Concertos
Nos. 3 and 7, and Ottokar Novacek's Perpetuum Mobilé
were recorded.
With Enesco at the piano Menuhin recorded Paganini's 'Tremolo'
(Caprice No. 6).

Georges
Enesco and young Yehudi Menuhin.
(Photo
taken from an old Dutch encyclopedia.)
During
World War II the maestro stayed in Romania.
In 1946 he conducted Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in the Great
Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. This live performance was released
on Melodiya M10-49209004. He returned to Paris in that same year.
In 1947 he gave a noteworthy performance of the 3 Sonatas and 3
Partitas for Violin Solo by Johann Sebastian Bach. From
1948 until 1950 he taught at the Mannes Music School in New York and,
for a short period, joined the faculty of the University of Illinois.
It was during this stay that - on the instigation of violinist Helen
Airoff, also a pupil of his - he recorded Bach's Sonatas and
Partitas for Violin Solo for Don Gabor's Continental label.
Although the tape recorder had been introduced as an important recording
medium, the Sonatas & Partitas were recorded on acetates.
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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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On
January 21st, 1950, Georges Enesco gave a farewell-concert
in New York, performing as a violinist, as a pianist and as a conductor.
He returned to Paris. His health did not allow him to play the violin
any longer. He still could conduct from time to time and it was in
those years that he recorded the Concertos for Clavier of Johann Sebastian
Bach for Decca, with Céliny Chailley-Richez as principal pianist:
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 consult 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
FrenchConcerteum
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 also recorded J.S. Bach's Concertos for Clavier and Orchestra
for French Decca.
Enesco's
Remington recordings:
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. 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. 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 complete set of the Sonatas and Partitas
were also released in a box, but on three records. Needless to say
that this box is much sought after.
The Sonatas
and Partitas for Violin Solo recorded in 1948/1949 in New York
were originally released by Don Gabor on his Continental label - Continental
CLP 104/5/6.
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Images
of the 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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From Japan there is the
look alike reissue of the3 Lp Box with the same reference numbers
CLP 104/105/106. The red velvet covered box is smaller in width
and the labels are differently styled. The sound is clean, but the
sound of valve amplifiers is missing and the violin lacks somewhat
of the analogous sound character of the old recordings. The records
are of the 180 gr. quality. (Note: It is possible that a set is encountered
of which the vinyl is rather vulnerable because of the chosen type.
As with so many modern reissues the vinyl is of a different recipe
and in some instances the "new" vinyl may not have been
heated enough, through and through, because of the mass of vinyl which
has to be pressed between the plates. One wonders why not the same
type of vinyl was chosen as used by Philips, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon
or Nippon Columbia in the nineteen seventies and eighties.)


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 as so often
is the case nowadays when very old and historic analog recordings
are transferred into the digital domain and cleaned up too drastically.
For the Olympic/Everest reissue the acetates were used as is apparent
from the rumble and the slightly discernible surface noise which was
filtered out to the maximum. The liner notes rightfully say: "This
recording was made before the advent of modern tape technology."
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.
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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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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."
Many a music-lover does certainly listen in a different manner to
Enesco's legacy on Continental and the Remington reissues then critic
Cecil Smith did. Enesco certainly did play the Sonatas and Partitas
in a technically precise way, but surely always with the same intensity
which transcendents the listener. Naturally collectors do cherish
these performances and 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 Koloding does not
mention the Continental recordings in his "New Guide to Recorded
Music" (New York, 1950). These performances on whatever medium
available (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 montly 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."
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But 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
Rumanian Radio String Quartet (in a more modern recording technique).
It is an original Electrecord recording from Rumania.
That same recording of the Second Sonata for Violin and Piano with
Enesco and Lipatti was originally released on Electrecord ECD 61
in 1958.
On Electrecord FCD-95, a 10" Lp from Roumania, Georges
Enesco and Dinu Lipatti perform Enesco's Sonata No. 3, coupled with
'Pièce de concert pour alto et piano' played by Alexandru Radvlesco
(alto) and Georges Enesco at the piano (dubbings from 78 RPM recordings).
There is a rare recording of Enesco and Chailley-Richez performing
Beethoven's Sonata for Piano and Violin Nr. 9, 'Kreutzer', made in
1952 and released in France on Columbia FC1058 in 1957.
R.A.B. August
17, 2002
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 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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Text written by Rudolf A. Bruil.
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