George Enescu: Symphonies 1-3
4865505 (Deutsche Grammophon, CD, 3 discs)
FIRST RELEASE (12 April 2024)
Playing time: 55'41"/56'04"/50'39" - TT 162'24"
Tracks: 12
Booklet pages: 10
℗ 2024 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH
© 2024 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH
Main country of recording: France
Country of manufacture: European Union
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of George Enescu: Symphonies 1-3 published on 23 April 2024
Chœur de Radio France (CD3 track 3)
Lionel Sow, chorus master (CD3 track 3)
Orchestre National de France
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
George Enescu:
CD1
1 Romanian Rhapsody No 1 in A, Op 11 No 1 (1901)
2 Romanian Rhapsody No 2 in D, Op 11 No 2 (1901)
Symphony No 1 in E flat, Op 13 (completed 1905)
3 Assez vif et rythmé
4 Lent
5 Vif et vigoureux
CD2
Symphony No 2 in A, Op 17 (1912-14)
1 Vivace, ma non troppo
2 Andante giusto
3 Un poco lento, marziale –
4 Allegro vivace, marziale
CD3
Symphony No 3 in C, Op 21 (1916-18 but revised later)
1 Moderato, un poco maestoso
2 Vivace, ma non troppo
3 Lento, ma non troppo
Recorded in Paris, where the Romanian-born Enescu moved in his early teens, this collection including Enescu's well-known pair of Romanian Rhapsodies (1901) and the composer's three, rarely-performed completed symphonies will be released digitally and as a three-CD set. Celebrated as a national hero in his native Romania but not widely recognized elsewhere since his death in 1955, George Enescu was not only a virtuoso violinist and pianist, but a prodigiously talented composer, conductor and teacher. (Yehudi Menuhin was among his pupils.) As appreciation grows for Enescu's music, Măcelaru poses: 'The five compositions presented here offer perfect examples of the artistic development of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. From the youthful brilliance of the Romanian Rhapsody No 1 to the profound, ethereal, philosophical ending of the Third Symphony, one can discover and relive the journey of this great genius, and my personal hero, George Enescu.'
Recorded in September 2022 (Symphony No 1, Romanian Rhapsody No 2), June 2023 (Symphony No 2 and Romanian Rhapsody No 1) and July 2023 (Symphony No 3) in the Auditorium de Radio France, Paris, France.