Written by Anna Vorhes

Born
August 19, 1881, Liveni (now renamed Enescu), Russia

Died
May 4, 1955, Paris, France

Duration
11 minutes

Composed
1901

World Premiere
The two Romanian Rhapsodies that form Opus 11 were premiered together in Bucharest on February 23, 1903, with the composer conducting.

Instrumentation
three flutes, one doubling piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, snare drum, castanets, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, two harps, strings

Something interesting to listen for
Enescu had an amazing sense of instrumentation along with his other myriad of talents.  He had mastered both the violin and the piano at a very young age.  When you listen to this Rhapsody you will hear his love for the emotion a large string section can evoke.  He uses the ability to create long phrases without pause to open this work.  This lovely string melody is supported by the rest of the orchestra through the opening section.  About four minutes into the work the strings subside, and the winds create an exotic conversation.  There are abundant solo passages highilighting the winds and allowing the brass the fanfares they excel at producing.  Listen especially at the end of the work.  We are suddenly in a completely new mood with a violin solo that evokes a folk dance.  One of the best descriptions of this music, albeit a little condescending toward listeners, was written for the Cincinnati Post in 1949 by Eleanor Bell reviewing Enescu's guest conducting appearance where he led his own Suite No. 2 in C-major and Second Romanian Rhapsody:

"Both of these works were ingeniously orchestrated so that there was never any doubt as to the intended mood, and the musical ideals were skillfully projected through the language by one who is by all standards more fluent than most.  Aside from their remarkable craftsmanship, however, both the Rhapsody and the Suite had flashes of humor and contrasting moments of pathos that were meant to be enjoyed by the least informed layman."

Program Notes

George Enescu was an eighteenth-century prodigy, building his career as a student in Vienna at the age of 7.  He continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, and between the two schools, his teachers and co-students are a who's who of the musical greats of the time.  The result produced a composer of stunning natural abilities honed to incredible skills.  During his lifetime he was an esteemed composer, conductor and performer, touring the world including much time in the United States.  He never lost his ties with his homeland Romania, spending summers there and enjoying the patronage of the royal family.  He founded a prize for Romanian composers in 1912.  He also founded a symphony orchestra and an opera company in his homeland.  During World War II he remained in Romania and turned his goals to recording.  He finally heft his homeland in 1949 and lived in exile the remainder of his life.  Despite his failing health he continued conducting and performing.  In the Grove Music Online entry about Enescu, written by Noel Malcolm and revised by Valentina Sandu-Dediu, Enescu's relationship with the music he performed by other composers and his own works is described:

"His humility towards the music of other composers was matched by modesty about his own works, and his career as a composer suffered from his dignified but damaging reluctance to engage in any form of self-promotion."

Enescu's Rhapsodies were popular with the public from the time they were premiered.  At the time the composer led the premier, he played the second Rhapsody first, followed by the more energetic Rhapsody No. 1.  He always presented them in this order if they wre both performed at the same event.

True to the nature of rhapsodies, these works give a sense of improvisation.  Program annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra Jean-Pascal Vachon explains the term rhapsody:

"The word "rhapsody" comes form the Greek rhapsodos, composed of the words "rhapstein" (to sew, to mend) and "odein" (to sing).  Thus, a "rhapsodie" was one who "sewed together" various songs and the most diverse epic narratives, and "patched together" disparate things.  To put it casually, a rhapsody is thus a musical patchwork."

The Romanian songs stitched into this work begin with a popular ballad Pe o stîncă neagră, într-run vechi castel (On a dark rock, in an old castle).  Other folk songs that loan their melodies to this work include Văleu, lupu mă mănîncăI Aiee, ("Oh my, the wolf is eating me here) and Sîrba lui Pompieru  (Sîrba of the Firemen).  Woven between Enescu's own music, these themes add to the sense of Romanian origin.  The rhythms and harmonies (neither clearly major or minor at times) make for a work that expresses a beloved culture offered in its best light by a young composer at the early stages of his career.