Search - Enescu, Anghelescu, Romanian Nat'l Radio Orch :: Complete Orchestral Works 6

The beginning & the end

chefdevergue | Spokane, WA United States | 10/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD features Enescu's first orchestral work & his last, which is perhaps his greatest masterpiece. The symphonic poem, Vox Maris, was written between 1929 & 1950 and did not receive its premier until after Enescu's death. It is a work of marvelous orchestral color & depth, but Olympia has to be faulted severely for not including the vocal text in its liner notes!The other pieces are Enescu's Study Symphony #1 & the Ballade for violin & orchestra, both written in 1895 when Enescu was 14. Both works show a young composer who is already a master of orchestration but is still in the process of finding his own voice. In the symphony, one finds the influences of the Russian school, Brahms & Dvorak. These pieces, while very pleasing, do not especially foreshadow the great works that are yet to flow from Enescu's pen.With this CD, apparently, the Olympia collection of Enescu's works abruptly ends. There have been no new Enescu CDs since 1995, and in fact they are no longer even found in Olympia's current catalogue. There are other Enescu orchestral works waiting to be recorded, but evidently (to my frustration) Olympia has no plans to proceed with this project. This really is unfortunate."