I recall auditioning Enescu several years ago, on the Naxos label if I
am not mistaken, and not liking what I heard.  At a recent CD sale, Arte
Nova had Enescu's Symphony 1-3 on three, very inexpensive CDs, with the
Bucharest PO under Cristian Mandeal, conducting.  What a difference in
either time or performance or both.

This is very lovely, romantic music from a time frame (1881-1955) when
many composers sought achromatic, non-melodic compositions the apogee
of the classical style.  Enescu isn't easy to pigeonhole as some lesser
composers are.  There's definitely a tint of Dvorak and Finzi, but more
lightness than the former and more dramatic than the latter.  There's the
breadth of a Bruckner, with none of Bruckner's heaviness.  There's a
playfulness like a Grieg, but with much more animation.  The phrase
"unbearable lightness of being" kept cropping into consciousness.

There's no mistaking Enescu for anything but a modern composer,
but while he's so very animated, he still gives pleasure by frequent
resolutions -- something I find essential to my enjoyment.  He's not very
often represented in the catalogues or in live performances, but he's
really a delight to listen to.  For under twelve dollars, one can own all
three symphonies on the Arte Nova label.  As the notes to one of the CDs
reads: "Enescu's most frequently used techniques, that of developing the
melodic material of the opening in the widest possible variety of ways."
For those unacquainted with Enescu, here's an inexpensive way to take him
for a test drive.

D. Stephen Heersink <[log in to unmask]>