Remus Azoitei – violin
Eduard Stan – piano

Haenssler Verlag, January 2007, Compact Disc 098.239.000
Available from www.haenssler-classic.de for EUR 18.95 + p&p

You can also order the CD from the Romanian Cultural Centre in London for £14 (p&p included, UK only). Please send a cheque made out to ‘The Romanian Cultural Centre’ at the following address: Romanian Cultural Centre, 54-62 Regent Street, London W1B 5RE; The CD will be sent to the address provided by you, using Royal Mail 1st class services. Please allow a maximum of 21 days from the receipt of the cheque for the processing of the order.

George Enescu

George Enescu (1881-1955), far from being only Romania’s most important composer, is one of the most colourful musical personalities of the twentieth century. A real Citizen of the world motivated by humanistic ideas and a patriot at the same time, he was born in the North-East of his native country but educated in Vienna and Paris, where his extraordinary talent already became apparent at a young age Pablo Casals considered him “the greatest music phenomenon since Mozart”, and the Viennese press enthused about the “little Romanian Mozart”, who was admitted to the Viennese Conservatory at the tender age of seven.

Enescu’s genius unites a great composer, an inspiring conductor (he was offered the position as Toscanini’s successor in New York), one of the most prominent violinists of his time, a highly esteemed pianist (whose piano technique Alfred Cortot envied), a caricaturist who wielded a formidable pen and a selfless supporter of young colleagues.

His pupil Yehudi Menuhin said in a reverent judgement that “Enescu was for me the most extraordinary human being, the greatest musician and the most formative influence I have ever experienced”.

Enescu’s legacy for violin and piano fills two CDs besides five larger works including three Sonatas, a prodigious Sonata Movement and the ‘Impressions d’enfance’, there are also a few shorter ones, two of which have been recorded for the first time in this world premiere recording and can be compared in terms of volume with that of Bartok.

No other composer since Beethoven has left behind a comparably significant oeuvre in this genre, in spite of the fact that the golden age of the violin sonata was already long past. Hence the question arises as to why, until now, there has hitherto been no complete recording of these works, a fact which can not be due to the quality of the compositions, because they are obviously the work of a master.

The problem which has contributed to this music being so little known has been aptly described by the composer and Enescu expert Pascal Bentoiu: “In brief, Enescu’s music demands from his listeners as well as from his performers a loving approach, true devotion, a profession of faith, as it were. However, once you have pierced through its hard shell, the fruit at its core turns out to be incomparably sweet.”

Enescu worked on the violin / piano genre for more than fifty years. Leaving aside a few minor attempts at composition in early childhood (as far as manuscripts are concerned, it is difficult to build a definitive list of works), our complete recording includes all Enescu works for violin and piano in existence.

The selection of this first CD offers an exemplary overview: op. 6 pieces written in 1899 and representing Enescu’s first stroke of genius, the so-called ‘Torso Sonata’ dated 1911, and the ‘Impressions d’enfance’ of 1940 with its seemingly modern style, a work which brings the programme of major compositions to an end.

Remus Azoitei, violin

Romanian-born violinist Remus Azoitei has achieved international acclaim since his concert debut at the age of eight. Hailed as “an uninhibited virtuoso, with soul and fabulous technique” by The Strad, he has performed in Europe, North America, Japan and New Zealand, appearing in festivals in London, Munich, Yokosuka, Santander, Cambridge and Bucharest. His performance of the Bach Double concerto with Nigel Kennedy in 2005 was broadcast on 19 stations across Europe and North America, including Arte and Mezzo. After his London Wigmore Hall debut, the Sunday Express wrote that “he delivered a memorable programme in front of a packed Wigmore Hall, and had the crowd cheering. He is one fine musician.” Over the years, he has worked with such artists as Gerard Causse, David Geringas, Adrian Brendel and Gabriel Chmura.

Remus is a top prize-winner of the George Enescu, Weimar, Jeunesses Musicales and Michael Hill World violin competitions. His teachers included Dorothy DeLay, ltzhak Perlman and Masao Kawasaki at the Juilliard School, as well as Maurice Hasson at the Royal Academy of Music. He also studied with Daniel Podlovsky at the Bucharest Academy.

In 2005, Remus received ‘The Cultural Order’ from the Romanian President. He was appointed violin professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2002, becoming the youngest ever violin professor in the history of this institution.

On this CD, Remus is playing a 1718 Antonio Stradivarius violin, the Maurin, from the Royal Academy of Music collection.

Eduard Stan, piano

Hailed as an “enormously sensitive pianist with an extraordinary flexible culture of touch, perfect technique as well as a great understanding of music” (Weserkurier), Romanian-born Eduard Stan has received international acclaim after emigrating to Germany in 1978. He has performed across Europe and the US , including major concerts at the Berlin Philarmonie, Musikhalle Hamburg , Salt Lake City Temple Square and PUC California.

After KarI-Heinz Kammerling noticed his talent, it was Arie Vardi who became Eduard’s main mentor at the Academy of Music and Drama in Hanover, where he obtained his Master’s Degree. Praised by Vardi as “a successful combination of a Romanian soul with musical sensitivity grown on German spiritual ground”, he also benefited from the advice of Herbert Blomstedt, Matthias Goerne, Karl Engel and Paul Badura-Skoda. A top prize-winner of international competitions, Eduard has appeared at festivals including Massenet (France), Mid-Europe (The Czech Republic) and Brunswick Classicx. Featured soloist with orchestras in Germany, Austria, Italy and Romania, he played under baton of Shinya Ozaki, Lutz Kohler, George Balan and others. His critically acclaimed CDs for Haenssler range from Bach to Debussy.

Eduard Stan has taught at the Lubeck Academy of Music since 2000. As the founder and artistic director of the Enescu Festival Heidelberg / Mannheim, he was awarded in 2005 the Enescu Medal from the Romanian Culture Institute for his merits as a promoter of Enescu’s music.

(Essay from the booklet accompanying the CD)

The Ratiu Foundation UK contributed to the publication of this CD. The main objective of the Foundation is to promote and support projects which further education and research in the culture and history of Romania. Details on www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com