"[...] The modernist era charged Enescu with stylistic ambiguity, a perception that persists to this day. After his Romanian Poem op. 1, which he wrote in 1897 at the age of 15, and both 'Romanian rhapsodies, op. 11' (1901 and 1902), Enescu was known as a virtuoso violinist and an author of bright, charming compositions with a tinge of Bessarabia. As early as 1900, while, at the age of 19, he was working on the 'Octet, op. 7', Enescu faced the aloofness of the public. It wasn't until nearly four decades later that he was acclaimed as a composer, when experts first recognized as a revelation the mythic opera 'Oedipus, op. 23' (1936). Between the rhapsodies and 'Oedipus', Enescu created three symphonies, a poem, suites, compositions for orchestra and solo instruments, and passionate, irresistibly pictorial chamber music, under which are laid an instrumental mosaic and a flutter of imagination. The conception of each of these pieces seems unmatched.
"'Something trembles in my heart, without interruption, either day or night,' confessed the composer. The instrumental 'technique of trembling' was noted in fact by attentive critics of 'Oedipus.' It is very much present in the orchestral version of the 'Octet, op. 7' and in the 'Quintet, op. 29' heard on this disc, as well as in that opera. The Octet finale is woven with thumping vitality. Its monotonous motion is both staggeringly malleable and truly magical, which Enescu acutely and astutely felt as early as the dawn of the 20th century.
"Already in the first bars of the early Octet, one may discern the special 'inside-out,' mirror-like concept of Enescu's method of composing. In this system the main theme acts as a condenser, the point 'not of departure, but of conclusion.' In the later Quintet, a distant relative of both late Scriabin and mature Ravel (and at moments Prokofiev), this concept of musical movement reveals a new facet: a spontaneous and associative methodology that simultaneously deciphers and obscures the original theme. But in the finale, one discovers a striking, extremely expressive highly emotional condensing of what at first seemed just elegant play. Later Enescu would become more sophisticated, philosophical and dramatic. The modal pace of his heterophony became more inventive and similar to the steps of a ropewalker. In the ever more extensive instrumental palette, the boundaries between light and dark became less evident, as did the distinctions of form. Characteristic shades of Romanian folkloric instrumentation tread more softly and cautiously. Now only an attentive listener will notice them, in areas such as the piano part in the Quintet's 'Andante sostenuto e cantabile.' Nevertheless, his music still breathes bits of emotional substance, from hidden passion to introverted sorrow, and a sincere and wonderful solemnity.
"Enescu shares much with those whose fate led them outside of the artistic mainstream. On the surface, his fate is similar to that of French writer Joris Karl Huysmans or Russian painter Natalia Goncharova: he knew both fame and oblivion; he signed no manifestos and belonged to no particular school; he was plagued by false interpretations and the status of both forerunner and imitator simultaneously; his novelty was subtle yet obstinate; his tenderness, flexibility, luminosity and individuality are all singular, intimately rooted in culture. For the Kremerata Baltica and Gidon Kremer — whose artistic strategy is marked by both a unique understanding of well-known repertoire and also a particular, sensitive and delicate tuning to unconventional material — joined here on the Quintet by Lithuanian-born Andrius Zlabys, one of the most gifted Baltic pianists of today, George Enescu's music is a precious discovery: splendid, mysteriously multi-dimensional and utterly thrilling." (Julia Bederova, tr. Elisabeth Konovalova. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Kremerata Baltica, Gidon Kremer, Andrius Zlabys
1. Octet, Op. 7: I. Très Modéré
2. Octet, Op. 7: II. Très Fougueux
3. Octet, Op. 7: III. Lentement
4. Octet, Op. 7: IV. Moins Vite, Animé, Mouvement De Valse Bien Rythmée
5. Quintet, Op. 29: I. Con Moto Molto Moderato –
6. Quintet, Op. 29: I. Andante Sostenuto E Cantabile
7. Quintet, Op. 29: II. Vivace, Ma Non Troppo –
8. Quintet, Op. 29: II. A Tempo, Un Poco Più Animato
