George Enescu

The Romanian composer George Enescu ([881-1955] is one of the neglected giants of the twentieth century. Prodigiously gifted he became best known in America as a conductor [where he was considered as a successor to Toscanini in New York] and in Europe as one of the greatest violinists of the century. But he was first and foremost a composer; and tragically his mature works - works of extraordinary emotional depth and intricate beauty - remain almost unknown outside Romania. This the first full-length study of Enescu and his music to be written in the West tells the story of his life and development as a composer. All of Enescu's published compositions and many unpublished works are discussed and there is a detailed list of Enescu's compositions and a list of all his known recordings as conductor violinist and pianist. The book is intended for the non-specialist reader as well as the musicologist. NOEL MALCOLM the historian philosopher and journalist is the leading authority on Enescu.