Enescu symphonies from Ondine

[Alan Howe]

Ondine have announced the first release in a projected cycle of Enescu symphonies:
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Ondine/ODE11962
No sign of the Study Symphonies being included, more's the pity.

[Mark Thomas]

Ah, what a shame.

I had thought that Olympia had recorded, but not issued before their closure, the middle two Study Symphonies which weren't released. However, last week I was talking to someone in the classical recording industry who had recently attempted to track down in Romania and acquire the rights to the recordings of the unreleased pair of symphonies so that his company could now issue them. However, his contacts, which included Romanian Radio, were emphatic not only that the symphonies hadn't been recorded but also that the reason for this was that the scores and parts couldn't be found.

[eschiss1]

Oh. That -is- bad news -- I've only heard the D minor of the two of the student symphonies that were issued but recall it as memorable and good music - a quite good student work from a (in my opinion) (very) major composer; I hope the other two are found.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Oh. That -is- bad news -- I've only heard the D minor of the two of the student symphonies that were issued but recall it as memorable and good music - a quite good student work from a (in my opinion) (very) major composer; I hope the other two are found.

You are not alone... I received Noel Malcolm's Enescu study from Toccata Press the other day. Enescu is a fascinating but underrated composer (unsung is perhaps too strong a word?). I am certain to get those new Ondine recordings.

[eschiss1]

Well, until fairly recently there were no recordings (and then suddenly two!...) of e.g. his (admittedly unpublished, I think) piano quintet, etc. - hrm - Enescu study, hrm? At the very very least must go to local libraries here and seek that out... thank you.
And this new recording sounds like good news.
I forget- has any commercially recorded cycle so far included the Bentoiu completions of symphonies 4 and 5? Even more than the study symphonies I'd love to see those find a wider audience. Haven't listened to no.5 very often and no.4 maybe only once or twice and wouldn't argue strenuously that they were top-drawer Enescu (though I like them, especially the funeral march of no.5) but it would be good to have greater distribution of such works

(... or is that what "Featuring, -among others-" means? as in, 2, 1, 3, 4, 5? Or just among other works? (... hrm. Well, could still call for Isis in addition to Vox maris, which I do also like- and even among the orchestral works which he did complete there are those which don't get out of the house, I mean library, much...)

[Alan Howe]

The new Ondine CD can be auditioned here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/George-Enescu-1881-1955-Symphonie-Nr-2-op-17/hnum/2725160

[alberto]

The Study Symphonies n.1 and n.4 that some friends of the forum have on Olympia were originally recorded (1995 and 1993) by the Roumanian label Electrerecord. I have found them in an exhibition and bought at the cheap price of 6, 00 € each.
If someone is interested there is a website (http://www.electrerecord.ro) and a mail address (electrec@digi.ro.).