CHAUSSON: POEME / RAVEL: TZIGANE / ENESCU: CAPRICELES DISSONANCES / GRIMAL,DAVID

George Enescu was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary musicians I have met in my life, along with Béla Bartók.

‘These words were spoken by Lord Yehudi Menuhin outside his cabin door on the Mermoz when I met him more than twenty- five years ago. I remember that, at the mention of George Enescu’s name, Menuhin seemed almost like the child prodigy he had been more than seventy years before. His eyes lit up with admiration and gratitude for the man who had been his mentor. For Enescu was like a shooting star, traversing the century in a constant voyage between his Romanian roots and France, his adopted country. A classmate of Ravel’s in the counterpoint class at the Paris Conservatoire and an ardent advocate of Chausson’s Poème, Enescu is the very symbol of the musician as humanist.’ – David Grimal

The Caprice roumain, completed by Cornel Tåranu, is probably his least-known masterpiece, a work unique in the history of the violin concerto. On this disc, it is flanked by Ravel’s Tzigane and Chausson’s Poème, providing a rounded portrait of the close cultural relationship between France and Romania.

ERNEST CHAUSSON (1855-1899)


Poem for violin and orchestra op.25 15’23


MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)


Tzigane, Concert Rhapsody for violin and orchestra 10’09


GEORGE ENESCU (1881-1955) – ROMANIAN CAPRICE FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA


Ben moderato 13’21
Tempo di Hora 4’07
Lento 6’15
Allegro molto 4’47