JAVS Spring 2001

THE ROMANIAN NATIONALIST INFLUENCES ON THE VIOLA WORKS OF STAN GOLESTAN AND GEORGE ENESCU 43

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The Arioso et Allegro de Concert is a prime example of how explicit references to the folk ele ments of a country can be convincingly incorporated into art music. The synthesis of traditional form, dance structure, parlando, and instrumental improvisation gives this work an overall Romanian flavor, fulfilling the objective of Societatea Compozitorilor Romani. GEORGE ENESCU: CONCERTST0CK(l904-l906) Born in 1881 to Romanian parents at Liveni, George Enescu (1881-1955) began his musical life at the early age of four, when he began to play the violin by ear. He was trained in both Vienna and Paris, where he not only studied the violin, but excelled at composition as well. Although his stud ies took him far, his heart and soul remained in his native land, Romania. Poeme romain, the first of Enescu's compositions to gain recognition, was composed at age sixteen. His following pieces began to reflect the character of his homeland. Enescu wrote, "If we have something to say, let us say it in our own manner; if nothing, let us be silent." 8 It was through the influence of the folk music indigenous to his land that Enescu was able to speak in his "own manner." He wrote his major work for viola and piano, Concertstii.ck, in the spirit of the Societatea Compozitorilor Romani. Enescu's Concertstii.ck was written between 1904 and 1906 for the competition jury at the Paris Conservatoire, where he served on the jury panel from 1904-1910. It was dedicated to T. H. LaForge. Unlike Golestan's Arioso et Allegro de Concert, the Concertstii.ck was not conceived with as much explicit reference to the Romanian folk element. Enescu does, however, utilize the elements of parlando rubato as well as dance characteristics found in the folk tradition. The parlando element appears throughout the work, in both the piano and the viola part, with the opening reflecting the Doi'na song type. This theme reappears several times throughout the work (mm. 1-6, 34-43, 90-96, 133-148, 156-160, and 181-182) in different keys, and is at times slightly altered. It begins in the first measure with a series of step-wise quarter notes. The linear motion suggests that this section is meant to represent a vocal line. The folk element is reinforced by the use of the Mixolydian mode, which contains a lowered seventh scale degree, commonly used in Eastern European music.

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