George Enescu as seen by fellow musicians
Some of the world’s greatest musicians talk about their connection to Romanian composer George Enescu and his lasting musical legacy.
Cristina Mateescu, 19.09.2025, 14:00
George Enescu, who died 70 years ago, is Romania’s most celebrated composer and musician. A child prodigy, he was the youngest person to be admitted to the Vienna Conservatory, aged 7. He enjoyed a brilliant international career as a violinist, but he was also a prolific composer and, last but not least, a very gifted teacher.
A festival in his honour and bearing his name has been held in Romania on and off since 1958, three years after Enescu passed away in Paris, where he had been living since 1947. Many of the top musicians who attended the festival in its early years knew Enescu themselves, having studied or worked with him.
In this episode, we’ll be hearing from the likes of Arthur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Julius Katchen, Ivry Gitlis and Leopold Stokowski speaking about their connection with Enescu and his music in historical recordings from Radio Romania’s archives.
