GEORGE ENESCU IN WARTIME IAȘI, 1916−1919
GEORGE ENESCU IN WARTIME IAȘI, 1916−1919

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines in detail the activities of George Enescu is Iași during World War I, between 1916 and 1919. With Romania’s entry into the war in 1916, George Enescu travelled hundreds of kilometres to all parts of his native Moldova at his own expense to share the therapeutic impact of music on soldiers and civilians alike. He declared “I have often noticed how great an uplifting of the spirit could be seen in the faces of the wounded after the first few notes. This transformation of the soul is the supreme raison-d’être of music. If it did not have this wonderful effect of calming and purifying the human spirit, music would just be a meaningless sequence of sounds.” He also concertized in Russia and Basarabia, organized a full-blown orchestra in Iași, and laying the foundations for the post-war Romanian musical life. At the same time he was busy composing, most notably his Third Symphony in C Major. The war, in the end, was a microcosm of Enescu’s life and travail. It brought financial ruin, interrupted the trajectory of his musical career, and involved considerable personal, psychological, and material hardships. On the other hand, his work for the Red Cross and as a musician/composer during the darkest days of the war can only be described as heroic and inspiring.

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