LDV97

DAVID GRIMAL ∙ LES DISSONANCES 15 So there are several faces to his music? Yes, in my view there are two principal aspects: on the one hand, folk music, and on the other hand the transformation of that material by means of a language that draws on numerous compositional techniques as a result of his studies in France. His works, which are sometimes extremely dense and complex, require a genuine effort from both audience and performers, who have an obligation to play them in a clear and legible manner. Enescu sometimes gets carried away by the intoxication of his own compositions and the performers must be able to identify their priorities among the musical information or risk drowning in it! That was what Nadia Boulanger said about the First Violin Sonata. She felt that when played by poor musicians, it sounded like music with too many notes, whereas if ‘one knows how to extract the essential line from the somewhat overloaded infinity of voices and nuances (and for this one must be creative), then the sonata becomes more lucid’. Boulanger expresses the central issue of Enescu’s music very clearly. It requires generosity, lyricism, but also a high degree of transparency. His music is at once sensual and intellectual. One needs to be precise and elliptical at the same time, to grasp the details yet not get lost in them, to be attentive to the letter without ever letting the spirit elude one.