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sai-national.org • SPRING 2017 • PAN PIPES 21 years before; at the time, she was married to an aristocrat, Prince Mihail G. Cantacuzino. Located through another doorway in this residence are the contrasting bedrooms of the couple. Hers was large with a double bed and yellow velvet- chairs. However, typical of Enescu's modest character, his was small, somewhat like a monk's cell, though there were colorful Turkish fabrics covering the wall and the small, narrow bed. Beside it was a black trunk (dated 1719) that once held his music. Glass cases in two rooms upstairs display a variety of interesting objects, including concert programs and posters, photographs, a list of musical accomplishments, as well as his early and later scores. On the veranda with its lovely view of the majestic surroundings, the couple oen enjoyed aernoon tea or coffee. Enescu lost more than his savings when the Romanian economy collapsed during World War I. At that time, a crate of his music manuscripts (which had been sent to London for safekeeping) disappeared in Moscow. Seven years later, Maestro Bruno Walter intervened, and the Kremlin returned the missing scores to the composer. Enescu exiled himself and moved with his wife to Paris in 1946 aer World War II because he cherished and preferred his freedom, even if that simpler life meant hardship. e Communists confiscated everything — his money and extensive property. Considering these circumstances, it really is amazing that there are any—much less 800—of his objects still in Romania. Some are displayed at the second museum I visited in Bucharest, Enescu Museum in the Cantacuzino Palace, the large Art Nouveau mansion his wife had inherited. He preferred living in her smaller house in the rear courtyard. e sparsely furnished rooms in this house have been preserved exactly as when the Enescus occupied them. When I was there, the background music was a recording of Enescu himself playing the violin. Included in the collection in the bigger and more lavish house are: the marked first score of Romanian Rhapsody from Paris; photos of musical colleagues; his cadenza for a Mozart violin concerto; his composing pens; an RCA recording of the Bach Double performed by him and Menuhin, with Pierre Monteux conducting; not only a solo program from Harvard on March 28, 1930, but other programs with legendary concert artists (such as pianist Alfred Cortot, violinist David Oistrakh, and cellist Pablo Casals) or composers (such as Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Aram Khachaturian). For a period during 1937-1938, Enescu conducted the New York Philharmonic. In spite of the fact that he personally cut ties with Romania, the Communists still honored him. His village birthplace has been renamed in his honor; a symphony orchestra, a festival, and an international airport all bear the name George Enescu. And on the plastic Romanian five-lei bill is his portrait along with a see-through musical note. A very nice souvenir for musician friends! I wish I had been in New York on January 21, 1950, to attend his farewell concert with the New York Philharmonic. In his four-faceted performance, marking 60 years since his violin debut, he appeared as violinist, composer, conductor, and pianist. And his pupil Menuhin was onstage with him. When Enescu was asked which of his talents he cherished most, he said, "What I value is the gi of composing and no mortal being can enjoy a greater happiness than this." Visitors must don plastic booties to cover shoes in these two museums. Neither museum is high tech or has a fancy gi shop. However, both give you a feeling for the composer's life there. ey certainly inspired me to read George Enescu: His Life and Music (Toccata Press, 1990), the biography by Noel Malcolm with a preface by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. A WORLD OF MUSIC FOR MORE INFORMATION visit georgeenescu.ro/en A portrait of the composer.

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