GEORGE ENESCU composed his Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 (1905) at the age of 24. By this time Enescu had already become a well-known and established violinist. His first works were already well known, including the Concerto Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 8. Enescu had four more symphonies before the First, school symphonies in their essence, completed before 1898. All these, as well as the Symphony No. 1 of 1905, are influenced by Enescu’s period of study in Vienna, where he followed in the tradition of Brahms and studied with Robert Fuchs. The latter is famous for educating a plethora of remarkable pupils, including Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Jan Sibelius, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Erich Korngold and Robert Lach. Enescu subsequently went on to study with Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré in Paris.

As a result of German and French influences, Enescu created a symphony in relation to which we can draw parallels and comparisons. The usual scherzo is missing. The choice of tonality in the first movement refers to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, in terms of drama and scope it is also comparable to them, yet for the movement titles Enescu has chosen French terminology. The second movement is remarkable for its French-inspired music and its combination of instruments of varying blend: bass clarinet, English horn, trumpets, two harps, unorthodox use of timpani. The third movement is surprisingly episodic and brief when compared with the classical-romantic tradition of the symphonic cycle and its dramaturgical logic.

After this symphony, Enescu composed two more complete symphonies, the last featuring chorus and solo piano, as well as two unfinished ones. His Symphony No. 1, however, is the most highly acclaimed and publicly popular.