Impressions d'enfance

Impressions d'enfance
Chamber music by George Enescu
George Enescu in 1930
Opus	28
Form	Suite
Composed	1940 (1940)
Dedication	Eduard Caudella
Performed	22 February 1942 (1942-02-22) Bucharest
Movements	10
Scoring	violin piano

The Impressions d'enfance (Childhood Impressions), Op. 28, is a suite for violin and piano written by George Enescu and completed on 10 April 1940. The score is dedicated to the memory of Eduard Caudella, the composer's first violin teacher.

History and music

Enescu's works for violin and piano with opus numbers are limited to three Sonatas and this suite, which came last. The chronology of the pieces covers the course of a day (day, night, and the following morning). The music is strongly influenced by Romanian folklore.

The first performance took place in Bucharest on 22 February 1942 with the composer on violin and Dinu Lipatti on piano. The same performers recorded it in 1943 for the Romanian Radio, but the 78 rpm masters appear to have been lost.

The suite is composed of 10 pieces, a performance lasting around 20 minutes.

• "Ménétrier" (The Country Fiddler)
• "Vieux mendiant" (The Old beggar)
• "Ruisselet au fond du jardin" (The Brook at the bottom of the garden)
• "L'Oiseau en cage et le coucou au mur" (The Bird in the Cage and the Cuckoo on the Wall)
• "Chanson pour bercer" (Lullaby)
• "Grillon" (The Cricket)
• "Lune à travers les vitres" (The Moon Shining through the Windows)
• "Vent dans la cheminée" (Wind in the Chimney)
• "Tempête au dehors, dans la nuit" (Storm Outside in the night)
• "Lever de soleil" (Sunrise)

There are pauses only between nos. 1 and 2, and between nos. 3 and 4. All the other movements are connected.

The score is published by Durand-Salabert-Eschig.

References

Cited sources

• Bentoiu, Pascal. 2010. Masterworks of George Enescu: A Detailed Analysis, translated by Lory Wallfisch. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7665-1 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-8108-7690-3 (ebook).
• Firca, Clemansa, and Ștefan Niculescu. 1971. "Sinteze și perspective: Anii celui de-al doilea război mondial (1939–1944)". In George Enescu: Monografie, 2 vols., edited by Mircea Voicana, 925–1016. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România.
• Malcolm, Noel. 1990. George Enescu: His Life and Music, with a preface by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. London: Toccata Press. ISBN 0-907689-32-9.

Further reading

• Gustavsson, Marka. 2005. "Compositional Idiom in Two of the Late Violin and Piano Works of George Enescu". DMA diss. New York: City University of New York.
• Renard, Stanislas. 2012. "The Contribution of the Laŭtari to the Compositions of George Enescu: Quotation and Assimilation of the Doina". DMA diss. Storrs: The University of Connecticut.

External links

• Discographie des Impressions d'enfance pour violon et piano, op. 28 (French)
• Impressions d'enfance: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project