1ST ROMANIAN RHAPSODY Opus 11 No. 1

The two Romanian Rhapsodies, Op. 11, are Enesco’s best-known compositions. They were written in 1901, and first performed together in 1903. The two rhapsodies, and particularly the first, have long held a permanent place in the repertory of every major orchestra. They employ elements of lăutărească music, vivid Romanian rhythms, and an air of spontaneity. They exhibit exotic modal coloring, with some scales having ‘mobile’ thirds, sixths or sevenths, creating a shifting major/minor atmosphere, one of the characteristics of Romanian folk music. The two Romanian Rhapsodies were composed in Paris, and premiered together in a concert at the Romanian Athanaeum in Bucharest on 8 March 1903 (Gregorian calendar), with the composer conducting. The Second Rhapsody was played first, and Enesco maintained this order of performance throughout his life.

The Rhapsody No. 1 in A major is dedicated to the composer and pedagogue Bernard Crocé-Spinelli (a fellow student with Enescu in André Gedalge’s counterpoint class at the Conservatoire), and is the better known of the two rhapsodies. The essence of this rhapsody is the dance. Enescu claimed that it was "just a few tunes thrown together without thinking about it", but his surviving sketches show that he carefully worked out the order in which the melodies should appear, and the best instrumental setting for each one. It was completed on 14 August 1901, when Enescu was still only 19 years old!

Georges Enesco’s 1st Romanian Rhapsody is now presented for wind band in a complete transcription which is in no way simplified or truncated. As is the case with many compositions that have made the transition from orchestra to band, the key has been changed – A Major for orchestra becomes B-flat Major for wind band. The process of transposition is to be found very frequently in wind band arrangements, often at the hand or at the suggestion of the composer himself (see Gustav Holst’s "Hammersmith" or any of Percy Grainger’s wind works). The exotic colors of Enesco’s orchestration are preserved, making complete instrumentation important to the successful presentation of this music. In particular, the presence of the English Horn is important and the harp highly desirable.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This composition was created with the help of a contribution from the Music Investment Fund, an initiative of Buma/Stemra in cooperation with Voi©e, the Copyright Interests Federation and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands.