Letters

Enescu:Dear Georgescu,This is what I got from professor Hajak (Targu Mures). He plays well and it would be a good policy to have him play one of the concertos he proposed with the Philharmonic.I did not mean to bother you with this matter, but he insists, as you can see. Something else. You heard about poor Alex Catargi. Perhaps it would be a pious gesture to conduct his symphony once, Chevillard did it in Paris during the war. You know that Catargi was honored to be represented at the opera in Monte Carlo, and he was very successful, too.I am also enclosing an application from Lechiari, former director of the Lechiari concerts in Paris, in Lille, and Marseille – do what you want with it.Sorry to bother you, but noblesse oblige…I tried in vain to find you before leaving Bucharest. Perhaps Prodan told you.I wish you all the strength you need and we need with all my heart, and I am shaking your hand in friendship.George Enescu Enescu:Dear Friend,I thought I was going back to Bucharest these days. But I will be late, so I have to write to you to ask you: I think you heard of Mrs. Ghibu, the wife of the professor in Cluj. She sings well, and her ardent desire is to sing "Die teuere Halle" and Elisabeth's prayer from Tannhaeuser in a symphonic concert. I believe she will be good for the theater later on. Something else: Lazare Levy, a professor teaching piano at the Paris Conservatory, formerly Mrs. Otescu's teacher, is coming to the Orient in end-November. Could you enlist him to? He is a remarkable musician.And, finally: Van Isterdael, a cello teacher in The Hague; they say he plays very beautifully. He would like to come, too.I guess Levy and Istardael will write to you directly. As for Mrs. Ghibu, please respond to me, so I can communicate your decision to her husband.Yours sincerely,George Enescu Casals:Dearest Friend,I am in a big rush, because I am leaving for New York today – my Oratorio will be performed on the 24^th at the United Nations. Thank you for your beautiful letter, which I have just received. I would be very happy if the circumstances allowed me to come to Bucharest to pay homage to our dear, great Enescu, together with you.I was extremely happy to see you again in London.All my best to you, dear friend, and to Romania.Yours, Pablo Casals
 

Richard Strauss, Garmisch, September 23, 1943:Dear Friend,I am coming today with a very impudent plea. But despair pushes one to disturb the friend that is the farthest away. Listen: in spring, because of a serious disease my wife had, from which she fully recovered, I had to go with her to Switzerland to a spa. In October I am due to take her home. Meanwhile, no gasoline is approved for private cars, so I have to take the train to Zurich – it has no sleeping car and therefore it places my health in jeopardy. Could you get me a little barrel with 200 liters of gas – which could come to me directly through the General Consulate in Vienna?On October 15 I was supposed to be on my way. If you cannot do it, please send me a short telegram: "Unfortunately impossible" or if you can "Done."If I can convert my little car to gas in Vienna in the meantime, I still need gasoline from here to Vienna, so I am in deep trouble. Can you help me and save my life?You will be rewarded with my deepest gratitude; please, give my hearty best to your lovely wife (also from my wife).Indeed, your most indebted,Richard Strauss Stravinsky:Dear Mr. Georgescu,The Columbia record company is notifying me that its representative in Bucharest, Mr. Pogany, in charge of advertising my speeches on the occasion of my concerts in your country, recommends two of the best hotels (Athenee Palace and Excelsior) where I could stay, and they offer to place a piano in my suite.Fortunately, I ran into you on the eve of my departure from Paris, so I could talk to you a little about my trip to Bucharest, and you recommended Athenee Palace, so I will choose that one, of course. Could you tell Mr. Pogany that I will arrive in Bucharest on February 8 at 6:30 PM, I will go to the Athenee Palace, and I will need a lounge where I could have a Steinway, apart from a room with two beds and a bathroom, and I need not to be bothered by indiscreet neighbors?I am deeply sorry I am forced to bother you with such trifles, but your gentility urges me to do so.See you soon, dear Mr. Georgescu, and please consider me your devoted,Igor Stravinsky Roberto Benzi:I had the privilege to meet George Georgescu in April 1961, when I came to Romania for the first time. I was 23 at the time, and I had been invited to conduct the State George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest.It was a great joy to finally meet the musicians and music lovers of this great Latin country I had heard so much about. I knew I was going to have a large audience from the numerous fan letters that regularly came to me from Romania, from people who had seen the movies made in France in 1949 and 1952.The enthusiastic welcoming I got was far more than everything I could imagine. The testimony of the admiration and sympathy that Romanians expressed so convincingly so long ago has remained imprinted in my memory. There have been 25 years since then, but those events are still strong and present in my mind, so that, despite the years that have passed since then, my emotion is the same when I evoke those moments.Maestro Georgescu was keen to personally welcome me at my first contact with his orchestra. Then he asked questions about the progress of my work and spontaneously offered me an additional rehearsal, considering the difficulty of my repertoire (I had included Petrushka by Stravinsky among other things). I was marked by his extreme gentleness and solicitude, as he tried to assist me in all my musical intentions. I especially remember his goodwill in giving me one more excellent horn player to assure the backstage sound for "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" from Wagner's Goetterdaemmerung. His total devotion to music went hand in hand with his generosity. There was no trace of jealousy in him, just a very honest camaraderie around his colleagues. The image I still have of the great maestro is that of a man who was extremely respected and courteous. He was one of those elite musicians, one of those exceptional personalities who had encyclopedic knowledge. His giant qualities and strong personality made it possible for him to raise the orchestra to a level that is very difficult to exceed. His musical mind, deep and inimitable, will continue to mark the spirit of the Philharmonic for a long time. All this happened because George Georgescu belonged to the category of great conductors, those rare people who were endowed with the knowledge of blending science, temperament, tradition, and class. His long and wonderful career, conducting the world greatest orchestras, was due to those traits. His performances of Beethoven and Richard Strauss are unforgettable – they have remained famous. His numerous recordings are living examples for the younger generations of maestros who did not have the happiness to meet him.But, without any hesitation, the brightest image we have of him is that of the wonderful instrument he formed – the George Enescu Philharmonic. Owing to his elan, exigencies, and perseverant work, Romania now has an international symphony orchestra. The endurance of his effort is thus assured brilliantly through this beautiful orchestra he loved so much and to which he gave the best in himself.In the name of music and for all eternity, mankind owes him great respect, deep thankfulness, and infinite gratitude.Roberto Benzi 
 David Oistrakh:It is hard to believe that my dearest friend, the great man and extraordinary artist George Georgescu is no longer among us.We seldom meet a man with such a felicitous blend of talent, artistic imagination, exceptional kindness, delicacy, humanism in the best sense of the word, a sense of humor, and a matchless liveliness of character, shedding a certain kind of an intense, inner light.I will never forget the happiness I felt when I appeared in concerts with him, because at those moments I felt warmed by his immortal art, always noble and spirited.As we both served on juries of international competitions, I admired his fatherly attitude, taking care of young artists, his bend to help everybody who deserved to become soloists.Maestro Georgescu had a great and brilliant life, brought much happiness to those who feel music as a vital need, and has remained in the memory of all those who have met him as forever young and full of life!And this is how the image of the dear, unforgettable friend, Maestro George Georgescu, will always remain in my heart.David Oistrakh 


by George Georgescu & others