Constantin Silvestri String Quartet Op. 27 No. 2

The Quartet Op. 27 No. 2 was among Silvestri’s four last works, as his flourishing conducting career started to take priority over composing. Short and concise (approx. 14 minutes, like most of Silvestri’s works) it is considered to be one of the most valuable string quartets in the history of Romanian music, a mature work which combines emotion with rigour. Silvestri himself must have been very fond of this quartet since he wrote an orchestral version of it – entitled Musique pour Cordes – which he conducted several times with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bordeaux Festival Orchestra. Silvestri’s expressionist musical language repeatedly uses indications such as con passione, incalzando, agitato and molto espressivo, as well as calando, dolce and timido. In his own score of the orchestral version, at the top of the first movement he added in his own handwriting Disperato! to follow the indication con passione.

Pascal Bentoiu String Quartet No. 3 Op. 27 A

The Quartet No 3 Op. 27 A, finished in July 1980, is the first of a cycle of four – connected by their modal techniques and above all, by their psychological themes. Composed in strict succession, the quartets follow the main  psychological functions: sensation, sentiment, thought and intuition. They can be played individually as well as  serially.

George Enescu Aria and Scherzino for violin solo, strings and piano

A charming bagatelle, Aria and Scherzino brings together a short but intense lyrical statement – as much a nostalgic song as it is a hymn – with the wit and sparkle of a dance-like joke.

Tudor Ciortea Piano Quintet in C sharp minor

The Piano Quintet is a formidable work which testifies to the composer’s musical erudition, gift for melody and  colour, and the flair and knowledge with which he processes the abundant folklore material. At times – especially in the epic first movement – it has a Rachmaninov flavour, yet ultimately the feeling is genuinely Romanian, based either on the melancholic ‘long songs’ – introduced by the piano in the first and third movements – or on the  multitude of dances with varied and flexible rhythms, and effects of folk instruments.

The many influences absorbed by Romanian folklore are evident in the quintet (indigenous, Slav, Byzantine,  Oriental) and it is thus evocative of the country’s turbulent and creative history.

Vlad Maistorovici – Solo Violin (Enescu)

Vlad Maistorovici was born in Ploiesti, Romania. He was the recipient of a full scholarship at The Yehudi Menuhin School and at present he is a student at the Royal College of Music where he studies violin and composition. His work Night Music for String Quartet brought him the chamber music prize in the 2003 George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest.