The Enescu’s Violin 2022 Tour Begins

During WWI, famous composer and violinist George Enescu was touring the country, giving the gift of his music to the wounded and the sick

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 02.11.2022, 00:42

During WWI, famous composer and violinist George Enescu was touring the country, giving the gift of his music to the wounded and the sick. In the modern version of this tour, the tour gives the gift of music to people who dont usually have access to such shows, mostly in Romanian villages. This tour brings together two acclaimed musicians, violinist Gabriel Croitoru and pianist Horia Mihail, for Enescus Violin tour. After 10 years of crisscrossing the country, Gabriel Croitoru invited his daughter, Simina, to share in bringing classical music to Romanian villages, but also to stages in big cities around the country. At the end of the grand tour, on the stage of the Athenaeum in Bucharest, they will be joined by pianist Horia Mihail.

The tour this year started with two villages in Bistrita-Nasaud County. During a break from rehearsal, violinist Gabriel Croitoru spoke to us:

“Here we are, at the tenth edition of the Enescus Violin tour of villages. Along these 10 years, we made it happen. This fabulous instrument, the Guarneri violin that used to belong to Maestro Enescu, went from place to place, in schools, in parks, in places where classical music is virtually unknown. This is the idea, to spread around this genre of music among people who dont have the opportunity or the possibility of reaching a concert hall. Along these 10 years, I was accompanied each time by my friend, solo pianist for Radio Romania, Mr. Horia Mihail. This year, we will only be meeting in Bucharest. For the rest of the tour, which will hit several villages and Bistrita County and Arad County, I will be accompanied by my daughter, Simina Croitoru, because it is more feasible, because we dont have pianos in all the places where we will be holding these concerts.”

The famous Guarneri violin, known as the Cathedral, due to its imposing sound, was made in 1731, and was made by Antonio Guarnieri del Gesu, one of the greatest instrument makers. The violin was purchased by George Enescu himself with his own funds, as the great Romanian composer and instrumentalist preferred the Guarnieri to a Stradivarius. After Enescu passed away, no other violinist played the violin until 2008. That year, the magnificent instrument was restored to the stage, being granted, as a result of a competition, to Gabriel Croitoru. Before being played again, the Guarnieri was cared for by luthier Pavel Onoaie from Cluj, who ensured that the instrument did not lose any of its qualities.

We asked Gabriel Croitoru about the reception they get from villagers:

“We are received with open arms, in most places. I remember one time that a priest told me that we are like the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and that we are eagerly awaited thee. Generally, localities are in line with the attitude of the local mayor. If the mayor lobbies for such artistic manifestations, then any other activity is put on hold, and people flock to the event. Generally speaking, the priest and the local teachers bring the children to these recitals. We have wonderful memories from these tours, and I believe that what we do brings souls together, irrespective of the musical education of whoever comes to listen to us.”

Gabriel Croitoru continued:

“I am absolutely convinced that at least a part of them got a taste for our musical genre, and that any time they will have the opportunity, they will go to a concert hall, or even go to their local culture houses, most of the time restored with European money. But, as I was saying, people are not familiar with our genre, and when someone comes around to show them that, here, there is a different way to enjoy music, they have an extraordinary revelation. People say: Oh, Lord, I have never heard something like this, but I will be going back to it. I have not had the opportunity to check if that happened, but I have had the joy of meeting once again people in places where we had been before.”

We wanted to wish success to the musicians in this edition of the tour. Gabriel Croitoru assured us that they will have a lot of joy in this tour, and said:

“Many times, we set up these concerts as if they were lessons. We tell stories about the composers, the works we play, a little of each piece, we make it so that they dont feel like they are in an unknown universe. On the contrary, we want to facilitate access for them, and we are trying to familiarize them with as much information as we can.”

The tour will end with an extraordinary recital at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest on November 19, where the two violinists will be joined by pianist Horia Mihail.