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George Georgescu
George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and lived to make recordings in the stereo era.
Georgescu was born in the river port of Sulina, Tulcea County, Romania on September 12, 1887. His father, Leonte, was head of customs, and his mother, Elena, was the daughter of the captain of the port. As Leonte took up positions in various ports along the Danube, the family moved to Galaţi and then Giurgiu. In Galaţi, the toddler George found and, placing it between his legs like a cello, began playing a violin that his father had won in a raffle; Leonte, who did not want his son to be a "fiddler", was not pleased, but nonetheless Georgescu began violin lessons at age five. Later, he would transfer his attention to the cello. While in elementary school, he composed a waltz that impressed the school's music teacher, who thereafter called on George as a substitute school choir director.
At age 18 Georgescu left from home and entered the Bucharest Conservatory as a student of the double bass; the teachers there, quickly recognizing his musical gifts, arranged for his transfer to the cello class of Constantin Dimitrescu. As Georgescu's father refused to provide financial support for musical studies, Georgescu supported himself by singing in a church choir and playing in an operetta orchestra. When the conductor of the latter ensemble, Grigore Alexiu, was abruptly taken ill, the players chose Georgescu to take his place, giving Georgescu the opportunity to make his first impression as an orchestra conductor.
Following his graduation in 1911, Georgescu moved to Berlin, having unexpectedly won a grant to study there through his performance in a recital at the Romanian Athenaeum. He enrolled in the Berlin Hochschule für Musik and continued his studies of cello with the prominent cellist Hugo Becker, as well as entering into studies of composition and conducting. Becker, much sought as a teacher, was reluctant at first, but in time, through Georgescu's persistence, recognized that Georgescu had the makings of an unusually fine, if not yet sufficiently disciplined, cellist. Later, Georgescu would credit Becker as the most important formative influence in his musical development. Georgescu began his professional career soon thereafter, replacing Becker in 1910 as cellist in the Marteau Quartet. He performed throughout Europe with this group for the next four years.
Georgescu's career as a cellist came to an end late in World War I. He was interned for a time in Berlin as an enemy alien; although the local artistic community quickly obtained his release, Georgescu was still obligated to contact the police twice daily. More seriously, as he traveled to an engagement in 1916, a railway carriage door was closed on his hand, causing a painful injury that ultimately precluded his further performance on the cello. As that chapter in his life closed, however, a new one opened; Richard Strauss and Arthur Nikisch both advised him to take up conducting, advice that he quickly followed after coaching with the latter. Not long after a private appearance as conductor at the home of Franz von Mendelssohn, Georgescu made his public debut in that capacity on February 15, 1918, leading the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony, Grieg's Piano Concerto, and Richard Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. There followed a year of performances with that ensemble, notable, inter alia, for including Claudio Arrau's Berlin debut.
Georgescu continued his association with the Berlin Philharmonic through 1919, but in early 1920 he answered a patriotic call and returned to Romania. Dimitrie Dinicu, conductor of the Bucharest Philharmonic, had fallen seriously ill and asked Georgescu to replace him. Acceding to that request, Georgescu on January 4, 1920, led the first of what would be 22 concerts that year and hundreds over the next four decades with the orchestra. During this Romanian debut, the young maestro made a great impression on the Romanian king and queen, Ferdinand I and Maria, who were both in attendance. King Ferdinand was honorary president of the Philharmonic Society; Georgescu was named artistic director of that body a year after his debut with the orchestra, by virtue of which appointment he became its permanent conductor. In 1922, pursuant to a directive from King Ferdinand to expand the orchestra by recruiting elite musicians from abroad, Georgescu traveled to Vienna, and through ensuing auditions he built the orchestra up to a hundred members.
Back in Bucharest, Georgescu rehearsed and trained the enlarged ensemble to a high standard, sufficient to attract internationally celebrated guest conductors such as Richard Strauss, Bruno Walter, Felix Weingartner, Oskar Nedbal, and Gabriel Pierné; notable soloists who played with the orchestra included Yehudi Menuhin, Pablo Casals, Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Backhaus, Jacques Thibaud, Arthur Rubinstein, and Georgescu's young countryman Dinu Lipatti. Repertoire was wide-ranging. Naturally, it included works of Romanian composers such as Marcel Mihalovici, Paul Constantinescu, Mihail Jora, and especially Georgescu's friend Georges Enescu. Otherwise, it ran the gamut from traditional masterworks in the central tradition to modern works by the likes of Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Vincent d'Indy. In 1926, during a visit to Paris, Georgescu developed an association with Les Six, further cementing his credentials as an exponent of modern literature. In recognition of his achievements, the French government created him an Officer of the Légion d'honneur.
Georgescu—who by the end of his first year in Bucharest had already demonstrated strong command of choral works, particularly Beethoven's Ninth Symphony—did not restrict his musical activities to orchestral music; he immersed himself in many facets of Romanian musical life. In the first few years after assuming the Philharmonic's helm, he also organized the first Romanian ballet school. Moreover, from 1922 to 1926, 1930 to 1933, and 1939 to 1940 he led the Romanian Opera in Bucharest. As at the Philharmonic, he directed a wide-ranging repertoire, which, in addition to a heavy emphasis on the works of Wagner, included Romanian works and more conventional fare such as Bizet's Carmen; Gounod's Faust; Verdi's Aida; Puccini's Tosca, Manon Lescaut, and La bohème; Mozart's The Magic Flute; Beethoven's Fidelio; Richard Strauss's Salome; Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov; and Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades. Celebrated guest singers included the likes of Aureliano Pertile, Maria Cebotari, Tito Schipa, and Feodor Chaliapin; numbered among the conductors Georgescu invited to lead the opera company were Pietro Mascagni, Hugo Reichenberger, Felix Weingartner, and Clemens Krauss. At the other musical extreme, Georgescu enjoyed meeting with an informal group of friends who played the cimbalom for evenings of folk music.
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George Georgescu
George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and lived to make recordings in the stereo era.
Georgescu was born in the river port of Sulina, Tulcea County, Romania on September 12, 1887. His father, Leonte, was head of customs, and his mother, Elena, was the daughter of the captain of the port. As Leonte took up positions in various ports along the Danube, the family moved to Galaţi and then Giurgiu. In Galaţi, the toddler George found and, placing it between his legs like a cello, began playing a violin that his father had won in a raffle; Leonte, who did not want his son to be a "fiddler", was not pleased, but nonetheless Georgescu began violin lessons at age five. Later, he would transfer his attention to the cello. While in elementary school, he composed a waltz that impressed the school's music teacher, who thereafter called on George as a substitute school choir director.
At age 18 Georgescu left from home and entered the Bucharest Conservatory as a student of the double bass; the teachers there, quickly recognizing his musical gifts, arranged for his transfer to the cello class of Constantin Dimitrescu. As Georgescu's father refused to provide financial support for musical studies, Georgescu supported himself by singing in a church choir and playing in an operetta orchestra. When the conductor of the latter ensemble, Grigore Alexiu, was abruptly taken ill, the players chose Georgescu to take his place, giving Georgescu the opportunity to make his first impression as an orchestra conductor.
Following his graduation in 1911, Georgescu moved to Berlin, having unexpectedly won a grant to study there through his performance in a recital at the Romanian Athenaeum. He enrolled in the Berlin Hochschule für Musik and continued his studies of cello with the prominent cellist Hugo Becker, as well as entering into studies of composition and conducting. Becker, much sought as a teacher, was reluctant at first, but in time, through Georgescu's persistence, recognized that Georgescu had the makings of an unusually fine, if not yet sufficiently disciplined, cellist. Later, Georgescu would credit Becker as the most important formative influence in his musical development. Georgescu began his professional career soon thereafter, replacing Becker in 1910 as cellist in the Marteau Quartet. He performed throughout Europe with this group for the next four years.
Georgescu's career as a cellist came to an end late in World War I. He was interned for a time in Berlin as an enemy alien; although the local artistic community quickly obtained his release, Georgescu was still obligated to contact the police twice daily. More seriously, as he traveled to an engagement in 1916, a railway carriage door was closed on his hand, causing a painful injury that ultimately precluded his further performance on the cello. As that chapter in his life closed, however, a new one opened; Richard Strauss and Arthur Nikisch both advised him to take up conducting, advice that he quickly followed after coaching with the latter. Not long after a private appearance as conductor at the home of Franz von Mendelssohn, Georgescu made his public debut in that capacity on February 15, 1918, leading the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony, Grieg's Piano Concerto, and Richard Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. There followed a year of performances with that ensemble, notable, inter alia, for including Claudio Arrau's Berlin debut.
Georgescu continued his association with the Berlin Philharmonic through 1919, but in early 1920 he answered a patriotic call and returned to Romania. Dimitrie Dinicu, conductor of the Bucharest Philharmonic, had fallen seriously ill and asked Georgescu to replace him. Acceding to that request, Georgescu on January 4, 1920, led the first of what would be 22 concerts that year and hundreds over the next four decades with the orchestra. During this Romanian debut, the young maestro made a great impression on the Romanian king and queen, Ferdinand I and Maria, who were both in attendance. King Ferdinand was honorary president of the Philharmonic Society; Georgescu was named artistic director of that body a year after his debut with the orchestra, by virtue of which appointment he became its permanent conductor. In 1922, pursuant to a directive from King Ferdinand to expand the orchestra by recruiting elite musicians from abroad, Georgescu traveled to Vienna, and through ensuing auditions he built the orchestra up to a hundred members.
Back in Bucharest, Georgescu rehearsed and trained the enlarged ensemble to a high standard, sufficient to attract internationally celebrated guest conductors such as Richard Strauss, Bruno Walter, Felix Weingartner, Oskar Nedbal, and Gabriel Pierné; notable soloists who played with the orchestra included Yehudi Menuhin, Pablo Casals, Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Backhaus, Jacques Thibaud, Arthur Rubinstein, and Georgescu's young countryman Dinu Lipatti. Repertoire was wide-ranging. Naturally, it included works of Romanian composers such as Marcel Mihalovici, Paul Constantinescu, Mihail Jora, and especially Georgescu's friend Georges Enescu. Otherwise, it ran the gamut from traditional masterworks in the central tradition to modern works by the likes of Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Vincent d'Indy. In 1926, during a visit to Paris, Georgescu developed an association with Les Six, further cementing his credentials as an exponent of modern literature. In recognition of his achievements, the French government created him an Officer of the Légion d'honneur.
Georgescu—who by the end of his first year in Bucharest had already demonstrated strong command of choral works, particularly Beethoven's Ninth Symphony—did not restrict his musical activities to orchestral music; he immersed himself in many facets of Romanian musical life. In the first few years after assuming the Philharmonic's helm, he also organized the first Romanian ballet school. Moreover, from 1922 to 1926, 1930 to 1933, and 1939 to 1940 he led the Romanian Opera in Bucharest. As at the Philharmonic, he directed a wide-ranging repertoire, which, in addition to a heavy emphasis on the works of Wagner, included Romanian works and more conventional fare such as Bizet's Carmen; Gounod's Faust; Verdi's Aida; Puccini's Tosca, Manon Lescaut, and La bohème; Mozart's The Magic Flute; Beethoven's Fidelio; Richard Strauss's Salome; Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov; and Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades. Celebrated guest singers included the likes of Aureliano Pertile, Maria Cebotari, Tito Schipa, and Feodor Chaliapin; numbered among the conductors Georgescu invited to lead the opera company were Pietro Mascagni, Hugo Reichenberger, Felix Weingartner, and Clemens Krauss. At the other musical extreme, Georgescu enjoyed meeting with an informal group of friends who played the cimbalom for evenings of folk music.