Although he may be underrepresented in today’s local recital programs, George Enescu was widely recognized and warmly received in Toronto during his lifetime.

This September marks the inaugural George Enescu Festival in Canada, featuring three events in Toronto and one in Montreal. But how well-known is the esteemed Romanian composer among Canadians?

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Aged 55, he visited Toronto FIRST TIME

In 1937, social media wasn’t as prevalent as it is today, but we’re grateful for the Social Notes section in the Toronto Daily Star!

Buried deep in the 22nd page of a Monday edition, we discover that over a chilly January weekend, Georges Enescu (a blend of the French and Romanian spellings; in Paris he was Georges Enesco, while in Bucharest he went by George Enescu) was a guest of the Women’s Musical Club.

Just a few months before Enescu, Andrés Segovia made a lasting impression at the same venue. Founded in 1899, the club is still thriving today.

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Aged 59, he was to be the guest conductor of the TSO

Fast forward to October 1940, a year and a month since the war began.

Europe is engulfed in chaos: France has been invaded since June, and the RAF’s heroics have prompted Hitler to delay his plans for Britain. In the fall of 1940, a British defeat appeared increasingly likely, leading the joint board of the USA, Canada, and Britain to agree that the United States would take control of the Canadian military in the event of a German victory in Europe. With Romania’s allies either occupied (France) or having retreated from the continent (Britain), the country faced no choice but to align with the Germans. The cost of this alliance was the loss of much of the territory gained after WWI and the rise of fascism.

Canada has been at war since September 1939, rallying behind its primary ally, Britain. Training centers are bustling with activity, including the one in Newmarket, north of Toronto.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1922) decided to continue its programming as a show of support for the war effort. J.W. Elton, who took over as manager in 1934 from his father, H.J. Elton, was at the helm during this time. By October 1940, Sir Ernest MacMillan—knighted in 1935—was in his ninth year as the orchestra’s musical director, a position he would hold for another 16 years until his passing in 1973. He held high hopes that the brilliant conductor, composer, and violinist George Enescu would serve as the TSO’s guest conductor for the new season.

On October 8, 1940, German troops began to cross into Romania, quickly swelling to over 500,000. On October 21st, Enescu sent a cable from his home in Bucharest to the TSO’s manager. The coded message actually conveyed the urgent sentiment: “We’re caught in the grip of a fascist dictatorship; I am stuck.”

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After his death, Enescu’s best ambassador was Yehudi Menuhin

George Enescu died in 1955 (age 73) in Paris, which he called home after leaving Russian-occupied homeland Romania. He is buried at Pere Lachaise.

Born in New York, Yehudi Menuhin was widely regarded as one of the finest violinists of the 20th century. In the 1920s, he studied under George Enescu in Paris.

 

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September 2019: time to re-discover George Enescu in Toronto

Toronto-based Tradicious is committed to reintroducing George Enescu to 21st-century Canadians. They’re doing this effectively by placing Enescu in the contemporary music landscape: through 90-minute multi-composer performances, partnering with top-notch musicians, and leveraging the prestige of the renowned George Enescu Festival.

_{TO BE CONTINUED… (read part two of this story here)}

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^{NOTE, October 2024.}

^{Listen below to the podcast version of the story of George Enescu and Toronto, created using the AI capabilities of NotebookLM.}