![]() |
||
This study is a tribute to a unique masterpiece. The singularity of the work is a consequence of various reasons and developments in the field of the chamber music genre dedicated to piano-voice duo in the musical literature by Romanian composers. Among them: it’s the only coagulated “poetic scenario” on Heinrich Heine’s verses; it’s the only craftsmanship born as a whole by such a young author, as Silvestri was just fifteen years old when the cycle was released; it’s an aesthetic statement of an artist that, despite his youth, proved to be already the owner of means and beliefs strongly shaped as to guide him through life and profession (equally as conductor, composer and pianist). This panorama (as the present study wishes to be) over the twelve pieces (eleven songs and one piano intermezzo) structured in two books by Silvestri himself and by important, yet unessential, differences has a double meaning: both the need to share the joy brought by the privilege of any musician approaching a not at all famous masterpiece and, at the same time, an invitation to discover reasons to value a trademark from times and artists – as Silvestri was, beyond any doubt – that can testify on the behalf of Romanian culture.
Sergiu Celibidache, described as a drifter in his twenties, left for Germany in 1938 to study music, philosophy and mathematics. In the post-war upheavals he was appointed the Berlin Philharmonic’s conductor, the beginning of a remarkable international career. The communist authorities in Romania became interested in his contacts “in the highest capitalist circles”. They had him followed, courted and even considered recruiting him as an agent. His brother and sisters, about whom he cared a lot, were kept hostages in his native country. A belated reunion with his eldest sister in 1965, in Prague caused him pain and remorse. When he finally returned to conduct in Romania in the 1970s, he was hailed by members of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra but resented by its conductors. All this is documented in letters and in the archive of the former Securitate (Secret Police) researched by the author. Aspects of Heterophonic Syntax in the Works of Ştefan Niculescu:
|
||