The statue of composer George Enescu

THE STATUE OF COMPOSER GEORGE ENESCU George Enescu was born on 19th August 1881 in the village of Liveni, Botoșani county. Composer, violinist, teacher, pianist and conductor, he is considered the greatest Romanian musician and an important name in world music. Between 1888 and 1894 he studied at Vienna Conservatory, where he graduated with a silver medal. He went on to graduate from Paris Conservatory. On 6th February 1898 he made his debut as a composer in Paris with the symphonic suite „Romanian Poem”. At the beginning of the 20th century he composed the „Romanian Rhapsodies” (1901-1902), „Suite No. 1 for Orchestra” (1903) and his first Symphony (1905). During World War I he often toured the front, where he soothed the suffering soldiers and strengthened their morale with his music. He also toured several European countries. During the interwar period he continued his composing and conducting activities in Romania and France. He conducted orchestras in Philadelphia (1923) and New York (1938). As a teacher he contributed to the training of the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In 1932 George Enescu was admitted as a full member of the Romanian Academy. In 1937 he married Maruca Cantacuzino-Rosetti, to whom he dedicated the opera „Oedipus”, which premiered in Paris on 13th March 1936 and it was a great success. After the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, George Enescu remained in exile in Paris for good, where he died in 1955. He was buried in the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, in a white marble tomb. In 1973, a bronze statue of the composer George Enescu was unveiled in Buzău, in Tineretului Park, by the famous sculptor Oscar Han.