Much to admire in teenage works by a Romanian giant
The Strad Issue: October 2026
Description: Much to admire in teenage works by a Romanian giant
Musicians: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Works: Enescu: String Octet op.7; Piano Quintet
Catalogue number: CHANDOS CHAN20379
Hailed by both Menuhin and Casals as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Enescu remains a relatively fringe composer as far as the wider public is concerned. The Kaleidoscope presents his early Octet, completed when he was 18, which is ambitious in design. He described his organically conceived, thematically unified work as giving him the same anxiety as an engineer completing his first suspension bridge. Yet, despite a complex structure, the textures have lucidity within this contrapuntal late-Romantic style. The persuasive performance combines tremendous fluidity with command of colour and real warmth, with the musicians confidently handling the numerous tempo switches of the opening Très modéré. A crisp and resolute spirit defines the Très fougueux, by turns charged and wispily Impressionistic. A tender and exquisitely delivered melody ushers in the Lentement – its gentle intimacy beautifully conveyed by the violins – while there’s intensity and energy in the final Mouvement de Valse, with taut ensemble delineating the complex lines.
Perhaps controversially though, I prefer the direct youthful freshness of the album’s other work – the Piano Quintet, penned when he was a mere 15 years old. Although firmly indebted to Brahms, it has a simplicity that allows Enescu’s impressive and highly defined thematic material to shine. Add to that a tenderly hued Andante, in contrast to the feisty Romany-influenced Finale, and you have a winner, especially in this strongly committed performance.
JOANNE TALBOT
Read: Great violinists: George Enescu
Read: George Enescu: a musical polymath
Watch: The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective plays Mendelssohn
Reference
The Strad Issue: October 2026
Description: Much to admire in teenage works by a Romanian giant
Musicians: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Works: Enescu: String Octet op.7; Piano Quintet
Catalogue number: CHANDOS CHAN20379
Hailed by both Menuhin and Casals as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Enescu remains a relatively fringe composer as far as the wider public is concerned. The Kaleidoscope presents his early Octet, completed when he was 18, which is ambitious in design. He described his organically conceived, thematically unified work as giving him the same anxiety as an engineer completing his first suspension bridge. Yet, despite a complex structure, the textures have lucidity within this contrapuntal late-Romantic style. The persuasive performance combines tremendous fluidity with command of colour and real warmth, with the musicians confidently handling the numerous tempo switches of the opening Très modéré. A crisp and resolute spirit defines the Très fougueux, by turns charged and wispily Impressionistic. A tender and exquisitely delivered melody ushers in the Lentement – its gentle intimacy beautifully conveyed by the violins – while there’s intensity and energy in the final Mouvement de Valse, with taut ensemble delineating the complex lines.
Perhaps controversially though, I prefer the direct youthful freshness of the album’s other work – the Piano Quintet, penned when he was a mere 15 years old. Although firmly indebted to Brahms, it has a simplicity that allows Enescu’s impressive and highly defined thematic material to shine. Add to that a tenderly hued Andante, in contrast to the feisty Romany-influenced Finale, and you have a winner, especially in this strongly committed performance.
JOANNE TALBOT
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