Piano Suite No. 2 (Enescu)

The Suite No. 2 for piano, in D major, Op. 10 ("Des cloches sonores"), is the second piano suite by George Enescu, composed between 1901 and 1903 in Paris. It was published in 1904, and is dedicated to Louis Diémer.

The Toccata was written in August 1901 and the suite was completed in the summer of 1903 with three other movements, for presentation at a competition organised by the periodical Musica. It was entered in the piano division of the competition, the Pleyel Prize, under the motto "Des cloches sonores". It won first place. The judges included Claude Debussy, Vincent d'Indy, Georges Hüe, Pierre Lalo, Charles Malherbe, Reynaldo Hahn, Henri de Curzon, Gabriel Pierné, and Alfred Cortot (Bentoiu 2010, 72, 80). It is a composition that shows a French-style neoclassicism, the musician himself recognizing the influence of Debussy, but Enescu's Romanian folklore is not absent, rather, unobtrusive.

Divided into four movements, a performance requires about twenty minutes.

  • Toccata
  • Sarabande
  • Pavane
  • Bourrée

References
  • Bentoiu, Pascal. 2010. Masterworks of George Enescu: A Detailed Analysis, translated by Lory Wallfisch. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7665-1 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-8108-7690-3 (ebook).

Further reading
  • Malcolm, Noel. 1990. George Enescu: His Life and Music, with a preface by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. London: Toccata Press. ISBN 0-907689-32-9.
  • Hoffman, Alfred, and Adrian Rațiu. 1971. "Succese ale simfonistului (1900–1906)". In George Enescu: Monografie, 2 vols., edited by Mircea Voicana, 237–329. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România.
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