Three Angles on Form in George Enescu's Piano Works

Enescu’s piano repertoire calls for deeper exploration. Today it is an uncharted territory where the literature is scarce (largely disparate analyses of works such as the F sharp minor sonata Op. 24, works promoted in the context of the George Enescu International Competition at the expense of a more nuanced understanding of the value of the piano in Enescu’s composing) and overwhelmingly shaped by the pre-1990 Romanian school of thought and by a methodology which dates back to a time of cultural, social, and political isolation. I respond to this research gap with a first systematic study across Enescu’s piano solo catalogue focusing on compositional aspects such as sounding material, modalities of structuring, and developing musical relationships, aspects which can be woven together under the umbrella of musical form. I explore both mature works and unpublished juvenilia from the perspective of three newly defined core pillars of musical appearance, Material, Structures, and Relationships, with the analysis emphasising those prominent musical characteristics that may be viewed as relevant for each pillar. By stopping at each title to review previous research perspectives, add my observations, and engage with recent Anglo-American analytical tools, I aim to shift public interest towards the iterative process that connects formal analysis to Enescu’s piano music.