America, Romania, France: the Musical Connections

The next recital of our Enescu Soirees features pianist Madalina Danila with an ingenious program stressing the manifold influences running through the scores of some great French, American, and Romanian composers.  While the European musicians are well represented, the evening’s center of gravity lies in the hypnotizing sonorous effects of George Crumb’s compositions.

Program:

Claude Debussy - "Masques" 

George Enescu - "Pavane" op.10 

Paul Constantinescu - "Dance from Dobrudja" (Toccata) 

George Crumb - 5 selections of "Makrokosmos: Pisces, Taurus, Capricorn, Leo, Aries, Gemini" 

Debussy - "Masques"

The work was composed in 1904 and beneath the surface it shows a somber character which reflected Debussy’s separation from his first wife. The title points out ‘commedia dell’arte’. However, Debussy confessed that the piece was not Italian comedy, but rather “an expression of the tragedy of existence”. The piece is full of different “masqued” characters that are brought up with subtle humor.

Constantinescu - "Dance from Dobrudja" (Toccata)

One of the most crucial body of compositions in the development of the 20th Romanian school of music, Paul Constantinescu’s opus was heavily influenced by Byzantin chant mingled with Romanian folklore. The Dobrudjan Dance was composed in 1952 and its folkloric roots come from the East part of Romania, Dobrogea. It is a piece of great rhythmicity and energy with a middle section which is much settled and quasi-improvisatory.

Crumb - 6 selections from “Makrokosmos”- ‘Pisces, Taurus, Capricorn, Leo, Aries, Gemini’

An important pioneer of the avant-garde contemporary classical music, George Crumb’s music is characterized by scrupulous notation, new performance techniques and refined timbral nuances. He loved to experiment with sonorities and effects of different combinations of instruments. “Makrokosmos” is a series of 4 volumes, the first one being completed in 1972 and the last one in 1979. The name of the opus is a hint to Bartok’s Mikrokosmos, one of Crumb’s

favorite modern composers. The first volume was commissioned and premiered by Crumb’s friend, David Burge. The collection is scored for amplified piano and it is subtitled “12 fantasy-pieces after the Zodiac”.

Enescu - "Pavane" op.10

The Suite op.10 in D Major was written in 1903 while Enescu was a student at the Paris Conservatoire. It won the Pleyel Prize under the title “Des cloches sonores” - Sonorous bells. It is a composition written in the neoclassic French-style with a lot of Debussy’s influence in it. However, there is also a flavor of Romanian folklore. The pavane is a processional slow dance that was common in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Enescu’s Pavane is intimate and infused with melancholic nuances and longing.

Madalina Danila is a Romanian pianist who is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance at Temple University in Philadelphia where she was awarded a full scholarship. Her work there is supervised by Professor Lambert Orkis and Dr. Sara Davis Buechner. Madalina started to play the piano at the age of 4, graduated from "Hariclea Darclee" Art High School in Braila, her hometown, and then moved to Bucharest to study with Professor Șerban-Dimitrie Soreanu and Professor Sandu Sandrin at the National University of Music. She won several  prizes and scholarships in Romania and abroad, including 1st Prize and the Special Prize at the ”George Enescu Competition” for the best performance of a Romanian work and the Special Prize ”Maria Fotino” for the best performance of a classical work at the 2015 edition of the ”Mihail Jora” International Competition in Bucharest.  After her first year at Temple University, she was awarded the “Marcia Korn” scholarship for outstanding academic results. Recently, she has performed solo, concerto, and chamber music concerts in the United States and abroad, most recently in Paris in collaboration with the New York Classical Music Society. Madalina actively champions the works of Romanian and contemporary composers. She is the Director of Music at Fox Chase United Methodist Church in Philadelphia and a member of the piano faculty at Cunningham Music School. She also works as a Teaching Assistant at Temple University’s piano program and as Studio Accompanist for the Temple University string and vocal program. Madalina is a member of Mada & Hugh Piano Duo.