The Enescu Project

George Enescu was a musical phenomenon. Not only was he Romania’s finest-ever composer, but he was also one of the most gifted violinists of his generation, with a star-studded pupil roster that included Arthur Grumiaux, Ida Haendel, and Yehudi Menuhin. Dazzling French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt was so bowled over when he first heard Enescu’s String Octet that, in 2016, he created The Enescu Project, a chamber group dedicated to playing the music of Enescu and his contemporaries. Their first album includes the Octet, a blazing masterpiece that comes flying off the page in this high-octane performance. Alongside are an emotionally freewheeling take on Ysaÿe’s Third Solo Sonata (dedicated to Enescu) from Dautricourt, violinist Cécile Agator soaring aloft in Massenet’s famous “Méditation,” and captivating miniatures by Bartók, Fauré, Ravel, and Enescu himself.