麻豆约拍

Donald Macleod explores the life and works of Romanian composer George Enescu, in the week marking fifty years since his death.

A violin prodigy, Enescu's fame during his lifetime rested mainly on his career as a virtuoso performer and teacher - his violin pupils included Yehudi Menuhin. But by his late teens he had already won royal patronage as a composer with works including his Octet.

Among the important influences on Enescu were his homeland of Romania and its life and music and the devastating effects of the First World War which gave rise to his belief in music's power to uplift the spirit and transform the soul.

His greatest works include the first major Romanian opera, Oedipe.