The tribute exhibition 'George Enescu 70', opened on Tuesday at the Cris Land Museum in Oradea, includes part of the collection of writer Fabian Anton, with rare and valuable documents related to Enescu and his friends, names of great artists who have marked the history of music, but also press testimonies about the first audition of an Enescu masterpiece, Sonata No. 3 for piano and violin in a Romanian folk character.

'Why Enescu? I really like the marginals. And Enescu became a marginal, unfortunately. Although you wouldn't say it. (...) I like the marginals and I preferred to collect Enescu because you can't find, for example, all of his letters at the Enescu Museum. They were sold at auction houses, at antique dealers. So I tried to save as many as possible and not just keep them for myself, but for others to see them. And then my reasons are my children and I think it's good that they also inherit this passion', declared, on Tuesday, for AGERPRES, writer Fabian Anton.

The exhibition includes original letters and photographs signed by George Enescu, original letters signed by the illustrious composers Giacomo Puccini, Camille Saint-Saens, Reynaldo Hahn, Vincent d'Indy, Amilcare Ponchielli, Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Faure and Charles Gounod, as well as by renowned performers, such as Hariclea Darclee, Yehudi Menuhin, Nae Leonard, Ion Voicu, George Georgescu, many of whom were friends or collaborators of Enescu.

'I brought here only a very small part of my collection, the most important documents related to Enescu and very big names like Puccini or Eduard de Max - who was the greatest Romanian actor of all time and was Enescu's brother-in-law, related to Maruca. And as for Enescu, I also brought here a letter to the composer and his friend Fernand Halphen inviting him to the premiere of The Romanian Poem. It is even the day before this premiere,' the collector mentioned.

The opening of the exhibition was attended, alongside writer Fabian Anton, by the head of the History Section of the MTC, Dr. Florina Ciure, and the head of the Natural Sciences and Memorial Museums Section of the MTC, Adrian Gagiu, composer.

According to Florina Ciure, there are also a number of documentary testimonies signed by Enescu and his wife, Princess Maruca Cantacuzino, regarding their stays in Oradea, and a ceramic bust representing George Enescu.

Museographer and composer Adrian Gagiu highlighted a historic event, the first absolute audition of one of Enescu's masterpieces and of 20th-century music, Sonata No. 3 for piano and violin 'in a Romanian folk character', performed by George Enescu on the violin and Nicolae Caravia on the piano in January 1927 in Oradea, a fact illustrated by original articles in the local press.

'Oradea was, by force of circumstances or by the authors' intention, the place with an audience where this masterpiece of the 20th century was first performed, which the composer performed in the first audition with Nicolae Caravia on the piano. We should be proud of this, as posterity,' said Adrian Gagiu.

In his opinion, the genius of Romanian music would deserve more attention from the authorities, both in terms of his artistic legacy, copyright, and the restoration of the tombstone in Paris, on which the great composer's name can barely be read.

On the occasion of the opening, the launch of two volumes of conversations between Mother Benedicta (academic Zoe Dumitrescu-Busulenga) and Fabian Anton also took place, 'Enescu at Varatec', published by Librex Publishing House, Bucharest, 2025, and 'Eminescu at Văratec', Publishing House: Librex, 2024.

According to the collector, the exhibition was also held in Iasi and Piatra-Neamt this year, and after Oradea it will be presented in Ploiesti and Sibiu and, probably at the end of the year, in Timisoara. In Oradea, it will be open to the public until September 7, 2025.

The tribute exhibition dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the great composer's passing is organized by the Oradea Crisurilor Museum - Museum Complex, with the support of the Bihor County Council and the Oradea City Hall, in collaboration with the writer-collector Fabian Anton and the 'Gheorghe Sincai' Bihor County Library.AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eugenia Lupascu , editing by: Anamaria Constantin EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)