The life and music of the prodigiously talented Romanian violinist, composer and conductor, George Enesco . . . . Recorded at the biennial George Enesco Festival in 2009, and cleverly titled Enesco Re-Imagined, it is a spectacular, dreamy affair, rooted, no doubt, in the celebrated musical reality of the celebrated 19th/20th Century composer.

The exquisite counterpoint of horns, strings and percussion in “Octet” demonstrates absolutely masterful writing, and shows Ban’s sensitivity for Enesco’s great ear for the sound palette. A spectacular pianist himself, Ban subdues his own pianism, but elevates his overall musical voice to soar with Enesco’s throughout the set. Hébert’s playing also displays great melodicism, as he negotiates very difficult parts of the score—typically in the adagio movement of Enesco’s “Piano Suite No. 1.”

This is a wonderful piece of work, and hats off to Sunnyside for its foresight in seeing the ingenuity from Lucian Ban’s perspective.