Extra Information
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Movement name translation: I. Longing for the Sun; II. Refuge; III. Comfort; IV. Revival. A piece about war - written in 1917, after Jora was injured in battle and had to endure a lengthy recovery in the Saint Spiridon Hospital in Iasi. It was in that same hospital where George Enescu organised a concert for the comfort of the wounded soldiers and his good friend, Jora. The concert took place in the same day on which Jora had to undertake a surgery for his leg injury - surgery which he chose to do without anesthetics or pain killers, just so that he could have a clear mind for the concert that evening. Enescu played Beethoven's Kreutzer, both Schumann violin sonatas, as well as music by J.S. Bach - at the request of Jora. In the words of Jora: "For the two hours during which the concert took place, I had tears going down my cheeks the whole time - tears that came straight from the middle of my soul and my body worn down by the surgical knives. My body was in shambles - but my soul was thriving through the music that was flooding it. That night was the first time I felt I was a true musician."
It is very likely that it was that concert, together with the sound of Enescu's violin that inspired Jora to write for violin and piano. He did not return to this setup until 1962 - almost 50 years later.
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