Once, as the husband of the Princess Maria Cantacuzino, George Enescu was offered the opportunity to live in one of the most extravagant houses in all of Bucharest. Because of the urging of his universal soul, however, he chose a life of simplicity.

This giant of Romanian music, whose compositions today are acclaimed and passionately applauded in great concert halls of the world, seemed to know something of the magic of simplicity. He was born and raised in the small village of Livenii Dorohoiului, in Northern Maldavia. Throughout his life, and amidst all his fame and glory, he remained a modest, humble man to the very end.

The offer of the large and luxurious Bucharest home mentioned earlier, is a case in point. He chose not to live in such opulent circumstances. He decided a single room was sufficient for his simple needs, and was satisfied with those conditions. Today, in Bucharest, visitors may see that same room with its narrow bed, two paintings of his wife, and a crucifix.

The building can be found at 141 Calea Victoriei. It has two stone lions on each side of the main entrance; their beautiful shell-shaped covers mingle harmoniously with the statues and other ornaments in the French baroque style, and wrought iron balconies surround the home's tall windows.

Today, the Cantacuzino Palace is known as the George Enescu Museum. It is here that one can find various personal objects and possessions of the famous composer of the "Romanian Rhapsodies". One of his first violins is here, scores of his compositions in his own handwriting (including the pen holder he used while writing them). His diploma, received in 1893 from Vienna, is there with the mark "excellent". There are also two pianos one at which he composed the famous opera "Oedip" - and another where he sat towards the end of his life in Paris longing for country.

George Enescu died in Paris in 1955. It was in that same year that the Cantacuzino Palace was transformed to become the "Union of Romanian Composers". George Enescu is buried in the Pierre Lachaise cemetery in Paris. On his tombstone is written ENESCU. This will remind us again and again of the "simplicity of a Genius".