Georges Boulanger (violinist)

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Georges Boulanger

Background information
Birth name	Georges Boulanger
Born	April 18, 1893 (1893-04-18) Tulcea, Romania
Died	June 3, 1958 (aged 65) Olivos City near Buenos Aires, Argentina
Genre(s)	Romantic
Occupation(s)	Composer, violinist
Years active	fl. ca. 1910-1958
Notable instrument(s)
Violin

Georges Boulanger (April 18, 1893 - June 3, 1958) was a Romanian violinist, conductor and composer.

1 Biography
2 Compositions
3 As an actor
4 External Links

[edit] Biography

Georges Boulanger was born in Tulcea, Romania. Although his mother was Bulgarian and his father was Greek he was known as the typical Romanian Gypsy Virtuoso because of where he was born. He learned to play the violin as a child from his father, who was already the sixth generation musician. At the age of 12, Georges Boulanger got a scholarship to study at the Conservatory in Bukarest. Three years later he was heard by Leopold Auer who took him to Dresden with him and where he studied with him for the next two years. Other students of Auer were Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, and Mischa Elman.

In 1910, when Boulanger was 17 years old, Leopold Auer told him that his musical studies are finished and gave him a violin as a going away present. Boulanger played on this violin until his death. Under the recommendation of Auer, Georges Boulanger received a position of first violinist in Café Chantant in St. Petersburg, Russia. This was where many aristocrats frequented. With his background music, a mixture of Gypsy music, Balkan Folklore and Viennese Waltzes he found that many people in the public enjoyed his taste in music. This music is also known as salon music.

It was here in Russia that Georges Boulanger met a young girl from Estonia named Ellionorr Paulson. She was an intellectual student of law and medicine. They eventually got married and had two daughters, Nora and Georgette.

In 1917 Georges Boulanger left Russia and returned back to Romania. In 1922/23 he went to Berlin where he played for his old audiences of Russian Aristocrats that now lived in Berlin. In the year 1926, his name suddenly became well-known. Boulanger played in radio transmissions that were broadcast live throughout the country. He played in the most famous houses in Berlin and other large european cities such as the Savoy Hotel in London. He was contracted by the Bote & Bock Edition who published his muscal compositions.

His famous Avant de mourir would later be called My Prayer and a text by Kennedy would be added. It was charted in the number one spot for 21 weeks in 1958 in the USA.

Boulanger lived in Germany from the early 20s until 1948 when he moved to South America. He worked in Brazil then settled in Argentina for the rest of his days.

[edit] Compositions

George Boulanger wrote about 250 compositions. Most of his works last 5 or 6 minutes.

Afrika (Boulanger)
Auf der Hochzeitreise
Autumn Moods
Avant de mourir (later on known as My Prayer) (Boulanger)
Beside the Lake
Budapest Party
Buntes Allerlei
Comme ci, comme ca (Boulanger)
Da Capo (Boulanger)
Danse Hongroise (Boulanger)
Der Dudelsackpfeifer (for solo violin)
Der Lustige Schotte
Die Glasharfe
Die lustige Puppe (The Happy Doll) (Boulanger)
Die Zigeunerin
Einsam steh ich unterm Sternenzelt
Familen-Polka
Flageolett Walzer No. 1 in G major (G.Boulanger)
Flageolett Walzer No. 2 in G major
Für Dich
Gemuse! Gemuse! Gemuse! (Boulanger)
Georgette
Gipsy serenade (Boulanger)
Gruss an Franz Liszt (Boulanger)
Hallo!Budapest (Boulanger)
Heimweh (Homesickness)
Herbstgedanken
Hora - Rumänischer Tanz in A major
Kinderparade
Krach- Czárdas (Boulanger)
La Trioletta (Boulanger)
Liebling der Frauen - Walz
Max und Moritz (Boulanger)
Mein Herz
Norinka - Serenade
Orientalische Nacht
The Piper
Pizzicato-Waltz in E major (Boulanger)
Puszta-Marchen (Boulanger)
Quand je suis content (Boulanger)
Ratata-Bum
Schlaf Georgette
Schmetterlingsspiel
Serenade in E minor
Tango Nora
Tango Torero (Boulanger)
Teddy-Bear
Tokay (Boulanger)
Vitamin-Polka (Boulanger)
Winke, Winke (Boulanger)
Zufriedenheit (Träumerischer Waltz)

[edit] As an actor

Movies Georges Boulanger appears in:

Ewige Klang, Der (1943) .... with his Ensemble
- aka Geiger, Der (The Violinist)
- aka The Eternal Tone (UK)

Immer nur Du (1941) .... Geiger
- aka Man müßte Klavier spielen können (Germany) (One must be able to play the piano)
- aka You Only You (International: English title)

Ganz großen Torheiten, Die (1937) .... Violinist
Mädchen Irene, Das (1936) .... A Violinist
- aka The Girl Irene (USA)
Punks kommt aus Amerika (1935) .... Ein Geiger (a violinist)
- aka Punks Arrives from America (USA)
Geige lockt, Die (1935)
Allo Berlin? Ici Paris! (1932) .... President
- aka Hallo hallo! Hier spricht Berlin! (Germany)
- aka Here's Berlin (International: English title)
Tolle Bomberg, Der (1932) .... Ein bekannter Geiger
- aka The Mad Bomberg (USA: informal English title)