Eugen Cicero

Eugen Cicero in 1967

Eugen Cicero (27 June 1940, Cluj, Romania – 5 December 1997, Zürich, Switzerland), nicknamed "Mister Golden Hands", was a Romanian-German jazz pianist who performed in the mixed classical-swing style.[1][2]

Biography

Born in Cluj-Napoca to Romanian parents. He started playing piano at age four and was trained by the leading Romanian teachers. At age six he performed a Mozart piano concert with the symphony orchestra of Cluj.[3] Despite graduating from the National Conservatory in Bucharest, he abandoned a career as a conventional concert pianist and established his style between classical and jazz piano, introducing swing harmonies into baroque, classical and romantic compositions, often as spontaneous improvisations.[2]

In 1962, while touring East Berlin, Cicero fled to West Berlin. He spent the next two years in Switzerland, where he joined the "Kindli" orchestra of Joe Schmid.[2][3] After returning to Germany, Cicero produced over 70 recordings, some of them with the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic orchestras. He had numerous appearances on German TV and enjoyed much success while touring Japan. In 1976 he was awarded the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis for his interpretations of Franz Schubert.[2]

In 1982, Cicero moved to Switzerland where he died in 1997, aged 57. Cicero's younger brother Adrian Cicero is a jazz instrumentist. His son Roger (born 1970) also became a renowned jazz pianist.

References

  1. ↑ GESTORBEN Eugen Cicero. spiegel.de. 15 December 1997
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 My Father's Name Trailer, vimeo.com
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eugen Cicero Biography. visionofparadise.ch

External links