Eugen Cicero (born ''Eugen Ciceu''; 27 June 1940 – 5 December 1997), nicknamed "Mister Golden Hands", was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n-
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
jazz pianist who performed in the mixed classical-
swing style.
[
]
Biography
Born in Vad, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, to Teodor and Livia Ciceu, an Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
priest and professional singer respectively, he began to play the piano at the age of four. Aged six, he performed a Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
piano concerto with the symphony orchestra of Cluj
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
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, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
.[ Although he graduated from the National Conservatory in ]Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, 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.[
In 1962, while touring ]East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
, Cicero fled to West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
. He spent the next two years in Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where he joined the "Kindli" orchestra of Joe Schmid.[ After returning to Germany, Cicero produced more than 70 recordings, some of them with the ]Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and Munich Philharmonic
The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Rad ...
orchestras. He had numerous appearances on German TV and enjoyed much success while touring Japan. In 1976 he was awarded the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
The Deutscher Schallplattenpreis was a prize that the awarded from 1963 through 1992. Its successor is the Echo Music Prize
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recog ...
for his interpretations of Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
.[
In 1982, Cicero moved to Switzerland, where he died in ]Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in 1997 from a cerebral apoplexy
Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...
,"Roger Cicero ist tot - Ciceros schweres Schicksal"
, GMX.de aged 57. His younger brother Adrian Cicero is a jazz instrumentalist. His son Roger Cicero
Roger Marcel Cicero Ciceu (6 July 1970 – 24 March 2016) was a German jazz and pop musician.
Biography
Roger Cicero was born in 1970 in Berlin to Romanian jazz pianist Eugen Cicero and dancer Lili Cziczeo.
Cicero represented Germany at the E ...
(1970–2016) was a renowned jazz singer.
Discography
* ''Rokoko Jazz'' (SABA, 1965)
* ''In Town'' (SABA, 1965)
* ''Cicero's Chopin'' (SABA, 1966)
* ''Swinging Tschaikowsky'' (SABA, 1966)
* ''Romantic Swing'' (SABA, 1968)
* ''Eugen Cicero Quintet'' (Metronome, 1968)
* ''Balkan Rhapsody'' (MPS, 1970)
* ''Und Jetzt Spielt'' (HOR ZU, 1970)
* ''Klavierspielereien'' (MPS, 1971)
* ''Live at the Berlin Philharmonie'' (Intercord, 1972)
* ''My Lyrics'' (Columbia, 1972)
* ''Swinging Classics'' (MPS, 1972)
* ''Mr. Golden Hands Vol. 2'' (Intercord, 1973)
* ''Cicero in London'' (Intercord, 1974)
* ''Klassik Modern'' (Sudwestfunk, 1974)
* ''Plays Schubert'' (Intercord, 1975)
* ''Piano Solo'' (Intercord, 1976)
* ''Mr. Golden Hands Vol. 1'' (Intercord, 1976)
* ''Swingin' Classic'' (MPS, 1976)
* ''Eugen Cicero Chopin Festival'' (BBC, 1976)
* ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (Overseas, 1977)
* ''Piano Reflections'' (Overseas, 1977)
* ''For My Friends'' (Intercord, 1977)
* ''Marching the Classics: Love of Three Oranges March'' (Barclay, 1978)
* ''In Concert'' (Intercord, 1978)
* ''Presenting Eugen Cicero'' (MPS, 1978)
* ''Balladen'' (Intercord, 1979)
* ''Nice to Meet You'' with Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...
(Intercord, 1980)
* ''Romantic Swing Piano'' (MPS, 1980)
* ''Eugen Cicero'' (Europa, 1980)
* ''Swinging Classics'' (Overseas, 1982)
* ''Spring Song'' (Timeless, 1983)
* ''Don't Stop My Dreams'' (Denon, 1984)
* ''Jazz Bach'' (Timeless, 1985)
* ''Love's Dream'' (Elite Special, 1985)
* ''Traumnoten'' (Intersound, 1985)
* ''Classics in Rhythm'' (MPS, 1986)
* ''Rokoko Jazz II'' (Baystate, 1987)
* ''Berlin Reunion'' (Monopol, 1987)
* ''Whisper from Eternity'' (Columbia, 1988)
* ''Rococo Jazz 2'' (Timeless, 1992)
* ''Cicero Jazz'' (Electrecord, 1993)
* ''Swinging Piano Classics'' (In+Out, 1996)
* ''Jazz Meets Popular Music'' (ZYX/Bob Media, 2007)
* ''Swing with Cicero'' (Xclu, 2010)
References
External links
Eugen Cicero
at Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicero, Eugen
1940 births
1997 deaths
Musicians from Cluj-Napoca
Romanian jazz pianists
German jazz pianists
Swing pianists
20th-century pianists
20th-century German musicians
Romanian emigrants to Germany