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 ...

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 **Ge ...

jazz pianist who performed in the mixed classical-

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

style.

Biography

Born in Vad,

, to Teodor and Livia Ciceu, an Orthodox 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. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

piano concerto with the symphony orchestra of

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , ...

. 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 o ...

, he abandoned a career as a conventional concert pianist and established his style between classical and jazz piano, introducing

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 Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

, 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 constitu ...

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 Ra ...

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 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 wo ...

. In 1982, Cicero moved to Switzerland, where he died in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

in 1997 from a cerebral apoplexy,"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 ...

(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 (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 ...

.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