George Pantazi (18 April 1893 – 3 June 1958), better known by his stage name Georges Boulanger, was a Romanian violinist, conductor and composer.

Biography

Georges Boulanger was born in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names Th ...

, Romania, from a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

(Gypsy) family with a very long tradition in music. His father was Vasile Pantazi, nicknamed "Boulanger". He was known as one of the typical Romanian virtuosi. He learned to play the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

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 Bucharest. Three years later he was heard by

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

who took him to Dresden with him and where he studied with him for the next two years. Other students of Auer included

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...

, and

Mischa Elman Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (russian: Михаил Саулович Эльман; January 20, 1891April 5, 1967) was a Russian-born American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. E ...

. In 1910, when Boulanger was 17 years old, Leopold Auer told him that his musical studies were 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 the Café Chantant in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This was where many aristocrats frequented. With his "background music", a mixture of

Romani music Romani music (often referred to as gypsy or gipsy music, which is sometimes considered a derogatory term) is the music of the Romani people who have their origins in northern India but today live mostly in Europe. Historically nomadic, though n ...

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

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 Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and ...

. 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 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 The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

in London. He was signed by the

Bote & Bock Bote & Bock is a German publishing house founded in Berlin in 1838 by Eduard Bote and Gustav Bock (1813-1863). The first Gustav Bock was a musically gifted publisher with an eye for opera. Eduard Bote withdrew from the business in 1847, after the ...

Edition who published his musical compositions. The melody of his popular 1926 song ''Avant de mourir'' became a popular standard with the addition in 1939 of lyrics by

Carlos Gomez Barrera Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

and

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a Northern Irish songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, Wi ...

, retitled "

My Prayer "My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title ''Avant de mourir'' (Before dying) 1926. The lyrics for ...

". In 1956 the recording of "My Prayer" by US R&B-pop act

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

spent 23 weeks on ''Billboards Hot 100, five of them at number one. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' ranked the single as the fourth biggest of the year. Boulanger lived in Germany from the early 1920s until 1948 when he moved to South America. He worked in Brazil then settled in Argentina for the rest of his days. He died in

Olivos, Buenos Aires Olivos is a neighborhood in Vicente López Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is bordered to the south by Vicente López, Buenos Aires, Vicente López neighborhood and Florida Este, Buenos Aires, Florida; to the east by the Río de la ...

Compositions

Boulanger wrote about 250 compositions. Most of his works last 5 or 6 minutes. *Afrika *Auf der Hochzeitreise *Autumn Moods * Avant de mourir (later known as "My Prayer") *Beside the Lake *Budapest Party *Buntes Allerlei *Comme ci, comme ça *Da Capo *Danse Hongroise *Der Dudelsackpfeifer (for solo violin) *Der Lustige Schotte *Die Glasharfe *Die lustige Puppe (The Happy Doll) *Die Zigeunerin *Einsam steh ich unterm Sternenzelt *Familien-Polka *Flageolett Walzer No. 1 in G major (G.Boulanger) *Flageolett Walzer No. 2 in G major *Für Dich *Gemuse! Gemuse! Gemuse! *Georgette *Zigeunerständchen (Gypsy serenade) *Gruss an Franz Liszt *Hallo! Budapest *Heimweh (Homesickness) *Herbstgedanken *Hora – Rumänischer Tanz in A major *Kinderparade *Krach-Czárdás *La Trioletta *Liebling der Frauen – Walz *Max und Moritz *Mein Herz *Norinka – Serenade *Orientalische Nacht *The Piper *Pizzicato-Waltz in E major *Puszta-Marchen *Quand je suis content *Ratata-Bum *Schlaf Georgette *Schmetterlingsspiel *Serenade in E minor *Tango Nora *Tango Torero *Teddy-Bear *Tokay *Vitamin-Polka *Winke, winke *Zufriedenheit (Träumerischer Walzer)

As an actor

Fotothek df pk 0000196 002 Porträt, Dirigent Boulanger

Films Georges Boulanger appears in: * ''Der ewige Klang'' (1943) ... with his ensemble ** a.k.a. ' (France) ** a.k.a. ''Der Geiger'' (The Violinist) ** a.k.a. ''The Eternal Tone'' (UK) *''Immer nur ... Du'' (1941) ... Violinist ** a.k.a. ''Man müsste Klavier spielen können'' (Germany) (One must be able to play the piano) ** a.k.a. ''You Only You'' (International: English title) *''Die ganz großen Torheiten'' (1937) ... Violinist *''Das Mädchen Irene'' (1936) ... Violinist ** a.k.a. ''The Girl Irene'' (USA) *''Punks kommt aus Amerika'' (1935) ... Violinist ** a.k.a. ''Punks Arrives from America'' (USA) *''Die Geige lockt'' (1935) *' (1932) ... President ** a.k.a. ''Hallo hallo! Hier spricht Berlin!'' (Germany) ** a.k.a. ''Here's Berlin'' (International: English title) * '' The Mad Bomberg'' (1932) ... Well-known Violinist ** a.k.a. ''Der tolle Bomberg''

External links

*
Georges Boulanger
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 ...

*
Web site of Georges Boulanger
* The home page o

, a Swiss Salon music ensemble specializing in music by Boulanger. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulanger, Georges 1893 births 1958 deaths Romanian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Romanian violinists Male violinists Romani violinists Romanian Romani people 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century violinists People from Tulcea 20th-century male musicians Romanian expatriates in Germany Romanian expatriates in Brazil Romanian emigrants to Argentina