Tudor Gheorghe (; born August 1, 1945) is a Romanian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

known primarily for his politically charged musical career and his collaborations with well-known figures of late 20th-century Romanian poetry. His recording work is sometimes associated with anti communist activism and has received much critical acclaim during the years. The son of an

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was stron ...

member, he was banned from performing and recording in 1987 after a concert at

Sala Palatului ''Sala Palatului'' (Palace Hall) in Bucharest, Romania is a conference centre and concert hall immediately behind the National Museum of Art of Romania, the former royal palace in the heart of the city. It was built between 1959 and 1960, during ...

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 ...

, following a number of run-ins with Romania's communist authorities throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

Born in Podari,

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to '' Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, the c ...

, Tudor Gheorghe started his secondary studies at the Frații Buzești High School in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

. Expelled for political reasons in 9th grade, he moved to stay with some aunts in Arad, attending the city's Moise Nicoară High School. The following year he returned to Craiova, where he studied at the

Carol I High School The Carol I National College ( ro, Colegiul Național Carol I din Craiova) is a high school located in central Craiova, Romania, on Ioan Maiorescu Street. It is one of the most prestigious secondary education institutions in Romania. Between 194 ...

, from which he graduated in due course. He then studied to be an actor, graduating from the I.L. Caragiale Institute of Theatre and Film Arts in

in 1966. He later started composing music as a means of expressing his interest in Romanian poetry. His first national tour in 1969 was critically and commercially acclaimed and established him as a figure of the fledgling contemporary folk scene in Romania. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has frequently defied pop music conventions while exploring various traditions in Romanian music, from folk,

religious music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

, the anti-communist anthems of

Jean Moscopol Jean Moscopol (; real name: Ioan Moscu; February 26, 1903 – 1980) was a Romanian singer of the interwar period, who spent his last years in the US. Biography Moscopol's parents were Greek. His mother, ''née'' Constantinidi, was from Constanț ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

of interwar Romania, at times embracing even

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. Throughout his early career, he performed with a guitar or

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

with no backing musicians or vocalists but, starting in the early 2000s, he has incorporated orchestras, choirs, and tarafs into his performances. He resumed his musical career in 1992 but, dissatisfied with the way promoters wanted to market his music, took another six-year break from performing live. He has been touring constantly since 1998 and has recorded most of his concerts, releasing them as albums and generally avoiding studio work. Throughout his career, he has been praised as a performer and songwriter by a number of Romanian literary figures. The poet and playwright

Marin Sorescu Marin Sorescu (; 29 February 1936 – 8 December 1996) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist. His works were translated into more than 20 countries, and the total number of his books that were published abroad rises up to 60 books. He ha ...

addressed his personal relationship with Gheorghe in 1988 by saying that "Every time I listen to his music ..Tudor Gheorghe reinforces my hunch that Romanian poetry ..can move mountains", while

Adrian Păunescu Adrian Păunescu (; 20 July 1943 – 5 November 2010) was a Romanian writer, publisher, cultural promoter, translator, and politician. A profoundly charismatic personality, a controversial and complex figure, the artist and the man are almost im ...

described him as "a great poet who negletcs his talent". In an article published in the

Flacăra ''Flacăra'' (Romanian language, Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Co ...

magazine in 1973,

Dorin Tudoran Dorin Tudoran (born June 30, 1945) is a Romanian poet, essayist, journalist, and dissident. A resident of the United States since 1985, he has authored more than fifteen books of poetry, essays, and interviews. Biography Early life Born in Ti ...

chronicled Gheorghe's precarious living conditions at the time, characterizing him as "a great artist, who has abundantly proved to be perfectly aware of his obligations". The

University of Craiova The University of Craiova ( ro, Universitatea din Craiova) is a public university located in Craiova, Romania. It was founded in 1947, initially with four institutes, in the Palace of Justice of Craiova. It is the largest university in the histori ...

and the Constantin Brâncuși University of

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...

have awarded him

doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...

titles for his contributions to

Romanian music Romania is a European country with a multicultural music environment which includes active ethnic music scenes. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national (and even international) fame. Histo ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and both Romania and the

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

have decorated him with the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

and the Order of the Republic, respectively. In a 2006 poll conducted by

Romanian Television Televiziunea Română (), more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Română de Televiziune ("Romanian Television Society"; SRTV), the Romanian public television. It operates six channels: TVR1, TVR2, TVR3, TVR Info, ...

to identify the " 100 greatest Romanians of all time", he came in 76th.

Discography

Studio albums

Starting in the late 1990s, Tudor Gheorghe has performed almost exclusively in live concerts, recording and releasing them as albums.

Live albums

References

Footnotes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gheorghe, Tudor 1945 births Living people People from Dolj County Romanian male singers Romanian folk singers Carol I National College alumni Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography alumni Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova)