Tudor Gheorghe
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Tudor Gheorghe (; born August 1, 1945) is a Romanian
musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
,
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
, 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
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 over the years. The son of an
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
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 ...
in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, 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 River, 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, ...
, Tudor Gheorghe started his secondary studies at the Frații Buzești High School in
Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...
. 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, 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
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
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 Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from trad ...
scene in Romania. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has frequently defied pop music conventions while exploring various traditions in Romanian music, from
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
,
religious music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for Religion, religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as a ri ...
, the anti-communist anthems of Jean Moscopol to
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). ''Fun ...
of
interwar Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greater ...
, at times embracing even
children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
or
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. Throughout his early career, he performed with a guitar or
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), 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 "lu ...
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 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 ...
described him as "a great poet who negletcs his talent". In an article published in the Flacăra 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 T ...
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 () 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 historical Oltenia province of Roma ...
and the Constantin Brâncuși University of
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...
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 hono ...
titles for his contributions to
Romanian music Romania has 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. History Folk music is the ...
and
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
and both Romania and the
Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...
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 Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
and the Order of the Republic, respectively. In a 2006
poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...
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 nine channels: TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR 3, TV ...
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 Romanian guitarists Lutenists Carol I National College alumni Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film alumni Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Moise Nicoară National College alumni