Georges Boulanger (violinist)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Georges Boulanger


Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Georges Boulanger
Born = birth date|1893|04|18|mf=y
Tulcea, Romania
Died = death date and age|1958|06|03|1893|04|18|mf=y
Olivos City near Buenos Aires, Argentina
Genre = Romantic
Occupation = Composer, violinist
Years_active = "fl. ca." 1910-1958
Notable_instruments = Violin

Georges Boulanger (April 18, 1893 - June 3, 1958) was a Romanian violinist, conductor and composer.

Biography

Georges Boulanger was born in Tulcea, Romania. Although his mother was Bulgarian and his father was Greek he was known as the typical Romanian virtuoso because of where he was born. He learned to play the violin 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 who took him to Dresden with him and where he studied with him for the next two years. Other students of Auer were Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, and Mischa Elman.

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

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 back 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 in London. He was contracted by the Bote & Bock Edition who published his muscal compositions.

His famous Avant de mourir would later be called My Prayer and a text by Kennedy would be added. It was charted in the number one spot for 21 weeks in 1958 in the USA.

Boulanger lived in Germany from the early 20s until 1948 when he moved to South America. He worked in Brazil then settled in Argentina for the rest of his days.

Compositions

George Boulanger wrote about 250 compositions. Most of his works last 5 or 6 minutes.

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

As an actor

Movies Georges Boulanger appears in:

* Ewige Klang, Der (1943) .... with his Ensemble
** aka Geiger, Der (The Violinist)
** aka The Eternal Tone (UK)

*Immer nur Du (1941) .... Geiger
** aka Man müßte Klavier spielen können (Germany) (One must be able to play the piano)
** aka You Only You (International: English title)

*Ganz großen Torheiten, Die (1937) .... Violinist
*Mädchen Irene, Das (1936) .... A Violinist
** aka The Girl Irene (USA)
*Punks kommt aus Amerika (1935) .... Ein Geiger (a violinist)
** aka Punks Arrives from America (USA)
*Geige lockt, Die (1935)
*Allo Berlin? Ici Paris! (1932) .... President
** aka Hallo hallo! Hier spricht Berlin! (Germany)
** aka Here's Berlin (International: English title)
*Tolle Bomberg, Der (1932) .... Ein bekannter Geiger
** aka The Mad Bomberg (USA: informal English title)

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0099431/ IMDb - International Movie database with a search of Boulanger]
* [http://www.boulanger-musik.com.ar/ Web site of George Boulanger]

*The home page of [http://www.prima-carezza.ch/boulange.htm Prima Carezza] , a swiss Salon music ensemble specializing in music by Boulanger.