Cucu, Gheorghe (EN)

Cucu Gheorghe, *23 (11) February 1882 Puieşti (Moldavia), †24 August 1932 Bucharest, Romanian composer, conductor and teacher. Between 1890 and 1898, he studied at the school for church choristers in Birlad; between 1899 and 1905, he studied at the Bucharest Conservatoire under G. Bratianu, E. Wachmann and D. Kiriac-Georgescu. He supplemented his musical studies from 1907 to 1908 with G. Caussade at the Paris Conservatoire and from 1908 to 1911 with V. d’Indy at his Schola Cantorum; at the same time, he worked as a conductor at the Romanian church in Paris. Upon his return to Romania, he taught at the Bucharest Conservatoire (1911–12; 1918–32) and also undertook teaching activities in Piteşti, Turnu-Severin and Slatina (1912–15). Between 1928 and 1932, he taught at the Academia de muzică religioasă in Bucharest. Cucu conducted numerous choirs, including those of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Bucharest (1912–32) and the Carmen Music Society, which is why choral religious works occupy such an important place in his oeuvre; he also composed solo songs. Folk music (he was a collector of musical folklore) and religious music (ancient Byzantine chants) had a significant influence on his work. He was the author of numerous arrangements of Christmas carols, for which he received an award from the Romanian Composers’ Society in 1925; in 1919, he was awarded the second G. Enescu Prize for his compositional work.

Literature: E. Riegler-Dinu Douăzeci de ani de la moartea lui Gheorghe Cucu (“Twentieth Anniversary of Gheorghe Cucu’s Death), “Muzicâ” VII, 1952; N. Parocescu Gheorghe Cucu, Bucharest 1967.