# Georges Boulanger (violinist)

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, Romania, from a Romani (Gypsy) family with a very long tradition in music. His father was Vasile Pantazi, nicknamed "Boulanger". Georges Boulanger is the artistic pseudonym of the violinist, composer and conductor Gheorghe Pantazi, who took the pseudonym given to his father by an officer in the navy, for his resemblance to the French general Georges Boulanger, while he was with a small orchestra of fiddlers at Sulina, as Jean Bart would describe this episode in his book, "Europolis".
The name, date and place of birth of Georges Boulanger come from a letter, in this case there was a letter, signed by the artist, on September 25, 1933, while he was in Berlin, in which he requested the help of the mayor of Tulcea to prove that he is a Christian, according to the new German law, that both he and his parents and grandparents are Orthodox Christians: "... I am the son of Vasile Boulanger (whom I'm sure you knew and who died in London 3 years ago, when I was singing at the Savoy Hotel). Now in Germany there is a law where it is absolutely necessary for me to show that my mother's parents were Christians, like me [...]" . The way it is written, details regarding the musical activity of his father (died in London in 1930), the precise indication of the reference of the place where the mother and grandmother were buried, show the artist's concern with the new Nazi legislation, which required proof of Aryan origin, being in fact the beginning of the ethnic cleansing process that would reach the abominable dimension of the extermination in the Nazi camps during the Second World War.
The other members of his family for six generations were violinists, bassists and guitarists. Along with his father, George used to play all these instruments. He was known as one of the typical Romanian virtuosi. 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, as he was playing Paganini, he was heard by the famous violinist and teacher Leopold Auer, who was fascinated by Boulanger's artistic skills. He was able to come to Dresden with Auers support and there he studied with him for the next two years. Other students of Auer included Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, and Mischa Elman.
In 1910, when Boulanger was 17 years old, Leopold Auer considered his pupil's musical education complete. Auer gave him a violin as a going away present. Boulanger played on this violin throughout his life 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, 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 Ellionor Paulson. She was an intellectual student of law and medicine. They eventually got married and had two daughters, Nora and Georgette.
In 1917, after the Bolshevik revolution, Georges Boulanger left Russia and returned to Romania. There he worked in the armed forces. In 1922/23 he went to Berlin where he played for his old audiences of Russian Aristocrats that now lived in Berlin. On December 4th, 1923, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, he married Ellinor Paulson, who was 28 years old and he was 30 years old.
In the year 1926, after his first radio recording as a soloist, 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 signed by the Bote & Bock 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 and Jimmy Kennedy, retitled "My Prayer". In 1956 the recording of "My Prayer" by US R&B-pop act The Platters spent 23 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100, five of them at number one. Billboard ranked the single as the fourth biggest of the year.
During the Nazi regime he remained in Germany, at the end of the war living in Mecklenburg, an area occupied by the Red Army. He is freed by American soldiers when they learn that he is the composer of the famous My Prayer. 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 on June 3, 1958.

## 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

Films Georges Boulanger appears in:
* Der ewige Klang (1943) ... with his ensemble
** a.k.a. L'Éternelle Mélodie [fr] (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)
* Allô Berlin ? Ici Paris ! [fr] (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