Composer/ Music
Michael Cretu is an internationally recognised musician and composer. Born in Bucharest, Romania Michael has been playing the double bass since he was 12. At the age of 19, he joined the Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Michael studied music at George Enescu Music School in Bucharest and he won a scholarship to complete his postgraduate studies with Duncan McTier at the Royal Northern College in Manchester.
Click here for ‘Burnt’ Overture (Double Bass & Violin)
Click here for the demo version of musical themes for ‘Burnt’
Since graduation, Michael has been performing as a classical and jazz double bassist, composer and musical director. He has performed as a solo, chamber, orchestral and jazz musician across Europe and South America, touring Holland, Spain, Brazil and Great Britain with violinist Cristina Anghelescu. Michael is currently composing and performing as part of a chamber group, funded by the European Union to promote the work of contemporary classical composers. The project includes performances in London, Paris, and Bucharest.
As a composer, Michael was commissioned by the Bucharest Conservatoire to write a solo piece for the Josef Prunner International Double Bass Competition. Among his major works are: Eight Steps to Eternity; Homeland; and The Wolf, the Bear and the Shepherd. Michael also transcribed and recorded Paganini’s Violin Capriccio Number 24 for the Double Bass and is currently working with a touring theatre company as a composer and solo bassist. His compositions are published by Liben Music Publishers, Cincinnati, USA and Recital Music, UK.
A live performance of Michael playing his solo work has been broadcast on BBC Radio. Within the UK, he has performed his pieces at a variety of venues, including Royal Academy of Music-London, Royal Northern College of Music- Manchester, Queen’s Hall-Edinburgh Festival, Bridgewater Hall- Manchester, Manchester Cathedral, Purcell Room-London, and St James Piccadilly-London. Michael regularly performs in Manchester and elsewhere in the UK with his successful Jazz trio.
Press Reviews:
”The pair’s performance at the cathedral was inspired an inspiring, hitting emotional and dramatic peaks, notably in the premiere of Cretu’s Eight Steps to Eternity” Manchester Evening News.
“The violin and bass duet Homeland by Michael Cretu is a pleasant contrast among all of the solo bass music….Exciting and well balanced,this is one of my favorites of the book” Double Bass Magazine.
“The refreshingly different duo breathes new life into old favourites of Bach and Paganini, for example and reveals a vital spark of Romanianism in its work” The Hampshire Chronicle.
“The music’s impact was heightened by the composer’s use of space, particularly underlining the power of an explosive violin passage that brought to mind Shostakovich” Manchester Evening News.