Eugen Doga (1 March 1937 – 3 June 2025) was a Moldovan composer. He made significant contributions to various forms of music during his career.
Doga created ballets, Luceafărul, Venancia, and Queen Margot, the opera Dialogues of Love, more than 100 instrumental and choral works, symphonies, 6 quartets, Requiem and other church music. He also wrote incidental music for 13 plays, radio shows, more than 200 film scores, more than 260 songs and romances, more than 70 waltzes. He also composed works for children and the music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva), in recognition of his outstanding achievements in music, awarded him a special certificate in 2007.
Life and career
Early life and education Doga was born on 1 March 1937 in the village of Mocra in the Rîbniţa District (then in Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), in a Romanian family.
The childhood of the composer coincided with a period of historical cataclysms – the war, repressions, hunger, poverty, and exhausting hard work (the composer's memories of his childhoodEugen Doga: infinitely romantic. Moldavskie Vedomosti. 16 November 2012).
After finishing seven years at school, Doga with his friends went to Chișinău (barefoot and without money, as he recalled laterThe Russian newspaper. ) to enrol in the School of Music which he learned about when listening to a homemade radio. He was admitted to the music school, despite having no prior training. Thanks to his natural talent and hard work, Doga managed to quickly catch up, mastered musical notation, and learned to play cello. He always had the fondest memories of his cello teacher Pablo Giovanni Baccini, with whom his personal example greatly influenced the future destiny of the composer.
"My second teacher, an old man by the name of Pavel Ivanovich Bachinin, became my salvation. I always think of him with joy. He scheduled my first lesson at 6 o'clock in the morning. I came in – he was already sitting there playing the piano. I liked him a lot – intelligent, very musical, and tactful. He worked with me every morning from 6:00 to 8:30, before lectures, for two and a half years. He taught me not only to play the cello, but simply to be a decent human being. He never said the word 'must', never used the imperative mood. However, through his own example, his attitude, he had taught me a lot,"Orthodoxy and the world. 31 мая 2007- said Doga.
In 1951–1955 he studied at the Music School in Chișinău, specializing in cello, and then at the Conservatory where one of his classmates was a future opera star Maria Bieșu. She made her debut with his songЕвгений Дога назвал Марию Биешу великой артисткой с уникальным голосом. Канал Россия. Культура. "White flower garden" (Floare dalbă din livadă) on the Moldovan television. Paralysis of the left hand prevented a career of a musician – this was due to the fact that he used to live in a basement.Network literary magazine "Tuning fork". 14 March 2013 Doga studied for another 5 years at the Art Institute "Gavriil Musicescu",Academician and composer Eugene Doga March 1 marks 70 years. News. 28 February 2007 in the class of Professor S. Lobel specializing in composition. 1 January 1957 for the first time in his work, "New Year song" (Cântec de anul nou) was performed on the Moldovan radio children's choir and orchestra under the baton of Shiko Aranova.All musicians//Aranov, Chiko Beniaminovic In 1963, he wrote his first string quartet.
After graduating from the Conservatory in Chişinău, he performed as cellist in the Orchestra of the State Committee of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic for television and radio (1957–1962), taught at the Music College "Stefan Neaga"News. 28 февраля 2007 from Chișinău (1962–1967), and worked from 1967 to 1972 at the repertory-editorial Board of the Ministry of Culture of Moldova.Академику и композитору Евгению Дога 1 марта исполняется 70 лет. Point.md
He made his compositional debut in 1963, with a string quartet.
Concert activity From 1972 Doga om concert tours, travelled all over the territory of the former Soviet Union, as well to some foreign countries.
"The image of the person is defined by his deeds that ultimately benefit people and society. And the concerts that I give in Chișinău, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kursk or Bucharest, are aimed at precisely this idea of bringing people together, preserving the ideals that make people kinder, more tolerant, that make flowers bloom, and the sun shine brighter,"- said Eugen Doga.Беседы с Маэстро (часть 2): "О музыке – написанной и той, что на подходе" Free Time. 13 May 2011
Doga's concerts took place in the biggest concert halls. They "gathered huge audiences",Силуэты композиторов XX века. Composers of the twentieth century and they still do today. "...There were so many offenses because of Eugen Doga's concerts; people just did not want to talk to me. They told me: "I have been asking you for three years, and you can't arrange Eugen Doga's concert." And I really couldn't, because he was very busy. In Leningrad there was a concert orchestra conducted by Anatoly Badhen, a wonderful orchestra, unequalled in the Soviet Union, which played high-quality music. This orchestra for many years gave a lot of concerts with Eugen Doga's music everywhere, throughout the Soviet Union" – Mikhail Murzak. Philharmonic Director of Chișinău (1972–1988 years).
His music was performed by the Choir of TV and radio Moldova, the Russian state Symphony orchestra of cinematography, Academic Choir "Doina", The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow chamber orchestra "The seasons",РОМАНТИКА РОМАНСА. Видео. ТВ Культура Leningrad Concert Orchestra, Academic Grand choir "Masters of choral singing",Евгений Дога. Авторский вечер. Большой зал Московской консерватории Orchestra of the Moldavian Philharmonic "Sergei Lonkevich", Moscow city Symphony orchestra "Russian Philharmonic", The national Symphony orchestra of the public company "Teleradio-Moldova", the Presidential orchestra of the Republic of Moldova, Children's choir "Liya Ciocarlia", Large children's choir of the USSR Gosteleradio, Orchestra of the Romanian National Opera Iași,În premieră la Iași — Gala extraordinară — Eugen Doga . 25 June 2014 and other groups.
Public activities Equally important for Doga during his whole life was his public work. From 1987 to 1991 he was a member of the Committee on Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR. For two convocations he was in the Supreme Soviet of Moldavia, for two more – in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He, alongside Timofei Moșneaga, were the only members of the Moldavian faction that penned an open letter to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, condemning the separatist movement brewing in Transnistria at the time.
As of 2001 he was the permanent chairman of the jury of the All-Russian Movement "Gifted Children of Russia",Eugen Doga awarded — Ruby Cross. Gifted Children of Russia chairman of the jury of the contest of family Theatre. From 1997 to 2002 he worked with preschool children in a house where he lived. Member of the International Academy of the Arts,International Academy of the Arts. Eugen Doga Member of the academy of film art "NIKA",Russian Academy of cinema arts "NIKA". Academicians. Full member of the Russian Academy of science and culture; Member of the International Academy of Arts and culture. Throughout the creative activities of Doga he conducted awareness-raising concerts, charity concerts,Amur.info. 7 ноября 2013Gala concert at the children's Hospital of. V. Ignatenko (Photos). Publica.md. and lectured to students.Lecture "The music of life and a movie". Eugen Doga. The Culture Of The RUSSIAN FEDERATION
He was on numerous juries of various music and cinematic competitions and festivals across Russia and abroad: Festival "Spirit of fire",Ah, the Festival, the wonderful world of .... Ugra. Regional news magazine. March 2013"Spirit of fire" in Khanty-Mansiysk. RIA news. 24 February 2012 Kremlin Cadet ball,Кадеты и воспитанники детских домов посетили кремлевский бал ALLMOL. Информационный молодёжный портал. 20 February 2012 Berdyanskiy International Film Festival,События по темам: XII Бердянский Международный кинофестиваль ФОТОСЛУЖБА АГЕНТСТВА "УНІАН" Education International Festival in Iași (Festivalului Internaţional al Educaţiei), International Film Forum "Gold Knight",В субботу, 24 мая, в пресс-центре кинофорума "Золотого витязя" состоялась пресс-конференция композитора, народного артиста СССР Евгения Дмитриевича Доги. Золотой витязь. Славянский форум искусств. 25 мая 2014 The all-Russian children's charity ball books heroes",Всероссийский благотворительный "Русский детский бал — маскарад книжных героев" and so on.
Doga declared that he supported the Unification of Moldova and Romania.ADEVĂRATELE ELITE SUSȚIN MARȘUL UNIRII , Action 2012.Maestrul roman basarabean Eugen Doga, omagiat la Ateneul Român , 27 noiembrie 2012, rgnpress.roEugen Doga: Alba Iulia e capitala unirii şi o adevărată Mecca In an interview Eugen Doga explained his visit to Alba Iulia (Romania) on the Union Day in 2009, "[The place] is common for all Romanians, the people that has the same language, perception, thought/[locul] este comun pentru toţi românii, neamul care vorbeşte aceiaşi limbă, simţire gând".http://social.moldova.org/news/eugen-doga-alba-iulia-e-capitala-unirii-i-o-adevrat-mecca-205133-rom.html
He was an Orthodox Christian, belonging to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.
Doga opposed the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and called it a war, not a "special military operation".
He participated in the European Moldova National Assembly on 21 May 2023.
Family "Family is the home port, which any ship is seeking for, wherever it is. Even despite long distances. Our, artists', distances are incommensurable, but I am glad to have my wife, daughter and grandson waiting for me". Eugen DogaThe monologue to the Maestro. Eugen doga: Music occupied the whole of my life. Russian Gazette. 23 September 2011
In 1962 Eugen Doga was married to a graduate of the Moscow technological Institute of Natalia. They had a daughter, Viorica (television director) and grandson, Dominic (student).
Father – Dmitry Fedorovich Doga (1906–?). Mother – Elizabeth Nikiforovna Doga (1915–?). Wife – Natalia Pavlovna Doga (born 1939), engineer. Daughter – Viorica Doga (born 1966). Grandson – Dominique Doga
Later life
Eugen Doga lived with his family in Chișinău, as well as in Moscow. He continued to perform live, participating in various festivals.