“We part with pain, but with gratitude”: Tributes to Eugen Doga from those who knew him. Radio Moldova. 5.06.2025

Artists, stage colleagues, relatives, close friends, and admirers of the great composer Eugen Doga are mourning his loss as he embarks on his final journey. In a special edition titled "In Memoriam Eugen Doga," broadcast by Moldova 1 TV, those who knew and cherished him shared their memories and reflections on his life and work.

"The separation is painful, but his legacy is eternal"

"Moldova 1" journalist Natalia Moraru-Vasilcău recalled with emotion a special moment during the "Crescendo" Festival, organized in Cahul, when the master, invited to watch an author's performance from the audience, spontaneously went on stage and performed his famous waltz from the film "My Sweet and Tender Beast", together with the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

"He, being an artist, could not sit still in public, he got up on stage and sang with the Chisinau Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Of course, after he sang his famous waltz from the film "My Sweet and Tender Beast", the audience did not allow him to leave the stage", said Natalia Moraru-Vasilcău, adding that the master loved the people of Cahul very much, and the attachment was mutual.

With deep emotion, the journalist confessed that the separation from Eugen Doga is challenging to accept. "Even now it is hard for me to believe we parted ways with Eugen Doga. Those who knew him know how much he loved life. He did not accept the idea of ​​death, he never put an end to his creations – he always had something new to convey. He always kept up with the times. It is painful that we are losing him, but at the same time we are grateful for the huge and immortal legacy he left us. He was a happy man, because all generations loved his music”, concluded Natalia Moraru-Vasilcău.

The great composer's regret

Eugen Doga was an artist appreciated for his musical talent, human depth, and clarity of civic positions. With a "childlike" curiosity about people, history, and places, the master stood out for his sensitivity, refinement, and profound vision of national identity, said Iulia Gorea-Costin, president of the Development Association for Romania.

"*He had a fine sense of humor, a rare delicacy in approaching people. He always found something essential in each interlocutor," said Iulia Gorea-Costin, emphasizing the composer's humanity, beyond his artistic aura.

Doga was recognized and loved by numerous personalities of Romanian culture, such as Victor Crăciun, Dumitru Preda, Aura Christi, and soprano Iana Novac. Artistically, he was deeply connected to Mihai Eminescu's poetic work, whom he considered an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

“He respected rhythm, meaning, vibration. He was a master not only of sound, but also of the word”, added Gorea-Costin.

Eugen Doga was also a clear voice on issues related to national identity and the history of Romanians in Bassarabia.

“He always had an apparent position on things and phenomena. He reacted with sadness and pain, not hatred, to things that seemed unnatural or foreign to what our national being would have meant”.

One of the master’s deepest pains, Gorea-Costin also confessed, was that he could not go to his mother’s grave in the Transnistrian region.

“His expression remained memorable, the Transnistrians are separatists, we are separatists, the Bessarabians, the Transnistrians help us”, she recalled.

A street in Cahul will be named after the master

The municipality of Cahul will pay tribute to composer Eugen Doga by naming one of the city's streets after him. Mayor Nicolae Dandiș announced, expressing his deep gratitude for the master's cultural contribution.

"We all know him as a great personality. For Cahul, he has a special meaning – he was an honorary city citizen. We will discuss several options in these days, so that they are valuable things, to be not only in the memory of Cahul, but for the entire country", declared the mayor.

Nicolae Dandiș also evoked Eugen Doga's unconditional support of the musical community in Cahul since the formation of the local philharmonic.

"*He was with us from the beginning, he consulted us and helped us in organizing classical music concerts".

Radio Moldova