[1][2] Born in Vad, Romania, to Teodor and Livia Ciceu, an Orthodox priest and professional singer respectively, he began to play the piano at the age of four.
[3] Although he graduated from the National Conservatory in Bucharest, he abandoned a career as a conventional concert pianist and established his style between classical and jazz piano, introducing swing harmonies into baroque, classical and romantic compositions, often as spontaneous improvisations.
He spent the next two years in Switzerland, where he joined the "Kindli" orchestra of Joe Schmid.
[2][3] After returning to Germany, Cicero produced more than 70 recordings, some of them with the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic orchestras.
He had numerous appearances on German TV and enjoyed much success while touring Japan.