He is regarded as a leading Romanian pianist of the twentieth century,[1] focused on both piano concertos of the Romantic period and chamber music.
[4] He received a scholarship to study further at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1937 to 1939,[3] piano with Lazare Lévy, theory and solfeggio with Marcelle Meyer, and harmony with Noël Gallon.
[4] He made his debut with orchestra at age 15 with the Bucharest Philharmonic conducted by George Georgescu, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1.
[1] Gheorgiu was first only allowed to play in Eastern European countries, but after 1957[5] also performed in Europe, North America, Israel, and Japan, with orchestras including the Gewandhausorchester, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris, with conductors including Rafael Kubelik, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, and Simon Rattle.
His wide repertoire included also music by Beethoven, as well as contemporary works by Romanian composers, such as George Enescu, Paul Constantinescu, and his own.
[11] He recorded works for violin and piano by Enescu with Sherban Lupu, and a reviewer from Gramophone wrote that he "proves himself an ideal collaborator.