Tutev was born of a Bulgarian father and German mother. He was raised in Germany; his father was secretary at the Bulgarian consulate in Dusseldorf. Tutev studied law at Sofia University while taking private music lessons with the eminent Bulgarian composer Lubomir Pipkov. In 1946, Tutev went to the Moscow State Conservatory to study composition under Victor Bely and Yuri Shaporin. His first symphonic work, Tale of the Lopian Forest was premiered in 1951. When Tutev returned to Bulgaria 1950 and from 1954 to 1958 was secretary of the Bulgarian Composers Union. From 1958 to 1961 the chief music editor at the Bulgarian National Radio and from 1961 to 1987 he was music director and principal conductor of the Orchestra of the National Youth Theatre. Tutev is the author of orchestral and chamber music, piano music, songs, poetry, film and theater music. Among his key works are the First Symphony (1960), Overture-Requiem in memory of the fallen in the fight against fascism (1962), Metamorphoses for 13 strings (1966), the Second Symphony which was performed in 1974 by the Warsaw Philharmonic under Konstantin Iliev, Yearning for the Lost Harmony for strings, keyboard instruments, and percussion (1979-1982) et al. Georgi Tutev is the founder and the first president of the Society for Contemporary Music in Bulgaria from 1990 till his death in 1994. He is the originator and organizer of the Musica Nova Festival.