The Hindu : New Delhi News : Folk concert offers a brilliant sampling of Hungarian peasant music

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Folk concert offers a brilliant sampling of Hungarian peasant music

Madhur Tankha

Part of ongoing cultural festival

NEW DELHI: The Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre in cooperation with India International Centre here will host a folk music concert by Hungarian State Folk Ensemble at IIC this Thursday. The concert is part of the ongoing Hungarian Cultural Festival inaugurated in January this year.

Founded in 1950, the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble offers a brilliant sampling of Hungarian peasant music played on traditional stringed and other instruments accompanied by a solo vocalist.

Soloist Agnes Herczku is a young folk signing sensation and her beautiful voice and authentic presentation of Central European folk singing tradition is exciting. She has been with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble since 2002.

Violinist Istvan Pal's deep love for the Hungarian folk music culture inspired him as a musician. Together with his family he received a special award, "Pro Cultura Hungarica and Europa", for their work for Hungarian culture.

Instruments

After completing his studies at the Conservatoire, instrumentalist Attila Gera graduated from the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, in 2004. He plays virtually all the folk music instruments of the Carpathian Basin.

Gyula Karacs started his career in 1985 with the Aszod Folk Music Club where he started playing the viola. He has been a member of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble since 1999.

Robert Door has been playing the contrabass since the age of 14. He travelled across the boundaries of Hungary to enrich his knowledge of folk music. He has been playing in the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble for the past two years.

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