Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra is a Hungarian
symphony orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
of
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
(Gypsy) musicians. It emphasizes works by composers inspired by Hungarian folk and urban music including
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
,
Vittorio Monti,
Piotr Tchaïkovski,
Johann Strauss and
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...
. The orchestra has been performing for 30 years as a classical symphony orchestra.
Recognition
The orchestra was awarded the Hungarian Heritage Prize and it was entered in the Golden Book and the Invisible Museum of the Hungarian Spirit. In 2000 the Orchestra entered the
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
. In 2014 the Orchestra, both commonly referred to as Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra and One Hundred Gypsy Musicians () was designated a "hungaricum", a national treasure recognized by the Hungarian Parliament.
History
In 1984, soloist and Hungarian Romani conductor, the primas (
first violin and leader) Sándor Járóka ('The Primas of kings and the king of Primases') died. At his funeral, the Roma community gathered. Musicians gathered and from a gloomy
serenade
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
over a grave, the group was born.
The orchestra became world-famous. Budapest rehearsals were repeatedly visited by
György Cziffra, the Hungarian gypsy pianist who later became the association's honorary president.
, the conductor of the National Hungarian State Ensemble, led the orchestra until his death in October 1997. It is his doing that Hungary's best musicians are members. Members have family names such as Lakatos, Lendvai Csócsi, Boross, Berki, all Hungarian Romani musician dynasties.
In 1997, Sándor Rigó Buffó became the conductor and artistic director. He rose to president since December 2005. He died on 27 April 2014. Nándor Beke Farkas was the President and the leader of the orchestra from May 2014 and the new artistic director with József Lendvai Csócsi as violin master.
Formation
* 60
violins
* 9
violas
* 6
cellos
* 10
double basses
* 9
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s
* 6
cimbaloms
Members
Directors
* President: Nándor Beke Farkas
*
Leader and artistic director: József Lendvai Csócsi
Leading soloists
* First violins:
**László Berki Jr
**András Suki
**Ferenc Lendvai Jr
**Gyula Mici Farkas
**Tibor Lukács
**Lőrinc Danyi
**Norbert Salasovics
**Jenő Lendvai
**József Sárközi
**János Johan
* Cimbalom: Oszkár Ökrős
*
Alto violins: László Tabányi, Lajos Bóni
* Second violins: Jenő Horhát, József Toldi
* Clarinet: András Puporka, Dezső Oláh
* Double bass:
Károly Horváth, Tamás Radics
* Cello: Károly Szegfű, Barnabás Vajda
References
External links
*
{{Authority control, state=collapsed
Symphony orchestras
Hungarian orchestras
Hungarian Romani musical groups
Musical groups established in 1985
1985 establishments in Hungary