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2 Conducted by József LENDVAI CSÓCSI President Nándor FARKAS Agent, Manager & Producer Xavier DUBUC 2

3 Note from our Former President The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra, the world's largest Gypsy symphony orchestra, is the only of its kind in that its transcends music to a new level of enjoyment for the audience. Gypsies are so sensitive to the music which they play intuitively as if by instinct that the audiences sees it as much as hears it. We'de like to share a poem with you Sensitive violins warbling Determined contrabasses marching Diligent clarinets whispering Serious cellos thinking Excited cymbaloms dancing what a beautiful thing With Gypsies beating Poem by Mustafa Tabak Istanbul, Please enjoy our art. Sándor Rigó Buffó Former president, Artistic Director and conductor

4 Programme First Part GIACCHINO ROSSINI Overture to Wilhem Tell JOHANNES BRAHMS Hungarian Dance n 5 A.FERRARIS Two Guitars FERENC ERKEL Palotás VICTORIO MONTI Czardas PABLO DE SARASATE Zigeneurweisen TRADITIONAL Cymbalum solo TRADITIONAL Band of Gypsies Second Part JACQUES OFFENBACH Orpheus in the Underworld JOHANNES BRAHMS Hungarian Dance n 1 JOHANN STRAUSS Jr Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka JOHANN STRAUSS Jr Overture to Die Fledermaus PIOTR TCHAÏKOVSKY Waltz of the Flowers JOHANN STRAUSS Jr Thunder and Lightning JOHANN STRAUSS Jr The Blue Danube Waltz GRIGORAS DINICU Ciocârla + Encores Programme duration is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with an intermission of 15 minutes 4

5 The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra recreates, with the most amazing virtuosity, the soul of a whole nation. Their repertory mixes the traditional gypsy violin of Bela Radics, Grigoras Dinicu, Ferenc Erkel, Vittorio Monti with the great classical works from Johannes Brahms, Georges Bizet, Frantz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Jacques Offenbach, Pablo de Sarasate and Johann Strauss Father & Son. A poignant beginning from an ending, this world-renowned Hungarian orchestra emerged out of an improvised performance by Gypsy musicians gathered from around the country for the funeral of legendary Gypsy soloist Sandor Jaróka in The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra has gone on to be acclaimed globally for its extraordinary technique and feisty interpretations of classical and traditional works with Laszló Berki as Orchestra leader until his tragic death in 1997, the crème of Hungary's Gypsy musician dynasties was drawn to join, including names such as Boross, Lakatos, Lendvai Csócsi, and Rigó Buffó. Also known as the 100 Gypsy Violins, the outstanding Orchestra comprises untill a hundred musicians playing violins, cellos, double basses, cymbaloms and clarinets. A passionate embodiment of Hungary's musical soul, the Orchestra plays without scores, demonstrating the performers' amazing musicality and virtuosity through intuitive collaboration and breathtaking turns in tempo and timbre that never betray but only enrich the original work. They transmit to the audience the vitality of a nation where music is the universal language. They transmit to the spectators the energy of a nation, which has chosen music as universal language. The Orchestra has toured more than 30 countries, notably in Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italia, Japan, Latvia, Luxemburg, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Principality of Monaco, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Tunisia and Ukraine. Inspiring audiences in leading concert halls including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Moscow International House of Music, Vienna Konzerthaus, Geneva Victoria Hall, Beijing National Centre for Performing Art, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art and Paris Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Sándor Rigó Buffó was the Conductor since 1997 and the President since December He dies on April 27th 2014 at the age of 65. He also was the Artistic Director with Xavier Dubuc, and Conductor of the Orchestra with Jószef Lendvai Csócsi. The new President is Nándor Farkas, and the new conductor is Jószef Lendvai Csócsi. 5

6 The Concertgebouw was shaken to it's foundation, and the audience inebriated There's not a Symphony Orchestra in the World that plays so sonorously, with so red-blooded a sound, so fast and so virtuosically NRC HANDELSBLAD-AMSTERDAM after their sold out first appearance on January

7 The history of the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra The words of the world famous Hungarian painter of gypsy origin fit the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra perfectly. The name and achievements of the Orchestra, has been awarded the Hungarian Heritage prize and is preserved in the Golden Book and in the Invisible Museum of the Hungarian Spirit. The world famous orchestra which has been performing for nearly 30 years works as a classical symphony orchestra and is a unique formation. The activity of the orchestra in guarding tradition is invaluable, unparalleled in the world. As well as classical music such as pieces by Liszt, Bartok, Kodaly, Hubay, Erkel, Brahms, Tchaïkovsky, Sarasate, Strauss, the orchestra also plays modern and traditional Hungarian folk music. The idea of founding the orchestra in April 1985 was inspired by a sad event. Many hundreds of musicians gathered for the funeral of the then king of Gypsy violinists, Sándor Jaróka Snr. As customary in old gypsy culture, the unforgettable musician and composer, was accompanied on his last journey with music. Many of those present felt that these excellent musicians should not only be reunited by such tragic events. The idea of the need for an organised, large concert orchestra to fill the cultural void was formulated. The founders, Lászlo Berki, Tivadar Meszaros and Lájos Boross, proceeded to realize their plans. After many months of preparation and work, the National Cultural Association of the Budapest Gypsy Orchestra was founded and then later became known by musicians as the world famous Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra. At their concerts in Budapest the rehearsals of the orchestra were visited on a number of occasions by György Cziffra, the world-famous Hungarian gypsy pianist who later became the honorary president of the Association. His words of praise gave the orchestra great hope and confidence. The orchestra made its debut at the 1986 Budapest Spring Festival (Patria theatre hall of the Budapest Congress Centre) and since then has given more than a thousand concerts in venues ranging from cultural centres in Hungary's smallest villages to many of the world's famous concert halls. Since 1994 it's performances abroad have been managed exclusively by Xavier Dubuc and his company Cypress Music. Thanks to his tireless work for the orchestra his omnipresence on all international music scene. 7

8 The orchestra won the Hungarian Heritage Award in 2000 and entered in the Guinness Book of Records in the same year. It has produced 5 DVD's and 21 CD's, 5 which became platinum and 9 gold records. Numerous TV and radio recordings have been made with the orchestra and it has won the Prize for Quality given by the Hungarian Radio and the professional awards of many national and international festivals. It is regularly performing at the audience request show of Nota Television. In 2001, at the opening of the Lisbon Music Festival, the concert of the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra was the main attraction with peoples watching and listening. It gave 33 very successful performances at Paris Theatre des Champs Elysées between 2002 and At the 45th International Music Festival in Carthage in 2011, it's captivated an audience of The orchestra has gone on a concert tour in France every year since 1994 and it performed in nearly all small and large cities. It has given concerts in numerous European cities as well as in Africa and Asia. According to critics there is something magical about the way the most famous gypsy orchestra of the world presents itself on stage. The reason for this is that at every single performance the same enthusiasm radiates from artists. Success to them is a message that gives each and every musician further inspiration. The orchestra has 138 regular members at present. It is one of the most prominent regular performers at the Budapest Spring Festival. It is present at most significant Hungarian music festivals. Its 25th anniversary was celebrated in The orchestra thanked its audience for the support over a quarter of a century with an amazing concert. The strong crowd received the unforgettable performance with an enormous round of applause. BGSO forms an organic link to the system of Hungarian cultural institutions. Its aim is to keep this musical tradition of exceptional value alive, guarding the tradition of a century which was passed down through generations in gypsy familles. The orchestra finds its way to the heart of its audience with its art and music of all times and places thus enriching the colourful palette of European culture. 8

9 Extracted from Music as an Argument By Svetlana Makarovic Still light-headed from the precious poison of their concert yesterday in Amsterdam, we follow them through a windy sunny day to Rotterdam. Yesterday a discussion with the chief of the Orchestra Sándor Rigó Buffó, today a meeting with their manager Xavier Dubuc, a few random encounters with musicians in between - and we are already restlessly counting down the minutes to the concert in the elite congress concert hall. A few years ago, by coincidence - little do I know, if it really was coincidence - I happened on the hundred-member Roma' symphonic orchestra 100 Gypsy Violins. A hundred Roma virtuosi. And it becarne clear to me in an instant: whoever hears their music and walks away unmarked, he is a simpleton and a simpleton he will remain. When I stole a glance at the faces in the public a few days ago, it occurred to me - what is actually happening, that we have all suddenly become so vulnerable, so defencelessly exposed to the powerful beauty of this music at the first chords of the Hungarian Dance No.5? It is, after all, only Brahms, I say to myself, defensively - but there is no defence, it shatters at the sounds of Ferenc Sárközi's violin. And as the golden glitter of a dragonfly's wings flies above us in weightless arcs from the hands of Belá Berki, the thought that this music is, after all, only Monti's Czardas, more or less pulverised by the hands of so many career violinists, disappears in a flash - as this suddenly is not the same Monti's Czardas anymore This is Berki's Monti's Czardas. And why this time more than ever before, Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen is literally tearing my soul apart. Who is this Lendvai, what elfin spell has covered us; and how does the ominous dark introductory unison of the contrabasses and cellos send the silky lunar sound of Lendvai's violin to the surface of Hullámzó Balaton, the disturbed lake - who is this Lendvai? He cannot be that same dancing, smiling dwarf, who later wants to jump to the ceiling from pure arrogance during the Radetzki March? Could he perhaps be that never quite grown-up child from years long gone, who, for his own amusement, juggled with chords as though they were stones? Is it maybe that neighbour's kid, the thought of whom instantly changes me back into a roguish girl from the suburbs, the one who would wander around the hill of Šišenska and steal pears from the annoying neighbour? And when I would return from my rambling, out of breath, ruffled up and hungry as a wolfing, my grandma would jokingly wag her finger at me you gypsy, you And that would mean: once again doing it your way, once again different from others, once again out of control - and beside that as hard-headed as a little owl on a branch...hm, I wonder what you have been through, the once little Csócsi, that every now and then your violin cries so powerfully... 9

10 And finally he. He, with a thunder of his own music, who comes ever so close to smashing the valuable harpsichords. An elf from another world. In front of the dumbfounded, aghast public, a face of a genius blooms. It is not only the inhumane virtuosity that forces us to freeze up during his improvisation. It is that certain something within his music, which tells the undeniable truth that above this cursed world, above this terrifying slaughterhouse, above the past, present and future, where brutality, vulgarity, greed for everything anybody else loves, lies, hypocrisy, broken promises are something seen daily - that above the horror of this world, there still is something that is infinitely more powerful. It is that star above the mountain. It is the absolute art. Öszkar Ökrös is an absolute artist. Öszkar Ökrös is a proof. And this orchestra is a proof... Brahms' Hungarian Dance No.1, I have been carrying it around with me all my life, I even like it in a mediocre performance, but now I know, what it had been missing. The shining - violin of András Suki - should they both shine for years to come And I carry with me the shocking Sándor's Yiddishe Mamma, just as I carry in me the image of brightly red heads of the poppy heads on the dark background of a thunderous sky. I carry with me the image of the charmingly roguish Tibor Lukács and the jolly polka Éljen a Magyar, I carry with me the scream of joy, the sparkling victory of the clarinet duet Deszo Balogh - András Puporka, the haughty chirp of the final violin piece by Sándor Rigó Buffó and József Lendvai Csócsi, the beautiful gift of the song Tužna je nedelja. And I still carry with me the thought of the bitter history of the gipsy people. As though I could envision the image of a violin broken under an army boot in Ökrös's music. As though he plays knowledge of the slaughter of his people, still mentioned by so few today, because the Roma did not, could not and would not turn them into profit - they do not have banks nor huge companies, no printing establishments, weapons or bombs and yet they are rich in an entirely different aspect. As though he was playing that Christmas evening, when a brutal mob destroyed a Roma family with small children and their humble home to the ground, despite the icy winter wind. As though he is playing a verse from Antid's Garavi Sokak, where a Gipsy comforts a hungry boy - do not cry, my son, I will take you to the bazaar, where you can watch other kids eating alvas...as though he plays the forgotten skeletons on the suent bottom of Lake Balaton. And as though he finally also plays my ourse and my love. And I carefully carry with me the piece of information that speaks about the pride of this self-supporting, sovereign and independent little country 100 Gypsy Violins: when they found out that the previous leader of the Orchestra had tried to sell them as a spice in the pre-election goulash of Budapest, they immediately summoned a meeting, fired the previous leader, elected a new leadership and reestablished themselves as ian independent society with a new statute. No, the leader Sándor assures me decisively: no politics has entered into our Orchestra. Political music does not exist. There is only one music. Music is free, music is freedom itself - and I am a musician, we are musicians. It is. Music is an argument. Theirs most of ail. (Originally published in Slovenian National newspaper Dnevnikov) ' Gypsies refer themselves as Roma, meaning human. 10

11 The Gypsies By Willy Wenger The Legend The Gypsies lived near the Ganges River and their strong leader was respected holding sway over ail the land. The leader had an only son, named Tchen. At that time, a very powerful king reigned in the country of Hind, and his favourite wife had given birth to a daughter, whom they named Gan. After his death, Tchen decided to marry Gan. Although she wasn't his sister, he considered her like one. The population separated into two factions, and a sorcerer foresaw invasions and catastrophe. Shortly after, invaders destroyed the country, just as the sorcerer had predicted. Tchen's opponents chased him and his partisans out of the country and the sorcerer declared that they would never sleep two nights in the same bed, nor drink the same water two times in a row; that they were condemned to wander the earth forever. The Origin Throughout their wanderings, for reasons that are obscure, the Gypsies themselves thought that they came from Egypt. It wasn't before 1783 that the Grellman studies showed indisputably their Indian origins. Their language is very close to Hindi, and specifically to that which is spoken in Northwest India. Ancient Hindi is actually closer to the Romani spoken currently than it is to contemporary Hindi. As it happens, the Romani language constitutes the only book and collective memory for the Gypsies enriched here and there with new words borrowed from the cultures they've rubbed up against. The Wandering The first migrations spread in the direction of Iran and Armenia, then on to the Byzantine Empire. A few groups remained in Arabia, while smaller communities left for Syria, Egypt and Africa. But around 420 AD, long before these migrations, Gypsy musicians had already been invited by the Shah of Persia to what is now Iran. The exodus actually extended over a very long time, since the first significant departures appear to have taken place in the 7th and 8th centuries, when Arabs from Iraq, Iran, and central Asia invaded Sind. There were more and more invasions, first from Afghanistan during the 11th and 12th centuries, then from Ghengis Khan and his hordes, who devastated central Asia. During that period, the Gypsies doubtlessly left their country in greater numbers than ever. Tamerlan was the last of the great conquerors to send the populations fleeing massively. Once left India, the Gypsies wandered from country to country in groups of varying sizes. Sometimes they were forcibly enlisted into armies, but they always managed to keep their Gypsy identity. 11

12 Settlements The Gypsies arrived in Armenia during the 11th century. Many of the words in the language most widely used by them are Armenian in origin. They first appeared in Constantinople (also Crete) in the early 14th century, then the Dubrovnik area around Since the Turks had conquered most of the Balkan region, Gypsies naturally turned up in Thrace, Bulgaria, Serbia and Rumania, usually as slaves. It wasn't until 1851 that they became emancipated. They could be found in large European cities as early as the 15th century: Hamburg, Lubeck, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Strasbourg (where as many as 14,000 of them settled), Zurich, Bern, Brussels, etc. They arrived in Paris during August of the year 1427, claiming to be of Egyptian origin. One of their leaders, André, declared himself Count of Little Egypt at Chatillon-en-Dombes. One group was driven out of France and arrived in Spain in 1425, only to see themselves ordered out of the country in Because they refused to leave, drastic measures were taken even blinding them under the reign of Philip V before deporting them to Africa, Brazil, Virginia, Martinique, and other places. The motivation for such persecution was multifarious in particular, the Gypsies were accused of fabricating the nails that had crucified Jesus, which justified their wandering and eternal damnation. The Music It is very important for the Gypsy people to preserve their identity. Nevertheless, they adapt very easily to their adopted country, especially the religion and the way of life. This is also true for the music. Correctly speaking, Gypsy music doesn't exist in a true form. It has definitely its own style, which is very often melancholic, almost like the Blues. Those who can afford to, use popular instruments (violin and cymbalom in Central Europe, guitar ln Spain and in France), those who can't, use whatever they get their hands on. Anything will do when they celebrate. You can make a peasant drunk on a glass of water when a Gypsy violin is playing Hungarian proverb 12

13 The Orchestra's members József Lendvai Csócsi Conductor & Master of Violins His father, József Lendvai Csócsi Snr was an Hungarian Laureate awarded pianist, and the solo violinist of Rajko Ensemble. He took a violin in his hand at the age of 2 and a half and tried to copy his father. Till this day, he plays the invaluable violin given to him by his Father. He played in the ensemble from the age of 10 and completed his musical education there. He has been a member of the orchestra since He was given his solo violinist status by Lajos Boross, king of solo violinists, in He was awarded the Gold Cross of the Hungarian Republic in the same year. His Performance with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in Carnegie Hall was a great Success. He was elected vice-president of the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra on 12th December He his the main conductor since June 2014, after the death of Sándor Rigó Buffó. Nándor Farkas President Born in a family of musicians, he started playing the violin at the age of 6 and spent his years of education in his father's ensemble. He started performing at home and abroad in He played with the best solo violinists and musicians such as the Kossuth-prize winner Lajos Boross or Tivadar Mészáros and Sándor Járóka Jnr. He has played in the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra since its founding. He was awarded the Bronze Cross of the Hungarian Republic. He worked as the Orchestra's coordinator from May 2001 to November 2005 He has been given the Knight of Hungarian Culture award; he was the founder of the Gypsy Youth Orchestra. He is the President of the orchestra since the death of Sándor Rigó Buffó and is the lead of the second violin section. 13

14 Section leaders - Szólamvezetök Károly Szegfü Cello Zoltán Horváth Viola Öszkár Ökrös Cymbalum András Puporka Clarinet Gyula Maka Double bass 14

15 First Violinists - Primások László BERKI First Concertmaster Dávid Rigó Tibor Lukacs Jenö Lendvai Gyula Farkas András Suki Second Concertmaster Mátyás Jónás Ferenc Lendvai Florián Lakatós 15

16 Contact CYPRESS MUSIC Xavier Dubuc Manager, Founder & CEO Phone: Arthur Dubuc Booking & Web Director Mobile: Phone: Christophe Arsac Marck Seignol facebook.com/100violins youtube.com/100violins twitter.com/100violins plus.google.com/+100violins Graphist Webmaster 16