Gypsy fiddler brings troupe to MSUM
FMSO concertmaster describes Lakatos as “awe-inspiring”
Six musicians known world-wide for their virtuosic performances of gypsy music are coming from Budapest to close the season of the Cheryl Nelson Lossett Performing Arts Series at Minnesota State University Moorhead on April 30 at 7:30 p.m.
The “gypsies” are members of the Roby Lakatos Ensemble, and all are Hungarian. Their leader is Roby Lakatos, who was born into a family of gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, labeled by many Hungarians as the “King of Gypsy Violinists.” Lakatos has been described in Budapest as a “devil’s fiddler.” Reviewers call him a “scorching virtuoso” and a thrilling entertainer. He’s bringing five other musicians with him — his second violinist, a cimbalom player, a guitarist, bass player and a pianist. A cimbalom is a concert hammered dulcimer commonly found in East European nations such as Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Ben Sung says the group performs the European equivalent of bluegrass music, “but the history of gypsy music reaches back much, much farther,” he adds. “Lakatos descends from a long line of musicians who were known to Haydn, Brahms, and Ravel, and whose music inspired and influenced those composers in their day,” says Sung. This performance will include traditional Russian tunes and Hungarian gypsy music, works by Lakatos himself, violin showpieces, contemporary jazz and even a little Fats Waller.
The performance takes place in the Hansen Theatre in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus. Tickets are available now and can be purchased online or by calling the MSUM Box Office at (218) 477-2271 Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students, $24 for seniors, MSUM staff, alumni and faculty; and $28 for adults. The ticket website also provides a link to the artist’s website.