Wednesday March 10, 2010
8:00 PM
Koerner Hall
Genre: Classical: String, World
Hang onto your seats - fingers are going to fly as this wild Gypsy, known as "the devil's fiddler," makes an exhilarating Toronto debut with his band. Immense control and exuberant inventiveness." (Daily Telegraph, UK)
ROBY LAKATOS ENSEMBLE
Roby Lakatos, violin František Jánoška, piano Lászlo Bóni, 2nd violin Jenö István Lisztes, cimbalom László Lisztes, double bass Lászlo Balogh, guitar
For the full program and Roby Lakatos' biography please click Program Notes.
ROROBY LAKATOS ENSEMBLE ROBY LAKATOS, violin I
LÁSZLO BÓNI, 2nd violin JENÖ ISTVÁN LISZTES, Cimbalom
LÁSZLÓ BALOGH, Guitar LÁSZLÓ LISZTES, Double Bass FRANTISEK JÁNOSKA, Piano
* * *
Program
Fire Dance - József Suha Balogh (b. 1958)
Gypsy Bolero
Cickom Paraphrase
Papa can you hear me? -Michel Legrand (b. 1932)
A night in Marrakech -Roby Lakatos (b. 1965)
Deux Guitares -Traditional
Le Grande Blond avec une Chaussure Noire -Vladimir Cosma (b. 1940)
~INTERMISSION~
SK. Capriccio -Roby Lakatos (b. 1965)
Hora di Marc -Grigoras Dinicu (1889-1922)
I've met you / Mama -Trad. Russian
Konfetki Baranotchki -Trad. Russian
Csárdás -Vittorio Monti (1868-1922)
Roby Lakatos
Violin
Virtuoso fiddler Roby Lakatos is not only a scorching player, but also a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility. Equally comfortable performing classical, jazz, and his native Hungarian folk idiom, Lakatos is a musician who defies definition. His unparalleled technique places him among the best players in the world, but his musical curiosity and Roma heritage make him truly unique. Conjuring a 19th century sense of romanticism, Lakatos displays strength as an interpreter that derives from his experience as a composer and arranger, an improviser, a band leader, and consummate listener.
Born in 1965 into the legendary family of Gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, Mr. Lakatos was introduced to music as a child and at age nine he made his public debut as first violin in a Gypsy band. His musicianship evolved not only within his own family, but also at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Budapest, where he won the first prize for classical violin in 1984. Between 1986 and 1996, he and his ensemble delighted audiences at Les Ateliers de la Grande Ile club in Brussels, their musical home throughout this period.
Mr. Lakatos has performed at many of the great halls and festivals of Europe, North America, and Asia. He has collaborated with Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Stéphane Grappelli, Giora Feidman, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Bell, Nigel Kennedy, and Randy Brecker. His playing was greatly admired by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who always made a point of visiting the Les Ateliers club in Brussels to hear Lakatos. When Zubin Mehta first heard Lakatos, he spontaneously invited him to perform as a guest in a production of Die Fledermaus at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
In 1998, the ensemble's first CD was released by Deutsche Grammophon. Entitled Lakatos, the CD, which includes works of Kodály and Brahms, as well as music from John William's score for Schindler's List and Charles Aznavour's La Bohème, received the prestigious German ECHO Klassik Award in 1999. Another eclectic CD followed in 1999, entitled Lakatos: Live from Budapest, which mixes jazz and Gypsy idioms with contemporary and classical elements. As Time Goes By was released in 2002 and includes masterpieces from films such as Fiddler on the Roof, Once Upon a Time in America, and many others, in spectacular arrangements by Kalman Cséki and Roby Lakatos. On his own Avantijazz label, Lakatos has released three recordings: Fire Dance (2005), Klezmer Karma (2006), and Roby Lakatos with Musical Friends (2008).
All of tonight's artists are making their Royal Conservatory debuts.
