ANDRÁS HODOROG AND HIS FOLK MUSIC BAND – concert and dance party

Saturday, January 26, 2019, 6:00 pm11:00 pm

To observe the Day of Hungarian Culture, the Hungarian House of New York and the Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Center, cordially invite you to an event presenting two unique, but dissimilar, paragons of Hungarian culture: the artwork of André Kertész, one of the most influential figures of modern photography, and András Hodorog, flute player from Moldova, one of the last living musicians to play Hungarian folk music in such a distinctive traditional style.

On this occasion, we are also delighted and are celebrating completion of the installation of new flooring and a new stage in the main hall of the Hungarian House of New York.

***

András Hodorog is the last living virtuoso among native Hungarian flute-players in the Carpathian region. The „peasant flute” was once a widespread instrument in the villages of Hungary; during the twentieth century, an enormous number of field recordings immortalized thousands of flute melodies, including those which inspired great Hungarian composers of the last century including Bartók and Kodály. With the slow dissolving of the traditional villages – along with its rural lifestyle – this peasant flute practice gradually faded. Today, despite a vigorous worldwide revival of Hungarian traditional music, there are only a few remote locations in the Carpathian Basin where this extraordinary living tradition and its native masters can still be found. András Hodorog, from Moldva Region’s Hungarian minority, is undoubtedly one of these last masters. Hodorog’s performance style is based on his extraordinarily wide palette of motivic fragments and melodic ornamentations, and his skill in combining these patterns in constantly-changing ways. This results in continuous creation of melodic alternatives, always within a framework of authentic folkloristic practice, yet also reflecting his individual musical style and aesthetic.

András Hodorog will be accompanied by

Soma Salamon – folk flute-player

Musician and ethnomusicologist, and expert in folk music analysis. Soma Salamon is one of the most prominent contemporary folk flute-players of Hungary. He has been a student of András Hodorog since his childhood. He currently teaches instrumental performance, folk music analysis, and English-language Hungarian ethnomusicology classes at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, and is also a candidate in the Academy’s doctoral program.

Réka Annus – voice

She is a well-known and prominent Hungarian folk music singer, a member of multiple music ensembles, participant in various music projects and several albums. She frequently travels to Transylvania to collect folk music and folk songs from master traditional artists.

Krisztián Kiss – koboz

Graduate of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, exceptional master of the koboz (accompanying lute-like instrument of the Moldva Region). As a student of Hodorog András, he has played with him regularly for 13 years.

Benke Ágoston Félix – drum, tilinka, doromb

Csángó-Hungarian multi-instrumentalist. He grew up in the neighboring village to Hodorog’s, and has provided the rhythmic accompaniment for his music for the past 30 years. Apart from accompanying on drum, he plays various unusual and curious instruments including the cicélés (leaf whistle), doromb (jew’s harp), and tilinka (overtone flute)

***

Further information:hungarianhouse.org

Suggested donation: $15/adult, $10/student/senior, children under 14 free

Supported by:

Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Center, New York

Hungarian House of New York

National Cultural Fund, Hungary

Bethlen Gábor Fund, Hungary