Hungarian Conservative

‘Many people have asked me why I don’t devote my time to myself and my family instead of volunteering. The answer is simple: I care about Hungarian families and the community. My mission is to preserve, nurture and pass on our Hungarian identity, our rich language and culture to the next generation. Fortunately, many of us feel the same way and many of us are working for the same goals.’

The four-day holiday festival in Hollókő, Hungary will feature traditional Easter festivities such as ‘rattling,’ ‘locsolkodás,’ and egg colouring; as well as professional folk musicians giving live performances. The Old Village of Hollókő has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987.

Péter Eötvös, one of the most renowned composers of Hungary and also a music teacher and conductor, passed away last Sunday, on 24 March at the age of 80. During his career, he conducted Europe‘s leading orchestras, including the Berlin, Munich, London, Los Angeles, and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras as well as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The new online jazz radio will be launched on International Jazz Day on 30 April. The radio is named in tribute to one of Hungary’s most esteemed jazz artists, pianist and composer Béla Szakcsi Lakatos.

The autobiography of Tibor Weinzierl titled From Hungary with Love. The Immigrant is not only a written record of a tumultuous life journey of a Hungarian Canadian, then Hungarian American singer and violinist in an extremely readable form, but also a historical documentary.

During the inauguration of the Budapest institution, it was mentioned that the Kodály Workshop’s primary goal is to set an example for young music and singing teachers and make the profession attractive to them once again.

In spring, several representatives of the world music genre will visit Müpa, including some who have never been to Hungary before.

The conductor of the concert will be Thomas Sanderling, who has collaborated with masters such as Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein, while the soloist of the Violin Concerto will be world-famous German violinist Kirill Troussov.

Music is an inalienable part of celebrations, and it is no different at Christmas. But what do Hungarians listen to and sing on this special holiday? We have collected the top classics for you in our article.

The immensely popular band, featuring Hungarian-born guitarist Zoltán Báthory will come to Budapest to do a live show again in 2024.

This grand exhibition, housed initially at the world’s largest museum of art and design, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, will conclude its run in its original venue in April 2024 before embarking on a travelling showcase, debuting first at the Budapest House of Music. Following Budapest, the exhibition will journey to several significant museums worldwide.

A heads-up to Lenny Kravitz enthusiasts. The funk-rock artist is returning to Budapest next summer!

The new national stadium opened its door exactly four years ago today—its inaugural game was an international football friendly between Hungary and Uruguay. Since then, it has seen many great clashes and has routinely been filled to the brim with fans in the past few years.

‘If you are a Hungarian, then I think you have a duty to conserve Hungarian culture. And there is certain music that is native to Hungary. If you’re an Austrian, or a German, then really the most important people in your musical culture are Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, these names.’

Gloomy Sunday, which became to be known as the ‘Hungarian Suicide Song’ was originally released in 1933. The words were written by poet László Jávor, while the music was composed by Rezső Seress, born 124 years ago today. Seress ended up taking his own life himself, at age 68.

The first documented piece of Hungarian music dates back to the 11th century, thus recorded melodies have been an important part of Hungarians’ lives for a thousand years.

Béla Bartók, one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century, and his friend, another world-renowned giant of Hungarian music, Zoltán Kodály undertook together their major endeavour of national significance—collecting and publishing the full corpus of Hungarian folk songs.

As every year, the Cake of Hungary is selected ahead of August 20, with those attending the holiday events being the first to taste the creations of Hungary’s best pastry chefs. The competition this year was won by the torte named Tipsy Fig Respectus of the Levendula és Kert (Lavender and Garden) cake shop from Szigetszentmiklós, located on Csepel Island. Essential ingredients of the cake include Aszú wine, figs and honey.

The third annual MCC Feszt in Esztergom, Hungary is expected to have 40,000 people in attendance, more than ever before. The Day1 programme featured many well-known musical acts as well as a panel a discussion about the major shifts in the state of geopolitics, with Gladden J. Pappin, Dean Karalekas, Benjamin Freidman, and Michael Hume.

When it comes to political groups, we generally lean towards showing them the way out, says László Lukács. An interview with the founder and frontman of one of the most influential rock bands in Hungary called Tankcsapda, about faith, country, and his virtual life on social media.

The music and operas of Ferenc Erkel greatly contributed to the birth of Hungarian theatre and opera as well as to the emergence of patriotic Hungarian music.