Hungarian Master Violinist Roby Lakatos and Ensemble at UCLA Live on Nov. 19
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The scorching Hungarian violin virtuoso Roby Lakatos brings his incredible five-piece string band to UCLA Live in their U.S. tour debut, performing an eclectic program ranging from original compositions and Gypsy standards to works by Charles Trenet, Leo Weiner and Chick Corea. This concert takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus and runs one hour and 15 minutes with one intermission. For tickets visit www.UCLALive.org, call 310-825-2101, or contact Ticketmaster.
The Roby Lakatos Ensemble features Lakatos and Lászlo Bóni on violins; Kálman Cséki, piano; Ernest Bangó, cimbalom and guitar; Oszkár Németh, double bass; and Attila Rontó, guitar.
“In a world full of brilliant virtuoso violinists, Roby Lakatos stands out as something special,” wrote the Daily Telegraph.
With his striking boxer’s frame, curved mustache and long jacket, this exotic maestro commands attention before he even plays a note. And then when he starts playing, it’s impossible to notice anything else but his virtuoso fireworks.
“Not gypsy music as we know it now,” wrote the Independent. “This was the kind of well-bred but dazzling playing that excited 19th century listeners, Brahms among them, and still gets audiences on their feet.”
Roby Lakatos is nearly impossible to pigeonhole. Classical virtuoso, gypsy violinist or “devil’s fiddler,” jazz improviser, composer and arranger, Lakatos is a kind of universal musician so rarely encountered in our time, as dazzling and charismatic when he’s playing classical music and jazz as he is in his own Hungarian folk idiom. He has performed at the great halls and festivals of Europe and Asia. Now, Lakatos is embarking on his first NorthAmerican tour.
Born in 1965 into the legendary family of gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, “King of Gypsy Violinists,” Lakatos was introduced to music as a child, and at age 9 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 Atéliers de la Grande Ille” in Brussels, their musical home throughout this period.
Tickets for Roby Lakatos are available for $55, $45, and $30 at the UCLA Central Ticket Office at the southwest corner of the James West Alumni Center, online at www.UCLALive.org and at all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information or to charge by phone, call 310-825-2101. UCLA students may purchase tickets in advance for $15. Student rush tickets at the same price are available to all students with a valid identification one hour prior to show time.