From a budget of HUF one billion, the government supports the employment of 456 musicians from around 100 ensembles across the country for four months in restaurants through the Muzsikáló Hungary 2024 program, which will begin with a large-scale opening event in Budapest on the Dankó Pista Memorial Day, June 15.
Thanks to the Muzsikáló Hungary 2024 program, 97 gypsy bands of 4-6 members, consisting of strings, clarinetists and dulcimer players, can play for four months in catering establishments cooperating with the program. Through the subsidy, the government will cover the cost of live music in restaurants for 4 days a week, 3 hours a day from catering establishments - the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) informed MTI on Wednesday.
The information sheet quotes László Könnyid, MTÜ's general manager, who says that guests are happy to share the magic of live music with their friends in person or online, so gypsy bands can successfully increase the number of guests, and thereby also the income of catering establishments.
"On the Dankó Pista Memorial Day - as the opening of the program - these bands will revive the era when hospitality was still accompanied by music in many parts of the capital, on the terraces of nearly 80 restaurants, cafes and pastry shops"
- emphasized the CEO of MTÜ.
Orchestra leaders from many parts of the country applied for the call published at the end of April. Based on the decision of the professional jury, approximately 97 primas, 45 violinists, 60 violists, 8 cellists, 73 double bassists, 19 clarinetists and 58 dulcimer players can participate in the national program. The information sheet quotes Primate Miklós Lakatos, a member of the professional jury, who said: when evaluating the applicants, they took into account the harmony between the musicians, the virtuosity of the soloists and the musical purity and repertoire of the ensembles. Miklós Lakatos added that the composition of the instruments was the same as the type and number of instruments traditionally typical of gypsy bands.
In the following months, 58 of the bands will perform in the capital and 39 in the countryside as part of the program. 13 bands in Pest County, 5 in Heves, 4 in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, and 3 in Csongrád-Csanád also won support. 2 each from the counties of Nógrád, Bács-Kiskun, Hajdú-Bihar, Zala and Komárom-Esztergom, while 1 each from the counties of Vas, Veszprém, Békés and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok play in the program. Based on the submitted application forms, the oldest musician is in his 80s, while the youngest musician is a member of the "Z" generation - barely 20 years old - it was written in the information sheet.
Most of the catering establishments that have joined Muzsikáló Hungary are located in the capital and Pest counties, but thanks to the support, gypsy music will filter out of many restaurants, bistros, and cafes in the counties of Heves, Nógrád and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén.
The opening event of Muzsikáló Magyarország 2024 will take place on June 15 in Budapest, on the Dankó Pista Memorial Day, which was adapted to the birthday of the world-famous prima in his time. In addition to the famous notes of Dankó Pista, the gypsy musicians' repertoire includes classical music transcriptions, opera and operetta excerpts, film scores, and classical hits. Information about the detailed program can be found on the dankopistaemleknap.hu page, the announcement states.
Featured image: dankopistaemleknap.hu
