July 19 (Friday), 19:00
 Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall

ROBY LAKATOS & FRIENDS

An exceptional evening at Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall.
On July 19th, at 19:00, the Legendary Violinist Roby Lakatos will perform for the first time in Armenia, accompanied by his Virtuoso Friends.

Labeled by the Daily Telegraph (UK) as “The king of the violinists”, Roby Lakatos is not only a scorching virtuoso, but a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility. He is a rare musician who defies definition. He is referred to as a Romani violinist or “devil’s fiddler”, a classical virtuoso, a jazz improviser, a composer and an arranger.
Roby has performed at the most prestigious venues of the World, including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Barbican Centre and others, and has appeared at the biggest festivals in Europe, Asia and America.

Born in 1965 into the legendary family of Romani violinists descended from Janos Bihari, “King of Gypsy Violinists,” Roby Lakatos was introduced to music as a child and at age nine, he made his public debut as the first violin in a Romani 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.

He has collaborated with Vadim Repin and Stéphane Grappelli, and his playing was greatly admired by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who always made a point of visiting the club in Brussels to hear Lakatos. In March 2004, Lakatos appeared to great acclaim with the London Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra’s “Genius of the Violin” festival alongside Maxim Vengerov.

When Roby Lakatos mixes the so-called “classical music” with the magic of the Hungarian-Romani vitality, it reflects the deep tradition rooted in the cultural heritage of the Roma people and offers new, refreshing pleasures to the listener and music lover. And just as Liszt, Brahms and others used Hungarian music in their compositions, so now the public profits from the confrontation of these classics with the Romani roots.

Lakatos has performed at renowned festivals and played with prominent jazzmen like Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and Stéphane Grappelli. Roby Lakatos has numerous discography with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, which is considered the biggest CD label for classical music, Universal, Avanticlassic, and others.

During the Yerevan concert, his friends, virtuoso musicians, will be on stage with the “Great Master”. Laszlo Boni (violin), Laszlo Racz (cimbalom), Gabor Ladanyi (guitar), Robert Szakcsi Lakatos (piano), Vilmos Ciskos (double bass).

Only one concert – July 19th, 19:00.
Save the date and hurry up to reserve your participation!