Details

Roby Lakatos has taken the passionate, hot-blooded tradition of gypsy music, and made it into a dazzling showcase of musical fireworks and virtuoso showmanship. Roby Lakatos is referred to as a gypsy violinist or “devil’s fiddler.” A classical virtuoso, a jazz improviser, a composer and arranger, and a 19th-century throwback, and he is actually all of these things at once. Bill Eddins conducts this unforgettable night of pops with a gypsy twist – an Eastern European feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

$79 Dress Circle (A)
$69 Terrace (B)
$58 Orchestra (C)
$49 Upper Circle (D)
$36 Gallery (E)
$24 Orchestra Front (F)
(click map for interactive version)

Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

Thank you to the generous supporters of this series: Bill & Mary Jo Robbins

Thank you to our Saturday performance sponsor:

This concert is also performed on Saturday, March 13, 2010.

The next Robbins Pops performances are April 16 & 17, 2010.

Program Information

Program

BRAHMS
Hungarian Dance No. 6

HUBAY
On the Waves of Lake Balaton - Scène de Csárdás (Arr Lakatos)

TRADITIONAL
Deux Guitars

BOCK
Fiddler on the Roof: Suite

KODALY
Hary Janos: Intermezzo

CSÀMPAI / BIHARY
Memory of Bihary / Hejre Kati

Intermission

LISZT
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2: Friska

COSMA
Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chaussure Noir - Main Theme

WEINER
Divertimento

TRADITIONAL
Ja vstretil vas (I've Met You) / Mama

WILLIAMS
Schindler's List

MONTI
Csárdás

Artist Information

William Eddins, conductor

William Eddins is in his fifth season as Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. A native of Buffalo, New York, he currently resides in Minneapolis with his lovely wife Jen, a clarinetist, and their two boys Raef (AKA Raefster; Munchers) and Riley (AKA Squeaky; The Imp; Dr. No).

Bill has been playing piano since he was five when his parents bought a Wurlitzer Grand piano at a garage sale. He started conducting during his sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music, and most of the '80s were spent trying to decide whether to pursue a career in conducting or piano. The quandary was answered for him when he realized that the life of a poor, starving pianist was for the birds. In 1989 Bill decided to study conducting with Dan Lewis at the University of Southern California, from whence he managed to land assistant conductor posts with the Chicago Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra in 1992.

Bill has many non-musical hobbies including: cooking, eating, discussing food, and planning dinner parties. He is also quite fond of biking, tennis, reading, and pinball. Unfortunately, due to pianistic paranoia his days in the martial arts are long over.

Bill is committed to bringing classical music to the greater public. He has started a podcast – Classical Connections – which is dedicated to exploring the history of classical music and highlights live chamber music performances in which Bill has taken part (check it out for yourself at Bill Eddins' website). He has also produced a solo piano CD – Bad Boys, Volume I – which features Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata and Albright's Nightmare Fantasy Rag. His latest recording, on the Naxos label, features American music for cello and orchestra.

Roby Lakatos, violin
Equally comfortable performing classical, jazz, and his native Hungarian folk idiom, Roby Lakatos is a musician who defies definition. His unparalleled technique places him among the best players in the world, but his musical curiosity and Roma heritage make him unique. Conjuring a 19th century sense of romanticism, Mr. Lakatos displays strength as an interpreter that derives from his experience as a composer and arranger, an improviser, a band leader, and consummate listener. Born in 1965 into the legendary family of Gypsy 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 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.

Media

Roby Lakatos - Hejre Kati from the album Fire Dance:

Roby Lakatos - Once Upon a Time (Ennio Morricone)

Roby Lakatos - Romania from the album Klezmer Karma