Monday, June 12, 2006

Halmos Béla turned 60

  Széki ritka tempó

Béla Halmos (b. in Szombathely in 1946) graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Budapest Technical University in 1970. He started to learn music in his childhood, playing the violin and the viola. He took part in the organization of the folk music education at music schools and. Since 1992 he has been a senior member at the Institute of Hungarian Culture, then laid the foundations of the Dance Hall Archives. In 2000 he was appointed the head of section. Since 2001 he has worked in the Folk Art Workshop of the House of Traditions as the head of the Dance Hall Archives. He is the board member of the Dance House Association, founder, later extraordinary member of the Hungarian Music Council. He participates in the work of the board of trustees awarding the Ferenc Liszt and Ferenc Erkel Prizes and of the "Association for the European Folklore Centre" running the European Folklore Institute.
                                                                                 
Without him there wouldn't be táncház in the form we know it today (dance house movement, of which a bit later).

I love to dance when he plays the violin: you have the feeling that he is playing exclusively for you. Countless times in the táncház, a couple of times on stage with the legendary Bartók Dance Ensemble. When my son was a little baby, a few times I would take him where Halmos played for the kids, and he would forget about the whole world, didn't care that he could be playing and jumping around with the other children, he would just gaze at Béla bácsi, completely mesmerized, and listen, listen...

For photos of his birthday celebration in Budapest, go to the Galéria section of Folkrádió

Happy Birthday Béla!

Info and photo: Aranytíz.hu

You will love this Béla Halmos album:
Hungarian Folk Music from Transylvania


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