Competition of young Gypsy lead fiddlers in Balatonfüred
The 5th Lead Fiddler Competition was jointly organised by the Hungarian Heritage House and the local government of Balatonfüred between the 24-25 July as part of the Anna Ball. It was open to musicians playing classical Gypsy music. With the exception of one contestant from Keszthely, all participants came from Budapest.
The first prize was won by the 28 years old Jenő Varga, who started playing the violin at the age of six; he comes from a family of musicians: his father and grandfather are lead fiddlers too. His own band is still to be formed, but – among others – he plays in the band of Ernő Kállai, and is now planning an international tour. After the competition, he was very happy to have received recognition from outstanding figures of his profession. In addition to the glory of the first prize, he can now also realise of his old dreams: he can finally buy the violin of his dreams and have his own instrument.
The final round of this year’s competition held in the Kisfaludy Gallery in Balatonfüred had five contestants, four from Budapest and one from Keszthely. On the first day of the competition, the participants could choose from the works of János Bihari, Antal Csermák, János Lavotta and Márk Rózsavölgyi, while on the second day a composition consisting of optional pieces of 5 to 6 minutes was performed. The lead fiddlers were accompanied by the Band of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.
The jury consisted of acknowledged figures of the genre: chair of the jury, Ferenc Radics, band leader and lead fiddler of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, holder of the Hungarian Order of Merit golden cross award; Károly Puka, lead fiddler awarded with the Hungarian Order of Merit and winner of the lead fiddler competition of 1984 and Ernő Kállai Kiss Jr., holder of the Liszt award and band leader of the Danubius Hotel’s ensemble.
The main aspects of the high standard competition included technical skills, authenticity and artistic performance, as well as the skills of “being a lead fiddler” and the extent of individual artistic solutions.
The first prize of the Lead Fiddler Competition worth HUF 1 million was won by Jenő Varga, the second prize worth HUF 500.000 went to Tamás Balázs from Budapest, while the third prize of HUF 300.000 was awarded to Ökrös Róbert, also from Budapest. Dávid Sárközi from Budapest and Béla Farkis from Keszthely were each awarded a special prize of a joint performance with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble worth HUF 200.000. The awardee of the first prize also won the title “Lead Fiddler of the Anna Ball”, therefore Jenő Varga will have the opportunity to perform at next year’s 193th Anna Ball.
On the closing day at 9 PM a gala event was held at Balatonfüred’s Gyógy square, where awardees of the competition, folk song performer Ágnes Enyedi, Hungarian ART SONG performers and Sándor Ürmös Jr., winner of the instrumental category of the Páva television talent show accompanied by the Band of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble performed.
