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| Tibor Kiss of Quimby |
Last year, the Day of Hungarian Song took place on the day before the official start of the Sziget Festival, a week-long musical extravaganza on an island in the Danube, in August. This year's event, to feature the likes of Bëlga , Besh o droM, Kispál és a Borz, Pa-Dö-Dö, Heaven Street Seven, Quimby, Jamie Winchester, Charlie, Pál Utcai Fiúk, Ági és a Fiúk, Ádám Török, Márta Sebestyén, Sebő, Bea Palya, Kaláka, the Modern Art Orchestra, Peter Ogi, Bori Péterfy and Love Band, and Kiscsillag, will take place on September 13.
"The aim of the Day of Hungarian Song is to call attention to the fantastic treasure of song and the unbelievable amount of talent in the country," said the event's founder Gábor Presser, who has himself made an outstanding contribution to Hungarian song.
Among the highlights of this year's programme will be a performance of An Imaginary Report From an American Pop Festival by János Másik, László Dés, Péter Geszti, János Bródy, Magdi Rúzsa and Zorán, accompanied by Presser on piano.
The Day of Hungarian Song will not only take place in Budapest: the Jókai Theatre in Békéscsaba, as well as the Hevesi Theatre and Griff Puppet Theatre in Zalaegerszeg will also participate in the programme.
At the Gödör Klub, the best underground songs of the past three decades will be presented by MC Péter Novák, and children's songs will be spotlighted at the Bottomless Lake in Budapest's Distric XI.
Stages will be set up for the day on Óbuda's Fő tér, in the Zichy Castle, in the Palace of Arts, at Hungexpo and at the Zöld Pardon.
In addition to Budapest, events to mark the day will also take place in Győr, Várpalota, Kecskemét and Miskolc.
All of the acts will dedicate a song to Tamás Cseh, a giant on the Hungarian pop scene for decades until his death last week, said managing director of the event organiser Edit Szabó.
Presser noted that the festival had won a grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture that would allow its oranisers to document and archive some of the event's most important moments.
This year's event will also feature classical music by members of the Liszt Music Academy.
Author: Eszter Szász
