Back in the early '70s, when the dance house movement was taking root in Budapest, the members of the Vujicsics ensemble were playing in the wind and dance ensembles of the music school in Pomáz. Although it was in large measure the momentum of the dance house movement that led them to choose folk music over the classical world, there might well also have been a contribution from the spirit of the place and the fine air of the area around Budakalász and Csobánka, where they grew up. This is a region where the only thing more natural than having families of both Serbian and Swabian extraction carefully preserving their linguistic and cultural traditions is for them to delight in the customs of their neighbours as well.
Eventually, of course, a choice would have to be made. In 1974, the group elected to stick with the music of the Southern Slavs. As it was in part the influence of musicologist Tihamér Vujicsics that prompted the decision, they named their ensemble after him following his death in 1975.
The rest is now history - a 46-year career that would far exceed the space limitations of a concert announcement to describe. Suffice it to say that over the course of nearly half a century, they have - through their albums, film music and concerts - carried on the South Slavic music tradition with such unprecedented easiness that it offered everyone, regardless of their ethnic background, a lasting experience. And what's more, they have provided a model - to follow and develop further - for Söndörgő, a group to which they are linked like familiy.
At this point, Söndörgő itself can boast 25 years of history behind it. Step by step on a journey that has taken them everywhere from the Danube Bend to the deepest recesses of the Balkans, they have reached the peak where the gentle sounds of the tambura meet the fierce ones of the saxophone, and psychedelic rock combine with classical and folk music, the settings of Bartók and their own compositions. This peak is where Söndörgő has revolutionised the music of the South Slavic tambura.
And if this is not sufficiently enticing, this joint concert by Vujisics and Söndörgő will also feature - performing both separately and together - Márta Sebestyén, Kátya Tompos and László Tolcsvay.
Sebestyén performed on Vujicsics's very first album, and they have been working together for more than 40 years, which is also symbolic of how close the music of the Carpathian Basin and the Balkans are to each other. Tompos, for her part, lent her voice to Söndörgő's 2010 album Lost Music of the Balkans, while Tolcsvay is a living testament to how easily Hungarian beat and rock music fits into South Slavic melodies. Although he only gave his first joint concert with Vujicsics six years ago, it was a memorable experience realising how nicely the traditional piece Kalaski svatovac sets the mood for Tolcsvay's song Sajnálom, hogy így esett, and how splendidly Farandole pairs with Jöjj, kedvesem...
And so it is safe to say that anyone who is receptive to the South Slavic tradition, which meshes amicably with Hungarian folk music, rock and a style of delivery that points in the direction of contemporary music will find this joint concert a one-of-a-kind experience. Just what the 'spirit of the place' requires.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest