44th National Táncház Festival & Fair • 4–6 April 2025
Issue:
Starting page: 30
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Conversation with Székely Levente. Born in Kolozsvár, Transylvania. Studied music in high school and university in Kolozsvár (Cluj). First began playing village music of Szék with classmates in 1975, which led to playing fiddle in dance house bands in Transylvania ’til 1982. Married dancer from Hungary, Sztanó Hédi in 1981. Emmigrated to Hungary in 1982. Played fiddle with Sebő Ensemble, the Hungarian State Ensemble, then with Kalamajka Ensemble in Budapest until 1991, while working as translator, interpreter, journalist. In 1991, he took a job in Bucharest working for the Hungarian Ambassador. Finished his masters degree in 1998 in Boston. In 1999, he and his family went to New York – he took a post with the Hungarian mission at the U.N. In 2004 he returned to Hungary where he still works for the Foreign Ministry. In March he released a new recording of his favorite music; the traditional music of Nagysajó, a village in Transylvania. Interview by Abkarovits Endre