Roby Lakatos

Born into the legendary family of gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, “King of Gypsy Violinists”, Roby Lakatos was introduced to music as a child and at age nine he made his public debut as first violin in a gypsy band. His musicianship evolved not only within his own family but also at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Budapest, where he won the first prize for classical violin in 1984. Between 1986 and 1996, he and his ensemble delighted audiences at "Les Atéliers de la grande Ille" in Brussels, their musical home throughout this period. He has collaborated with Vadim Repin and Stéphane Grappelli, and his playing was greatly admired by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who always made a point of visiting the club in Brussels to hear Lakatos. 

Roby Lakatos is not only a scorching virtuoso, but a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility. Equally comfortable performing classical music as he is playing jazz and his own Hungarian folk idiom, Lakatos is the rare musician who defies definition. He is referred to as a gypsy violinist or “devil’s fiddler”, a classical virtuoso, a jazz improviser, a composer and arranger, and a 19th-century throwback, and he is actually all of these things at once. He is the kind of universal musician so rarely encountered in our time - a player whose strength as an interpreter derives from his activities as an improviser and composer. He has performed at the great halls and festivals of Europe, Asia and America. 

Collaborators:
 

Lászlo Bóni, second violin, was born in Budapest in 1968 and studied with Roby Lakatos's father, playing in his orchestra and earning a soloist's diploma as a Gypsy violinist in 1987. He then spent six months in Japan, performing with a Gypsy trio that subsequently toured the whole of Europe. He worked in Antwerp from 1991 to 1994. Lászlo Bóni is the most faithful and oldest collaborator of Roby Lakatos. 
 
Jenő Lisztes, cimbalom, was born in Budapest in 1986 and is the grandson of a famous cimbalom player. He was only four when he started studying the classical cimbalom with Agnes Székely. He then studied classical and Gypsy music with Jenö Soros. He was still only 12 when he won the Racz Aladar Cimbalom Competition. He has been studying at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest since 2005. 

Lászlo Balogh, guitar, was born in Budapest in 1987. He started studying music aged six with Professor Agnes Székely of the Toth Aladar Academy in Budapest. His first instrument was the cimbalom, but he switched to the guitar when he was 12. He went on to study at the Franz Liszt Music Academy after which he became an ‘apprentice’ in the Roby Lakatos Ensemble for two years; he is now solo guitarist. 

Lászlo ‘Csorosz’ Lisztes, double bass, was born in 1988. Having originally started his musical studies on the violin, at the age of 9 he made the switch to double bass and entered the Aladár Tóth academy. His teacher at the time was Lajos Duduj. He later moved on to the Bela Bartok Academy, where he studied under Istvàn Lukàcshàzi. At present he is taking courses at the Pécs Conservatory as a post graduate student.

Kalman Cseki, piano, was born in Budapest in 1982. He studied classical music at the Toth Aladar Academy. Later he moved on the Leo Weiner Music Conservatory. 'Alman Cseki Jr. is the son of Kalman Cseki Sr. Roby previous pianist who is now teaching piano in Mexico.
 

www.robylakatos.com