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János Bihari
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
János Bihari was a Hungarian violinist from a Romani family. He was born on 21 October 1764 in Nagyabony, now Veľké Blahovo in Slovakia, and died on 26 April 1827 in Pest. His father was also a violinist. In 1801 Bihari put together an orchestra in Pest with one cimbalom player and four violinists. That orchestra quickly became popular and travelled with him to many cities in Hungary and abroad. He also played at parties and banquets and performed during the Congress of Vienna in 1814.
Music and breakthrough
Bihari is regarded as one of the founders of academic Romani music and of the genre verbunkos, a Hungarian style that was originally played at military recruitment. In the mid-nineteenth century so-called Gypsy music was a craze, and Bihari was the first great name. Franz Liszt described his violin tones as tears flowing down the enchanted ears. Melodies by Bihari were used by composers such as Liszt, Beethoven and Pablo de Sarasate.
Influence
In 1824 he lost the use of his left hand for playing, after injuring it. After that his popularity declined and he died in poverty. He left eighty-four compositions, which are regarded as classics. His music shows how a folk musician from Hungary could influence the classical world, and how the fast, fiery style of the verbunkos later found its way into the concert hall.
Listening
Mentioned in other articles
- Verbunkos and Roma orchestras Genre
Roma violinists such as János Bihari made the style famous.