Gypsy Devils

News

Jul. 3, 2009

Sold-out ancient amphitheatre in Cyprus applauds Gypsy Devils!

Last Tuesday the Gypsy Devils experienced the same atmosphere that artists thousands of years ago knew. In the wonderful Salamis amphitheatre dating from times of antiquity and located close to Famagusta (the Turkish part of the island), the Devils were performing in the 13th annual Music and Art Festival. They were greeted with a series of standing-ovations from the 3000 fans who enthusiastically filled every seat in the amphitheatre. This marked the third occasion in the course of a year that the Gypsy Devils have played Cyprus (following last autumn’s Nicosia and Larnaca shows). The Gypsy Devils orchestra would like to take this opportunity to thank the Pasion Turca agency for this invitation and the great cooperation.

Jun. 25, 2009

Great success for the Devils at the prestigious Kissinger Sommer festival!

By the end of June the Gypsy Devils will be totally flown-out! Along with a series of concerts in the Czech Republic and before flying off to northern Cyprus, the band managed to skip over to Germany, to take part in the Kissinger Sommer international music festival in the town of Bad Kissingen. The exceptional level of this year’s festival was demonstrated by the participation of world stars like the opera diva Cecilia Bartoli, the Chinese piano virtuoso Yuja Wang and the Viennese Symphony, conducted by maestro Fabio Luisi. The Gypsy Devils themselves received a fantastic reception by the demanding German audience, in the form of enthusiastic applause following each virtuoso solo. Their success was so sweeping that the Devils have already been invited back to next year’s Kissinger Sommer festival.

Jun. 11, 2009

Gypsy Devils going back to Cyprus!

After less than a year, the Gypsy Devils are once again heading for the island of Cyprus, this time to its northern part. Their concert will take place on June 30, as part of the 13th International Famagusta Art and Culture Festival. The Devils were invited to the event by a well-known Turkish/Spanish agency which has in its portfolio artists such as Placido Domingo, Paco de Lucia and the group, Chambao. A special occasion for the Devils is that their concert is to be held in the antique amphitheatre, Salamis not far from Famagusta.

May. 16, 2009

Standing ovations end Gypsy Devils concert with Paul Gulda!

Tuesday’s Slovak premier of the unique Haydn a´la Zingarese project was greeted with delight and applause. In a colourful blend of the works of Joseph Haydn, who was born 30 km. away in the Austrian village of Rohrau, the Gypsy Devils were featured together with the Austrian piano virtuoso Paul Gulda and the Viennese String Quartet. The concert, held in the charming Mozart Hall was part of the current festival, Johann Nepomuk Hummel Chamber Days. One composition by this famous son of Bratislava also formed part of the repertoire while the show was associated with the band’s recently completed German tour. The project’s success gained the attention of promoters from around the world, and at the moment negotiations are underway for concerts in China and the USA. We offer you a selection of the exclusive photographs by Werner Kusko taken at the pre-concert rehearsal. You can find the complete photogallery at :http://kusko.zenfolio.com/p453383300

May. 4, 2009

Thousands of Bratislavans applaud the Gypsy Devils on May Celebration!

After one year, the Gypsy Devils again performed at the ever more popular May Day event organized by the May Day Civil Association. For the Devils themselves it was a nice experience to be playing once more before their home-town audience, who in their turn made it clear that they are indeed fans of Gypsy music as interpreted by the Gypsy Devils. This was shown by the thousands who filled the whole Tyršovo nábrežie in the sunny yet windy weather. Not even the gusts coming off the nearby Danube could blow away the heart-filled performance the Devils put out! We bring you a photo-reportage of the entire event by Werner Kusko. You can find the complete photo-gallery at http://kusko.zenfolio.com/p1018022051

Apr. 20, 2009

Internet media response to Gypsy Night megaconcert

The unique Gypsy Devils project which took place at Bratislava’s Pasienky hall on April 8 did not escape the attention of the most popular music and society websites. We bring you short reviews from www.hudba.sk and www.soubiznis.sk. www.hudba.sk: “The individual performances of the Gypsy Devils members satisfy even the strictest criteria (I liked the cymbal player the best), some passages were literally virtuoso, and above all should be mentioned their first-class arrangements – really, hats off. To sum it all up I would mention the beautiful composition, Jerusalem – played as a sensitive yet catchy synthesis of Gypsy, Yiddish and jazz music.” www.soubiznis.sk: “The Gypsy Devils have created an extraordinary project on a world level! Apart from the about forty musicians there also appeared several attractive guests. The long-haired guitar genius from Austria Harri Stojka with his group, Antonín Gondolán’s jazz band from the Czech Republic, and the leader of the hundred-member Hungarian Gypsy orchestra, Buffó Rigó Sándor. It was during his performance that the lights went out for the second time, but despite playing in the dark the band showed its professionalism by playing the number through to the end without the slightest mistake! Gypsy music is currently on the rise, and proof of this was the full hall at Pasienky, where the musicians were several times rewarded with standing ovations throughout the evening.

Apr. 15, 2009

Fantastic success of the Gypsy Night mega-concert!

Last Thursday almost two thousand fans witnessed the largest Gypsy Devils concert to date at Pasienky Inter-hala. After last year’s successful premier (with the B.Martinů Philharmonic from Zlín), this time the “Devils” performed during the Gypsy Night along with the newly-formed 30-member Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra, the guitar genius Harry Stojka, the virtuoso Buffó Rigó Sándor from Budapest, the great Czech singer Antonín Gondolán and the temperamental Vanesska Šarköziová. The delighted audience, which rewarded the performers with standing ovations, was treated not only to new numbers from the Gypsy Devils repertoire (including the stirring composition “Jerusalem” with the captivating singing of Silvia Šarköziová in the original Yiddish language), but also to well-loved virtuoso works such as Gypsy Strings, Czardas by Vittorio Monti or Hungarian Dance no. 5 by Johan Brahms. The Gypsy Devils thank all those present for creating a fantastic atmosphere!

Mar. 23, 2009

Gypsy Devils to play “Gypsy” Haydn with Paul Gulda

Less than three months after Austrian piano virtuoso Paul Gulda christened the Gypsy Devils’ new CD, Dobré časy (Good Times), a unique cooperation has been arranged. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn the Devils will leave next Thursday for Germany to perform a series of concerts with Gulda entitled Haydn a´la Zingarese (Haydn in Gypsy Style). “Mr. Gulda’s offer took place directly at the CD launch. Since he has a close relation to Gypsy music and is an unusually gifted musician, the cooperation will surely be outstanding and fruitful,” – said Gypsy Devils’ artistic director Ernest Šarközi in explanation of the rather unusual combination. The band, which was most recently in Germany for last year’s sold-out concert at the Berlin Philharmonic, has all week been intensively rehearsing Haydn’s masterworks. In the upcoming concerts, Paul Gulda will be accompanied by a top philharmonic string quartet from Vienna. Also promising are negotiations with promoters from USA and China, who have expressed great interest in this program. Look out for our exclusive shots from the final rehearsal before the Devils’ flight to Germany.

Mar. 19, 2009

Gypsy Devils form Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra!

What many fans of virtuoso music have long been waiting for has finally come to pass. On the inspiration of the Gypsy Devils, the 30-member Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra has been formed in Bratislava. “This has been our long-time dream. For years we have admired such orchestras performing in places like for example Budapest. It bothered us that a similar project was not happening in Slovakia. So we told each other that it was time a quality Gypsy orchestra made up of professional musicians was formed,” said Gypsy Devils music director Ernest Šarközi. The Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra is coming together just in time for the megaconcert Gypsy Night (8.4.09 at Inter Hall Pasienky) at which the “Devils” will be performing alongside the new band and such stars of Gypsy music as the guitar genius Harri Stojka from Austria, the leader of the 100-member Gypsy Orchestra from Budapest, Buffó Rigó Sándor, the wonderful Czech singer and double-bassist Antonín Gondolán and one of the most popular slovak kidstar Vanessa Sarközi . The formation of the Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra is a special event for the 24 year-old leader of the Gypsy Devils, Štefan „Picúr“ Banyák. Another burden has been placed on his young shoulders; suddenly he’s leading not only the old band, but now also a total of 38 musicians. “It’s a great project. At first I was worried if I could handle it, but everyone is acting in a truly professional manner. Apart from the fact that they are super musicians, it’s also a joy to work with them. For me this project is also special in that my grandfather (violin) and father (viola) are joining the Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra.” At the moment the Gypsy Devils are intensively rehearsing a joint repertoire with the Great Slovak Gypsy Orchestra. Among the numbers being prepared are compositions such as Monti Čardáš, Hungarian Dance no. 5 and Nane Cocha, from the legendary film Gypsies Go To Heaven.

Mar. 17, 2009

Gypsy Devils - Tsunami of incredible music!

These were the kind of descriptions used by the Czech media during the tour last week of the Gypsy Devils. The show appeared in four Czech cities, Olomouc, Přerov, Prostějov, and Šumperk, and featured cooperation with the Morava Philharmonic conducted by Aleš Podařil. Together they brought our western neighbours a musical message that glued many spectators to their seats. One of the most widely-read national newspapers, Mladá fronta Dnes, called the series of concerts “an incredibly captivating show”. Another Czech print outlet, the Prostějovský denník, in turn wrote, “A true Gypsy hell erupted in the Prostějov theatre! The Gypsy Devils showed the people of Prostějov that they are virtuoso musicians and (mainly) that they put their whole heart into every note of their music!” The Gypsy Devils would like to take this opportunity to once more thank their fantastic audiences for their reception, which created the special atmosphere of this tour, and also thanks to the Morava Philharmonic for their excellent cooperation.