Kálmán Balogh


Kálmán Balogh is a Hungarian cimbalom player and leader of Kalman Balogh's Gypsy Cimbalom Band.

History

Balogh is a Hungarian cimbalom player part of a lineage of Hungarian Gypsy musicians. A graduate of Franz Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest completed his studies in 1980 under supervision of Ferenc Gerencsér. Balogh studied the Gypsy music in Europe and Asia for several years. He has completed many tours throughout the world with various ensembles, including five tours in North America. He has performed and toured with many folk bands and has recorded dozens of albums with them and as a solo artist. He was a featured performer in numerous major European festivals and venues featuring Gypsy music. Balogh has performed on concerts in North America. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, New World Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Austin Symphony and the Band, Oregon Festival Orchestra. He also played at many North American festivals and clubs. He has played with several musicians like Arild Andersen, Patrice Heral, Ferenc Snetberger, Peter Ralchev, Ivo Papazov and Iva Bittova. In 1985 he was awarded the Hungarian distinction of "Young Master of Folk Arts", and two years later he won second prize in the Aladár Rácz cimbalom-competition. As an artist he has performed with Hungarian bands as Jánosi, Ökrös, Téka, Méta, Muzsikás, Zsarátnok, Vízöntő, Vasmalom, the Swedish Orient-Express, the Dutch Sultan and Ot Azoj, the English Transglobal Underground, the American Peter Ogi and the Joel Rubin Jewish Ensemble.
Balogh was musical director of the "Magneten Gypsy Show" of Andre Heller and also performed on a CD with the Budapest Festival Orchestra playing Brahms Hungarian Dances. In 1997, he performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and also with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra. On 10–11 March 2010, Balogh presented his musical project The Other Europeans at the EU conference "Projects in Favour of Roma Culture", in Brussels, Belgium.

Kálmán Balogh and the Gipsy Cimbalom Band

Balogh regularly plays with the Gipsy Cimbalom Band. The group performs Hungarian folk music, as well as classical music and jazz both at home and abroad.

Discography

Albums