The ÜSZTÜRÜ Ensemble plays the authentic village music of Transylvania and Hungary in an exciting performance. Members of the Ensemble have studied extensively with the greatest masters of Hungarian folk music and carry on a tradition, which will assure the survival of traditional Hungarian music into this new century. The ÜSZTÜRÜ has performed in many countries of Europe. The North American Tour during the Summer of 2000 will introduce this exciting group of musicians to this continent.

The ÜSZTÜRÜ Ensemble was founded in 1992 by young Hungarian musicians while attending university in Kolozsvár. They were born in Transylvania and had close connections to the communities where Hungarian folk music was still a living tradition. They witnessed first hand how authentic, traditional folk music, played on acoustic instruments, has disappeared from village life, having been displaced by electronic instruments and Western pop music. The members of the ÜSZTÜRÜ were fortunate to learn and play with the greatest masters of Transylvanian music: Sándor Fodor [Neti] and Ferenc Árus from Kalotaszeg; Kodoba Béla and his family from Magyarpalatka, István Ádám [Icsán] from Szék; István Jámbor [Domnezu] and Ferenc Mezei [Csángálo] from Szászcsávás. Some of them, alas, have passed away. Many years of playing with these folk artists and studying, collecting their music makes the members of the ÜSZTÜRÜ special bearers of Transylvanian Hungarian music. They are dedicated to assuring the continued survival of a folk art form, which can rarely be found even in its indigenous surroundings. The Ensemble is also at home in performing all Hungarian folk musical dialects from the Austrian border to the Eastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains.

The ÜSZTÜRÜ is excited about their first North American visit. They wish to share with American audiences their enthusiasm for authentic Hungarian music and convey its deepest thoughts, exciting emotions and versatile moods as they have learned these from their masters. Featuring:

István Moldován, violin Levente Major, violin
József Szász, brácsa Lõrinc Szász, bass
Kálmán Koszorus, brácsa, cimbalom Julia Redõ, dance