Igor Toronyi-Lalic

Gypsy king

Oh, that all concerts were like its visit to the Proms last week with conductor Ivan Fischer

  • Proms 54 and 55: Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer

    Royal Albert Hall

Looney Tunes was always at its best when soundtracked by a Hungarian gypsy dance. (Watch ‘Pigs in a Polka’ if you don’t believe me.) It’s music that was made to chase small cartoon animals — and terrify conductors. The gunshot syncopations. The hand-break turns in tempi. The banana-skin portamenti and rubato ravines… Musical tripwires everywhere.

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