"In classical music almost all instruments have had the privilege of a concerto dedicated to them. In the case of the cimbalom, this opportunity presented itself relatively late, in the 1960s-70s; this is when the instrument appeared on the mental map of contemporary composers. From then on almost all active composers honoured the cimbalom with a work, be it solo pieces, work for chamber orchestra, or concertos. When the idea of this album came up I knew I wanted to create something new. The improvisative element in the form, that is the cadenza, faded out strangely enough in the heyday of concertos, the Romantic period. This is what I felt to be the mission of the present album: to approach the genre from jazz, from improvisation. With all due respect to form, I feel I can only be myself this way. The Cimbalom Concertos are therefore doubly special: the instrument in a concerto is a rarity, as well as the marked influence of jazz." - Miklós Lukács

Miklós Lukács - cimbalom

Featuring:
Budapest Eclectic Strings, conducted by Gábor Werner
Mátyás Szandai - double bass
András Dés - percussion

CD I.
Vukán György: 7 Pictures - for Cimbalom and Strings
1. I. Moderato
2. Molto Moderato
3. III. Interlude Cadenza 1.
4. IV. Largo
5. V. Allegro
6. VI. Interlude Cadenza 2.
7. VII. Vivace

Szakcsi-Lakatos Béla: Concerto - for Cimbalom and String Instruments
8. I. Allegretto
9. II. Fantasia
10. III. Largo
11. IV. Animato

CD II.
Oláh Kálmán: Hungarian Moods - for Cimbalom, Strings and Percussion
1. 1st Movement
2. 2nd Movement

Fekete-Kovács Kornél: Elements
3. I. Percussion
4. II. Emotion
5. III. Potency