27. 04. 2018
Park Hvězdička is the first public place in the Czech Republic to be named after a Roma personality. From March 27th, it will be named Hvězdička – park Eugene Horváth. Come with us to celebrate this exceptional event and honor the memory of the extraordinary personality Eugen “Janko” Horváth was.
Speaks:
dance ensemble Piroš rouža
Milan Horváth’s dulcimer music
Harmonic play
The event takes place in the park area and is free of charge. We look forward to you!
Who was Eugen Horvath?
Mr. Eugen Horváth, known as Janko, was a rare personality known for his life as a musical legend – he was a true bearer of the traditional values of Romany culture. It was, in particular, the music he lived – and in general his life was harmonized with a refined cultural expression. His noble sensibility was manifested not only in music, but also in language – he maintained the perfect knowledge of his mother tongue – Romany. Together with their band, they were mainly representatives of the original old musical layer of Romany folklore of Slovak Roma, but also partly of the style of the Hungarian Roma. The musician was, among other things, his grandfather Joža Horváth – a blacksmith and musician, a respected musician, and his father was Ondrej Horváth, called Andy, who had a family band together with his brothers and cousins.
Eugen Horváth was born on 26 March 1940 in the town of Nálepkovo (Vondrišľa) in Slovakia and he tried to play Eugen from childhood. He started playing more actively under the guidance of his father only fourteen years. It was already in Brno, where the family of Horváth moved in 1947.
Music talent introduced him only to the studies of the Brno Conservatory, but the school left the first year. As a violinist, he applied both in the Brno dance band “Raxi” of his brother Ondrej Horváth and in the traditional Roma cimbalom groupings. After the formation of the Union of Gypsies (in which he was musically active), he created his own renowned Cimbálová music Eugene Horváth in 1969, which he led as a Priest and which belonged to the most outstanding Roma music ensembles not only in Moravia. His brothers Ondrej (clarinet) and Alois (viola) Horváth, for example Florian Kotlár (violin), Štefan Karvay (violin), Rudolf Borák (double bass) and permanent member Josef Bagár called Huľo played on the cimbalom and accordion . Occasionally, the great cimbalman Ján Gašpar Hrisko, his sons Jan and Ivan Gašparová also performed in the band and clarinet player Jozef Krajčovič became a permanent and valid member. In the band Eugen Horváth, the brothers Bagáro – Ján (double bass), Rudolf (viola), Milan called Beňo (cimbalom and accordion) played for years.
The band performed in several documentaries and TV programs, eg “Rom Sing, Sing, Dance” (1971), “Gypsy Melody of Life” (directed by Jan Fuksa, 1975), “Musicians, Play – Eugene Horváth, ), “The Melody of Passion and Sense – Songs and Dances of Gypsies-Roma” (1988) and others. In addition to Czech Television, she also collaborated with radio, and Eugene Horváth’s Cimbálová hudba is recorded on the LP “Roma Play and Say” (Supraphon, 1972), “Upre Roma” (Supraphon, 1990), “Roma Folklore I – III” Interunie, 1990), CD “Gypsy Folk Music” (Romart, 1990) and “Gypsy Cry” (Supraphon, 1992). The Eugene Horváth band had a band of singers with whom she worked closely. They were, for example, Emilie Machálková, Irena Bikárová, Valerie Buchačová, Zlatica Poulíčková or Gejza Vagai.
Eugen Horvath, he also transferred his musical art to his children. Since the 1990s, he has been incorporated into his own band, which has been gradually transformed into a whole family band. Gradually he passed on his Priest’s scepter to his gifted son, Milan, under whose leadership (and by name) the “Horvaths” are now presented. Musical genes also inherited the sons of Eugen (double bass) and Petr (cimbalom), and Lenka’s daughter is then a solo singer of the family band.
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