Michal Noga Band (SVK) | Martin Hrbác Band (CZE) | Mártones (HUN)

Three countries, three bands – the Slovak Michal Noga Band, the Czech Martin Hrbáč Band and the Hungarian Mártones – in a single evening in the cause of Czech-Slovak-Hungarian friendship. Traditional bands with a colourful repertoire, each authentic in their own right – a once only opportunity to see them take to the stage one after the other. The artists performing during the evening are all among the most authentic representatives of their own genre, who, in addition to their own material, are also familiar with the musical folklore of other peoples of the Carpathian Basin. Thus, a Hungarian folk music composition performed by Slovak musicians can happen in the same way as a Slovak or Romanian song interpreted by Hungarian or Czech musicians.The performance thus presents both the revival's love of music across ethnic borders and the folk music material shared with neighbouring peoples. 

Michal Noga Band (SVK) 

The ensemble, led by Michal Noga, reconstructs and revives old styles of Slovak folk music. Michal Noga is an ethnomusicologist who leads NOGABAND and works as a performer and organizer of music workshops. The band released their debut album Stopy in 2020, which won the Radio_Head Award Record of the Year in the World Music/Folk Genre category in 2020. This band is the first Slovak band in history to enter the prestigious list of Transglobal World Music Charts (22nd place). They also appeared several times on the World Music Charts Europe list, indicating the great appreciation of the profession. The album Stopy was also highly rated by the prestigious British magazine Songlines, and their songs are played on BBC radio and other foreign media. 

Martin Hrbáč Band (CZE) 

Martin Hrbáč and his orchestra represent the Horňáckó region. Horňáckó is an important folklore region on the slope of the White Carpathians – on the border between Moravia and Slovakia. His rich melodic and dance variations are so wide that they have attracted the interest of many composers such as Leoš Janáček, Vítězslav Novák or Bohuslav Martinů. The dominant pair dance is the "sedlácká" (peasant dance) and its older version, the so-called "starosvětská". Among the solo dances, "verbuňk" and "odzemek" are dominant. In addition to dance music, balladic melodies can also be found here. It is also interesting that many songs have been transferred to the region from historical Hungary, which have become so established that they are often considered original Moravian compositions. The performance of the Horňáckó people, as far as music is concerned, will be a cross-section of historical development. We will see the oldest dances with bagpipe violin accompaniment in the main role, there will also be a little dulcimer music, and also modern orchestral accompaniment. The leader of the orchestra from Horňácko is Martin Hrbáč, who is a high-level representative of authentic folk music. Other members of the orchestra include Martin Kománek on violin, Martin Slovák on double bass and Petr Pavlinec on cymbal. We will hear Jožka Kútný and Martin Prachař as solo vocalists, and Anna Pavlicová and Jiřina Miklošková on female vocals. Dance is an integral part of Horňáckó's folk music, with Monika Frantová and Vlastimil Škopík performing typical rotating dances. 

Mártones (HUN) 

In addition to their name, - all the members of the band are called Márton,- the Mártones are individually decisive musicians of the Hungarian ’dance house’ movement. Due to the diversity of the band's members, it is almost impossible to present their careers. Among them we can find Márton, who recently received the Junior Prima Award, Marci, who won multiple primate competitions and deservedly deserved the right to use Béla Halmos's violin, Mártonka, who was awarded the Bezerédj Prize by the profession for her creative work, and Marcika, who earned himself the title of golden peacock with his orchestras. Without the Mártons, both the Hungarian ’dance house’ movement and the world music scene would be poorer, as the musicians of MárTones can still be regarded as regular performers of more than 15 formations (Ági Herczku and the band, Hungarian Band, Attila Mihó and friends, Sára Tímár and her orchestra, Budapest Mezőség Band, Tárkány Works, Tárkány Trio, Zsikó Orchestra, Magos Orchestra, Gajdos Orchestra, Erdőfű Orchestra, Erdőfű Folk Chamber Ensemble, Eszterlánc-, Dobroda-, Bajkó-, Naszály Orchestras). The MárTones, recruited exclusively from Martons, is intended to present the folk music traditions of the Carpathian Basin, and besides Hungarian, they are also well acquainted with the folk music of neighbouring peoples and minorities living with us. Their diversity can also be admired at this concert.