Events

Tamás Kobzos Kiss (Bağlama, Koboz, Hurdy Gurdy)

Tamás Kobzos Kiss was born in 1950 in Debrecen, Hungary, as the son of the poet and writer Kiss Tamás. After studying the piano, he began playing the guitar, lute and other folk instruments. Since the early 1970s, he has been interested both in authentic folk music and in old Hungarian bard songs. He has performed as a member of various Hungarian ensembles and has held solo concerts throughout Europe, in the United States and in Japan. He regularly collaborates with the Jánosi Ensemble and the Clemencic Consort Ensemble, as well as with the musicians Szabados György, Michel Montanaro and Erdal Şalikoğlu. Tamás Kobzos Kiss is the principal of the Folk Music School in Óbuda.

Text: Pécs Folk Days festival

Erdal Şalikoğlu (Bağlama)

Erdal Şalikoğlu was born in 1955 in Artvin, in northeastern Turkey, and moved to Istanbul at the age of eleven with his parents. As a student at Boğaziçi University, he was a member of the university dance troupe and became acquainted with ancient Anatolian dances and music. After studying medecine at Istanbul University, he spent time in Anatolia, where he came into contact with local musicians and dancers, and upon his return to Istanbul, he trained with the famous saz player and singer, Yavuz Top. To this day, Erdal Şalikoğlu works as a doctor in Istanbul, all the while maintaining an intense interest in folk dance and folk music. He has performed nationally and internationally, especially with Hungarian musicians and ensembles.