Dániel Hamar was born in 1951 in Budapest, Hungary. He started to play the piano when he was seven and took up the classical double bass at fifteen.
He became a member of the Symphony Orchestra of St. Stephan Grammar School, and although this orchestra was considered to be amateur, the best Hungarian soloists and conductors performed with them, and many of its young musicians became professionals.
Hamar started to play traditional Hungarian music when he was 22. As was the case with almost all classically-trained musicians, Hamar knew little about traditional Hungarian music until he began to play it.
He visited remote Hungarian villages to learn the old techniques of playing, and established the group Muzsikas with his friends Sándor Csoóri and Mihaly Sipos in 1973.
Hamar plays double-bass and percussion instruments in the band. He is the spokesman for Muzsikas and the official leader of the band.
Dániel Hamar graduated as a geophysicist from the Eötvös University in 1974 and earned a Ph.D in 1994. He is a senior research fellow of the Space Research Group of Eötvös University, Budapest. Dániel Hamar is married and has four sons.
Discography:
- Living Hungarian Folk Music I. Muzsikás (Hungaroton Gong)
- Kettő Hungarian Folk Music (Munich Records)
- It is not like it used to be (Hungaroton Gong)
- Márta Sebestyén and Muzsikás (Hannibal/Ryko, 1987)
- The Prisoner’s Song (Hannibal/Ryko)
- Blues for Transylvania (Hannibal/Ryko)
- Maramaros, the Lost Jewish Music (Hannibal/Ryko HNCD 1373, 1993)
- Morning Star (Hannibal/Ryko, 1997)
- The Bartók Album (Hannibal/Ryko, 1998)
- Live at the Liszt Academy (Muzsikás)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.