Mihály Sipos was born in 1948 in Budapest, Hungary. His ancestors on his father’s side were shepherds. His grandmother knew their old traditional songs and dances. His maternal grandfather was a great singer and lover of classical music. He gave Sipos his first violin at a young age. Sipos’s mother learned piano at the Liszt Music Academy, so he grew up in a musical surrounding.
Sipos became a student at one of the famous music schools established by Zoltán Kodály where he started to play the violin at seven.
He studied the classical violin for 11 years. Sipos became involved with traditional music in 1972. In 1973 he founded the group Muzsikas along with his two friends, Daniel Hamar and Sándor Csoóri. He became the musical director of the band.
Aside from the violin, he plays the citera in Muzsikas. Sipos is the artistic director of most of the concerts and ensemble recordings and is also the coordinator between Muzsikas and the guest classical musicians.
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.