To many ears, combining the words "music" and "Hungary" often awakens some pretty jaded stereotypes: images of violin and cimbalom as typical instruments and the...

To many ears, combining the words "music" and "Hungary" often awakens some pretty jaded stereotypes: images of violin and cimbalom as typical instruments and the Gypsy violinist plying his trade by evoking wistfulness and passion among the audience. Today, the word "Gypsy" is frowned upon, since among a resident population it conjures up the picture of those mistrusted travelers who enjoy the freedom of the open road: the epitome of Gypsy romanticism. This is a touchy subject! The present album should therefore be judged for its "Hungarian influenced" piano music, the composers and their Hungarian affinities. One thing should be made clear at the outset: all of the pieces played here by Sofja Gülbadamova – be they original works or arrangements – are in the two-four time that is so characteristic of popular "Hungarian music" and "traditional Gypsy music". Since Austria and Hungary were closely linked both politically and culturally for centuries, one might well describe Hungarian two-four time as a sort of "counter spell" to the three-four time of the Viennese waltz.