Hungary's Gypsy musicians leaving tradition behind

By Andras Gergely

BUDAPEST (Reuters Life!) - If you sat down in a Budapest restaurant, until not long ago Gypsy musicians would come to your table and play your favorite tune on a violin for a tip -- sometimes even if you really wished to dine in quiet.

What used to be a trademark of the eastern European country is now confined to a handful of places.

"They have left the restaurants," said Tivadar Fatyol, managing director of Gypsy station Radio C.

Playing Gypsy music has passed from father to son in Fatyol's family for 300 years, but he is glad his children are breaking with tradition because he says it is in danger.

The government has even started a make-work program for unemployed musicians among the impoverished Roma, or Gypsy, minority, who make up about five percent of Hungary's population of 10 million.

Away from traditional restaurants and infused with melodies from around the Balkans and often pop music, Gypsy music has become very popular among young Hungarians.

"I see that the world of concerts and the stage is now starting to wake up a bit," Fatyol said in the tiny office in a rundown neighborhood where he directs his radio station, popular with Hungarians of all ethnicities.

Gypsy musicians can survive if they diversify, and that is one of their key skills anyway, he said.