Return to the Phantom Concert Hall

Once again, we all have tickets, we're all dressed up in our version of bohemian formality, and we're off to the concert hall. Tonight, it's the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra!



We spend a lovely evening, clapping and trying not to get up and dance to the energetic music. We leave with smiles on our lips, dances in our feet, and music in our hearts.

"Czardas," or "Csárdás," is a piece by Italian composer Vittorio Monti that's based on a Hungarian folk dance, but in recent years has become a favorite of gypsy and faux-gypsy bands. I've heard versions from more-or-less authentic Romani bands and from Canadian classical ensemble Quartetto Gelato.

Painting by Richard Lipps, 1857-1926. Date unknown.

I've always had a thing for gypsy music...or, well, gypsy-sounding music, especially in the autumn when my inner gypsy goes wild. So listen, have fun, go a little crazy. 'Tis the season.