Famous Hungarian folk singer, Muzsikás sound engineer, composer of folk music arrangements, Magyar Rádió program editor, and founder Péter Éri (or “Pityu”) has died, his family has reported.
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| Éri Péter |
In 1953, Péter Éri entered this world in Budapest. Since he was a little boy, his foster father, Martin György, who is also a dance and music folklorist, has taken him on collecting expeditions where he has encountered the finest rural masters of folk music and folk dance.
All of this served as a formative experience for him, and he carried his precise understanding of the folk style with him for the rest of his life.
Even at age 10, he had a firm grasp of the steps to the Kalotaszeg boys’ dance. By the time he was 14, he had taught himself to play music and was performing as a soloist with Béla Bartók’s folk dance group. He has played bass with the Seb band since 1975.
From the early 1970s until 1978, he performed as a guest musician with Muzsikás, contributing his talents on the viola, contrala, different flutes, and mandolin.
The artist won the Ferenc Liszt Prize in 1995 for his work with the band Muzsikás. The group was recognized for its dedication to promoting Hungarian traditional folk music both at home and abroad with the Kossuth Award in 1999.
Péter Éri was honored for his contributions to the realm of folk art with the Martin György Award in 2023.