National Treasures: The Hundred Violins and the Cimbalom as Hungarikums

Within Hungary's statutory system for national heritage, both the hundred-member Gypsy symphony orchestra of Budapest and the Hungarian cimbalom hold the rank of Hungarikum — a formal national recognition of the ensemble and of its signature instrument.

What a Hungarikum Is

In Hungary, a Hungarikum is a collective term defined by law. It indicates a value worthy of distinction and highlighting within a unified system of qualification, classification and registry, representing the high performance of Hungarian people thanks to its typically Hungarian attribute, uniqueness, specialty and quality.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a movement was organised to systematise and sum up Hungarian values. After broad societal and professional collation, the Hungarian Government established and declared Act XXX of 2012 concerning Hungarian national values and Hungarikums on 2 April 2012, giving a legal frame for specifying, identifying and promoting collected values.

How a Value Is Chosen

Admission follows a bottom-up building system called the National Value Pyramid. Anyone is allowed to suggest a value to the basic collections by filling out the standard form. After admission there, the national value can be suggested further to the Collection of Hungarian Values, where the Hungarikum Committee decides whether it is accepted.

If an entry becomes an outstanding national value, the petitioner may submit it to the Collection of Hungarikums, and with the Hungarikum Committee's agreement it is named a Hungarikum. Twelve exceptions also became Hungarikums by decision of the Hungarikum Committee under the Act because they appear on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Hundred-Member Orchestra, 2014

In 2014, the 100-member Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra was listed in the Collection of Hungarikums under cultural heritage in Budapest. The entry notes that the Hungarian Heritage Award winner appears not only in the Collection of Hungarikums, but also in the Golden Book and in the Invisible Museum of the Hungarian Spirit.

The entry describes the orchestra as a unique musical formation that presents classical music — including works of Liszt, Bartók, Kodály, Hubay, Erkel, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Strauss — and performs traditional Hungarian Gypsy music, Hungarian songs and folk songs. The entry opens with a quotation from Tamás Péli, a Hungarian painter of Roma origin, matching the orchestra's philosophy: "I have two golden straps on my forehead, one is Hungarian, the other one is Gypsy. I do not wish to give up either because both are mine."

The Hungarian Cimbalom, 2016

In 2016, the Hungarian cimbalom (Magyar Cimbalom) entered the Collection of Hungarikums under cultural heritage. The registry defines it as a string instrument of the zither family sounded by striking with two beaters, with a horizontal, trapezoid, box-like body across whose full width diatonic or chromatic strings are ranged. Its old folk form, the kiscimbalom (small cimbalom), is now a rarity in Hungarian-speaking areas but is still used in the Alpine countries, Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Its developed form is the larger pedal cimbalom, standing on legs and fitted with a damper pedal, created toward the end of the nineteenth century by the Budapest instrument maker Vencel József Schunda and further developed in the twentieth century by Lajos Bohák senior and junior. Above all an important member of Gypsy bands, it is also a folk instrument, and through the work of the cimbalom artist Aladár Rácz it has a role in classical concerts.

Two Identities, One Music

Tamás Péli's metaphor of the two golden straps — one Hungarian, one Gypsy, refusing to give up either because both are his — expresses how Hungarian national heritage and Roma musical life meet on one stage.

That dual heritage sits within a wider European context. As the European Commission notes, the Roma are Europe's largest ethnic minority: of an estimated 10 to 12 million Roma in Europe, approximately 6 million are EU citizens or residents, and the umbrella term "Roma" covers diverse groups including Roma, Sinti, Kale, Romanichels, Boyash/Rudari, Ashkali, Egyptians, Yenish, Dom, Lom, Rom and Abdal, as well as Traveller populations. On 7 October 2020 the Commission issued the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030, which sets out a three-pillar approach so that all Roma have the opportunity to engage in political, social, economic and cultural life; the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation on 12 March 2021.

Further Reading

To explore the musical tradition behind these listings, continue to the hundred-violin tradition, study the history and playing technique of the cimbalom, or read about the family dynasties of Romani music heritage.