FUNZINE had an exclusive chat with Sándor Benkó, and asked him all about the upcoming concert. Read on to see what he had to say…
Your May 1st concert celebrates the Day of the Hungarian Technical Intelligentsia. What exactly does this mean?
We founded this day together with Szilveszter E. Vizi the former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to celebrate the country’s 150,000 highly educated professionals. Besides our concert at the Sports Arena, which will round off the day, there will be a celebratory session of the parliament as well as various meetings and conferences at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Is this all connected to the so-called Dixie pub, which started back in 1962 at the University of Technology?
Well, this is ‘a bit’ different. As a university band we gave plenty of all-night concerts at university events! We’d like to carry on this 50-year tradition, incorporating the atmosphere of those parties into our big gig at the Arena. Everybody who comes will have a seat but we encourage people to leave it for a little dancing, a slice of bread and lard or a beer! Also, students will get a discount on the ticket price. Last year there were 2,000 young people out of the 7,500 visitors – we’d like to increase that number.
There will be lots of guest artists. How did you select them?
We’ve had 20 full-house concerts at the Arena since 1982 and we always try to show something new, something different and to attract more and more young people. You’ll hear covers of such classics as ‘Fly me to the Moon’, ‘How High the Moon’ and ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’. And there’ll be a fantastic Banjo Show, not to mention Tommy Vig American vibraphonist’s drum show, while violinist Vilmos Szabados’s will perform Piazzola’s well-loved ‘Libertango’. And it would be unfair not to mention the 150-member Cantemus choir, who will join us for two songs of the Benkó Christmas Mass – this is unprecedented in Hungary.
I assume the feel-good atmosphere is guaranteed, especially because professional gigolos will accompany the ladies and gents. Where did the idea come from?
Every woman likes dancing, as opposed to most men. In America handsome lads, good dancers of course, used to be hired to ensure that the dance floor was not empty and ladies could boogie all night. It was really nothing but a good dance! In line with this tradition, we’ve decided to hire 100 ‘gigolos’ who will dance through the four-hour gig.
You mentioned at a press conference that some of the proceeds would go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. How did you choose this charity?
Benkó Dixieland Band has always been a keen supporter of causes that don’t receive enough attention. About 160,000 people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease just in Hungary, there are around one million in Germany or England, yet people only have a vague knowledge of the illness, so there could be many more sufferers out there. Strangely enough, Ronald Reagan, who called Benkó Dixieland the best band in the world, was a victim of the disease. We’d like to pay tribute to him by supporting the foundation. It’s also interesting that the patients’ last link to the world is music, through which they can remember and be happy for a while. As a teacher I try to help Alzheimer’s patients with mental training. The representatives of the foundation will attend the concert, and so will some of their patients.
What makes Benkó Dixieland different from other bands?
Probably knowledge of classical music, countless hours of practice and rehearsal and the architect blood in our veins, which makes us very task-oriented and precise.
Interview by Balázs Weszely