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Descended from the legendary Hungarian Rom violinist and composer Janos Bihari, Lakatos grew up playing that breakneck music with typical fire and rare exactitude. Tradition is at the root of all his work, but after graduating from the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest he started to expand his range, focusing on the classical tradition in particular, but not at the expense of his Rom foundations. Between the mid-80s and mid-90s he held court at a nightclub in Brussels, leading a small ensemble that helped him master his blend of Rom, jazz, and classical. Since then he’s become an international phenomenon, easily navigating his way through three distinct musical worlds by ignoring the boundaries.
Still, Lakatos has a reputation as a great performer and I imagine his concert on Wednesday with the Grant Park Orchestra will be a crowd-pleaser. He’ll join the symphony for a mixed program of European classics (Brahms), jazz tunes (Lewis), and contemporary favorites (“Schindler’s List,” by John Williams, which he recorded for the movie soundtrack), and after an intermission his ensemble will play on its own.
