Viola
Pannon Portrait
A violist with more than six decades of professional experience and the eldest member of the multi-generational Bóni musical family. Throughout his career, he has performed in many of the world’s prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Wiener Musikverein and the Sydney Opera House. He remains an active and enthusiastic musician to this day.
Career
Bóni Lajos was born on 15 October 1952 in Miskolc. He completed his musical studies at the Bartók Béla Music School before moving to Budapest, where new professional opportunities opened up and he encountered some of the leading figures of the Hungarian music scene.
As a violist, he has enjoyed a musical career spanning more than six decades. The eldest member of the Bóni family, a musical dynasty extending across several generations, his life has been closely intertwined with music and the traditions of Hungarian Gypsy music. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to perform alongside many outstanding and highly respected Hungarian musicians.
His life as a musician has taken him around almost the entire world. During his long international career, he has performed in prestigious concert halls across Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Among the world-famous venues where he has played are Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Wiener Musikverein, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Sydney Opera House and Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.
After more than six decades of music-making and countless performances in Hungary and abroad, Bóni Lajos remains an active musician to this day. In his own words, he still performs with great joy and is always happy to go wherever music takes him.
With the Pannon Orchestra
With his wealth of international experience and a musical career spanning more than six decades, Bóni Lajos represents the traditions of the great generation of Hungarian Gypsy musicians within the Pannon Cigányzenekar.