“Hungarians have been reframing their many traditions for generations which makes Budapest’s music so full of life” — Aron Romhanyi, Artistic Director (Music Export Budapest).

Get off to a good start in the New Year. The NOW Sound of Budapest, timed to coincide with APAP, the largest annual gathering of performing arts professionals in NYC, offers a fresh and modern take on Hungarian and East Central European traditional music brought to you by three ensembles that know as much about tradition as they love experimentation.

The ethnic, Bulgarian-Hungarian psychedelia of Meszecsinka (“Little Moon”), the tango-inflected improvisations of Armenian-born Hungarian musician David Yengibarian and the rigorous folk-jazz beauties of Mihály Borbély’s Polygon trio all offer, each in their distinct ways, a musical homage to the tapestry that is Central Europe.