Csárdás
Czardas
Vittorio Monti's Csárdás may be the best-known example of Hungarian-style gypsy fiddle music ever written, yet ironically was the work of an Italian who spent most of his life in France. It was originally composed for violin, mandolin/piano. There are arrangements for orchestra and for a number of solo instruments. The piece was once part of the repertoire of every café and hotel orchestra in Europe's holiday resorts and spa towns. (A czárdás is a traditional Hungarian folk dance.)
Vittorio Monti (1868 - 1922) worked chiefly as an orchestral violinist and teacher of violin and mandolin in Paris. Monti's is now remembered for only one work, Csárdás, though he composed more than thirty operetta, some of which were once quite popular. Around 1900 he received became the conductor for the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris, where he wrote several ballets and operettas.
