The annual Sziget Festival in Budapest has become a much anticipated musical event. This year is the 16th time the festival has taken place; from the 13th to the 18th of August, one of Europe’s largest music festivals displayed an astounding diversity with artists from all around the world, including Iron Maiden, The Killers, R.E.M, The Sex Pistols, System of a Down, and our own celebrated Alanis Morissette. The Canadian born singer, who has Hungarian roots on her mother’s side, recently released her latest album “Flavors of Entanglement.” This is her seventh studio album and fifth international release. As of July 31, 2008 the album had sold 412 000 copies world wide. Rolling Stone magazine described it as a “heartfelt record.” Alanis Morissette isn’t the only Canadian participating in the Sziget Festival this year. Danko Jones, a Canadian rock band from Toronto, played on August 15th, and Three Inches of Blood, a heavy metal band from Vancouver, took to the stage on August 17th.
For more information, see:
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews
http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english/news/111188.html
From the Music Introduction Section of our website:
… Talented artists are also found in the domain of popular music. Alanis Morrissette, second generation Hungarian, and major rock artist, sings in one of Jonathan Elias’s musical compositions, The Prayer Cycle, a choral symphony in 9 movements in Hungarian and French that expresses intertwining traditions and influences in her life.
Singer Alanis Morissette inducted into music hall of fame to the delight of her Hungarian-born mother
By Randy Ray
Ottawa-born rock star Alanis Morissette on March 6 is to be inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and at the same time will receive a separate award for lifetime achievement.
No one is more proud than her Ottawa-based parents, Georgia Morissette, who came to Canada as a young child from Hungary in 1956, and her husband Alan.
In a recent interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Alan, a 60-year-old former school principal noted that his daughter recorded her first song at age 10, and had a publishing deal by 14.
“People have to know that this has been a 23-year career,” Morissette says. “It started 23 years ago through the recognition of her talent and her passion to do it. That’s all she wanted to do.”
Watch the Hungarian Presence Web site for an upcoming feature article on Georgia Morissette.