Music was and is an essential part of daily life in Hungary: the folk music of the various regions, the gypsy music that was absorbed into the national bloodstream, the native and foreign art-music, and the café music that was a combination of all these elements and others as well. All this explains why a country whose population, even today, is barely over ten million has produced so many musicians and so much outstanding music. I am grateful for having been born and trained there. (Sir Georg Solti)