Béla Bartók’s collection of folk music is one of the most important music-ethnological compendiums in the world. Bartók was by no means the only composer to use this collection as the basis for artistic encounters with the fascinating world of Balkan folk music. Close examination of these peasant tunes, their rhythms, incomparable melodic flow and pentatonic harmonies has now inspired composer and musician Wolfgang Netzer to develop his own musical interpretations of this material. Together with soprano Audrey Luna, clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi and percussionist Sascha Gotowtschikow, Netzer has created an album with an entirely original sound, originating from completely different musical influences. Netzer himself says, “In the end, we came up with music not particularly related to Hungary – but whose central statement, however, rises from the soul of this highly musical folk.”