HUNGARIANS love music and the whirling rhythms and passionate fiddlers Budapest Cafe Orchestra, with the charismatic violinist Christian Garrick, is on tour this spring, with local gigs at Sturminster Newton Exchange on Thursday 16th April, Dorchester Corn Exchange on Friday 17th and the Mowlem theatre at Swanage on Saturday 18th.

Founded in 2009 by Garrick, a composer and teacher as well as virtuoso fiddler, Budapest Cafe Orchestra play a whirling, exciting blend of gypsy and folk-flavoured music from all around the world, from heart-rending Jewish melodies to fiery Eastern European dances. They are best known for their energetic arrangements of traditional Balkan, Russian, Hungarian and Romanian traditional music with jazz nuances and their own unique arrangements.

A reviewer for the Brighton Argus said: “The Budapest Cafe Orchestra play a blistering barrage of czardas, East European and Russian folk tunes that might have come from the Hot Club of Paris via the Orient Express!”

The tour continues in May with dates at St Mary’s Church, Bruton, on Wednesday 6th, Ilminster Arts Centre on Thursday 7th, Honiton Beehive on Friday 8th, Shaftesbury Arts Centre on Saturday 16th and Bath’s Rondo Theatre on Saturday 23rd.