English summary

The music magazine Gramofon – Klasszikus és Jazz was founded in 1996 by Margó Iványi, Ádám Bősze, Attila Retkes and Kornél Zipernovszky. In the first four years of its existence the magazine was published by Amfisz Kft., a company that helped Gramofon over the initial financial difficulties. Sadly, Amfisz Managing Director, Margó Iványi died in 2004.

The different sections of Gramofon focus on upcoming musical events. The magazine includes over 100 reviews of the latest international and Hungarian classical, jazz, and world music releases. Gramofon’s contributors are experienced, highly accomplished musicologists or journalists, and even practising musicians are among them.

With 2000 copies per issue Gramofon can reach a group of readers all over the country, but it’s also among our plans to broaden this circle. in Hungary, deal with current issues of the Hungarian classical and jazz scene and major international musical happenings, publish interviews with famous artists and also introduce young talents.

The founder and publisher of the magazine: Attila Retkes, www.retkesattila.hu

Publishing company: Retkes Attila Kulturális Értékteremtő Kft. (H-1037 Budapest, Fergeteg utca 11.), www.gramofon.hu, www.retkesattila.hu

In the autumn of 2000 Attila Retkes founded the Klasszikus és Jazz Publishing Co., which, in addition to taking on publishing Gramofon, launched the website Gramofon.hu in 2001, and broadened the scope of its operation to publishing books, CDs, organizing music events, and presenting the Hungarian Classical and Jazz Award. In 2002 the company was commissioned to organise a series of concerts in the IBS theatre titled Raiffeisen Jazz Club, which has been running successfully ever since, and in January 2006 a jazz radio program running under the same name was also started on a commercial radio station, Klubrádió. Since the Palace of Arts in Budapest opened its gates in March 2005, Klasszikus & Jazz has been the institution’s jazz program producer. By 2006 Klasszikus & Jazz firmed its position as a definitive publisher, production office and communication agency in the field of classical music and jazz. From the year 2011 the new publisher of the Gramofon is Retkes Attila Kulturális Értékteremtő Kft.

Activities of the company:

•    Gramofon – Klasszikus és Jazz: music magazine founded in 1996, whose Editor in Chief, Attila Retkes has been a jury member of the International Classical Music Awards (former name: Midem Classical Awards) since 2002. The regular features of the magazine are: File (Dosszié), Caleidoscope (Kaleidoszkóp), Classical Music, Musical Theatre, Jazz, World Music, and Gramofon Sound.

•    Gramofon.hu: website launched in 2001 and fundamentally redesigned, restructured, and extended in 2006 and in 2011

•    Book publishing: see the section Kiadványok

•    CD publishing: see the section Kiadványok

 Production

•    2005-2009 Self-produced jazz concerts at the Palace of Arts Participation in devising the Palace’s artistic policy, staging of jazz concerts (e.g. Jazz in Spring, New Orleans Swing Festival, Jazz on a Monday Evening series, John Zorn’s Cobra in Budapest)

•   2002-2008: Raiffeisen Jazz Club jazz concert series

•    2006-2009: Raiffeisen Jazz Club jazz radio show at Klubrádió station every Sunday afternoon between 4-5 PM, running since January 2006; edited by Barbara Bércesi, hosted by Attila Retkes

•    Hungarian Classical and Jazz Award: founded in 2001 and presented by the editorial board of Gramofon every November