Prima Primissima award to cimbalom artist Kálmán Balogh, teacher at the academy of music

As usual, the prestigious awards were given in ten categories at the ceremony held at the Palace of Arts. As Kálmán Balogh said in his reception speech: he feels lucky to live in such a wonderful country and to have been part of a community of rich folk traditions for fifty years. He added that he considered it important to show the young generation the treasures of Hungarian culture.

The cimbalom artist first met his instrument of choice at the age of eleven, graduated from the Liszt Academy in 1980, and graduated in 2013 with a university-level folk cimbalom teacher degree. He has played with almost all Hungarian bands playing authentic and reinterpreted folk music, regularly gives concerts, and has released several records as well as featured in several albums. He has performed in many places around the world, also with symphonic orchestras and jazz bands in addition to folk music, as well as with contemporary music ensembles. Throughout the decades of his career, he has started several of his own bands, and has devoted a great deal of attention to education, alongside his outstandingly rich career in the performing arts. He teaches at secondary schools of music, and since its inception at the Folk Music Department of the Liszt Academy, where he teaches folk cimbalom, teaching methodology and repertoire.

Other winners were: Gábor Bachman architect-designer, Veronika Ádám doctor, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Tibor Exterde editor and programme host, Imre Bak painter, Anna Mária Neuwirth folk dance teacher, Attiláné Kotsis Gabriella Kincsesy retired physical education teacher and volleyball master coach, László Dés composer and musician, and Ildikó Tóth actress. The audience award was given to Ilona Keresztes, editor-in-chief of Kossuth Rádió.

Sándor Csányi, president of the Prima Primissima Foundation's Board said at the awards gala: The ever-expanding list of winners proves that the creative power of Hungarian thinkers, creators and athletes is extraordinary, and contributes to Hungarian and universal culture. According to him, the current winners have also used their talents to serve the interests of our nation as artists, scientists, educators and athletes, and to improve the reputation of Hungary all over the world. He noted that we are most competitive in areas of creativity and arts which were recognized at Friday's awards ceremony. The event was attended by President János Áder and his wife, Anita Herczegh, as well as Miklós Kásler Minister of Human Resources, Sándor Pintér Minister of the Interior and Lídia Demján, the widow of the late entrepreneur Sándor Demján, founder of the award.