(, literally "Who knows what?") was a multi-genre talent show on the Hungarian National Television spanning 10 seasons between 1962 and 1996. Achieving great popularity in the 1960s, helped to launch the career of many artists who later became household names in the country, including actors like János Gálvölgyi or András Kern, singers like Kati Kovács, Zsuzsa Koncz, Judith Szűcs or Zorán Sztevanovity, and bands like Hungária, Metro or Pokolgép.
Concept
was originally conceived as a country-wide talent search, with contestants coming from city-, county-, and finally - the televised, live - country-wide finals. A wide array of genres were judged separately, covering nearly all fields of performing arts: vocal music (including pop, rock, opera, folk), instrumental music (including classical, jazz, dance, pop and rock), verse reading, folk and contemporary dance, and "other" genres (including circus productions, magic shows, stand-up comedy, pantomime or puppetry). The 1988 contest also welcomed amateur film submissions. The jury usually included a number of well-known faces from the country's theatric and music and art scene. Prizes ranged from common household wares to a trip to the next World Festival of Youth, or after the 1980s, luxury trips to exotic countries.
Series overview YearNo. of episodesDate of premierDate of the final(s)Notable performersHostPresident of the JuryTrip for category winners19621113 February 196224 June 1962Béla Bakacsi, Tamás Hacki, Zsuzsa Koncz, Sándor Benkó, András Kern, Metró band Győző Horváth Béla Szabó 8th World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki1962-631820 October 19627 July 1963Zorán Sztevanovity, Gyöngyi Keveházi pianist, Géza Molnár Szegedi parodist, Kék Csillag band, Expressz bandKároly Megyeri Circular tour in the Soviet Union1965134 April 196510 June 196512 June 1965Kati Kovács, Anikó Ungár, Mária Zádori singer, Bóbita puppeteers, Teri Harangozó, Kolos Kováts opera singerLászló OroszCircular tour (including Moscow, Leningrad, Helsinki, Stockholm and East Berlin)Originally the winners won a trip to the next World Festival of Youth and Students in Algiers, but because of 1965 Algerian coup d'état the festival was cancelled.19681025 April 196823 June 196829 June 1968Tolcsvai-trio pol-beat band, András Schiff, Veronika Kincses opera singer, Hungária band, János Gálvölgyi, Neoton, Rangers band Tamás Major 9th World Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia1972134 May 197229 June 19728 July 1972 Generál band, Judith Szűcs singer, Béla Berki lead violinist, Mikrolied vocal-trio and Lajos Boros, Gábor Forgács, Viktória Eszményi (all singers)Circular tour in Yugoslavia and Northern Italy1977104 February 19774 April 1977Color band, Frigyes Pleszkán jazzpianist, Gúnya parody duo, Vujicsis folk dance group, Kis Rákfogó band, Csaba Szögi folk dancer, Anna KubikJános HorvátCircular tour (Warsaw, Leningrad and Helsinki cities were included)1983920 May 198324 July 1983Mariann Falusi jazz-singer, Studium Dixieland Band, Tamás Ghyczy magician, Csaba Forrás juggling artist, Szélkiáltó folk band, Kati Farkas jazz ballerina, Andrea Rost soprano, Pokolgép János GálvölgyiCircular tour to Cuba1988927 July 198817 September 1988Tamás Jónás magician, Los Andinos folk band, Swetter folk-rock band, Ernő Fekete, Artúr Kálid Imre Antal Miklós SzinetárCircular tour to Egypt1993121 July 199318 September 1993Enemy Squad breakdance group, János Varga, Roland Rába Mihály CzineCircular tour to Thailand19961228 August 199616 November 1996Veronika Nádasi, Peta Lukács, Csanád Gergely Kováts dancer, Anna Herczenik opera singer, Ödön Rácz double bass player, Mónika Lakatos gypsy folk singer, Savaria Singers choirPéter HusztiCircular tour to Mexico
Importance
presented a premier chance for performers of all genres to showcase their talents in front of a wider audience - similar to what Táncdalfesztivál meant for musicians.
During the 1960s–1970s, became the most-viewed show on National Television. According to the rudimentary statistics of the time, the finals were viewed by 88% of the population. Utilizing regional quarter- and semi-finals, the contest mobilized a large number of participants. 1965's show had 28,642 registered contestants performing in 7842 shows, watched by a live audience totaling to 180,000.
The contest rounds in cities and counties established a country-wide tradition of institutional (e.g. schoolwide) and regional talent contests, with similar events called held frequently even today.
Sources
István, Kollega Tarsoly. A magyar televíziózás műfajai, Vetélkedők Magyarországon a XX. században III. - Kultúra, művészet, sport és szórakozás. Szekszárd : Babits Kiadó, 1998.
References