Kispipa, the former haunt of renowned Rezső Seress, composer of world-famous Hungarian tune “Gloomy Sunday”, has reopened as a craft-beer bar. While wealth and fame awaited him in America, Seress played piano here for a whole decade, performing "Gloomy Sunday" among other tunes, time and time again. In its golden days, Kispipa gained international fame with visitors such as Spencer Tracy, John Steinbeck and Ray Charles all dropping by to hear Seress play. When quality waned, Kispipa closed. Now it starts anew at Akácfa utca 38, deep in the heart of Budapest’s party quarter.

Re-establishing itself in the bohemian milieu of Budapest, Kispipa is launching a new Thursday series of events, Seress Nights, with two famous Hungarian musicians, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos and Péter Sziámi Müller, performing the songs of Rezső Seress by way of tribute. Seress’s heartachingly beautiful Gloomy Sunday is possibly the most famous Hungarian song ever, an eternal tune connected to a strange trend – more than one hundred suicides, including the eventual one of the composer. The tune was translated into 28 languages and covered by the likes of Billie Holiday, Serge Gainsbourg, Elvis Costello, Björk and Portishead.

The new owners shared the following on their Facebook page: “ When taking over and rethinking the haunt of Rezső Seress, composer of the world-famous Gloomy Sunday, we knew that this was a gift, a legendary heritage that motivated us to become a popular part of the cultural nightlife of this district once more. After the soft opening in April then six months of preparation, we would like to tell everyone that we are totally enthusiastic and all set to welcome and host exciting performances”.

The event on Thursday will be free, but it is recommended you arrive early. More details (in Hungarian)