Cultural Palace Târgu-Mureș

The 40th anniversary of the coronation of Franz Joseph I of Austria, King of Hungary brought a new bill regarding long-term loan for provincial cities to build (or re-build) their town halls. Thanks to this bill, the Palace of Culture was constructed on the request of mayor György Bernády. The ”Franz Joseph Cultural House” was built by Marcell Komor (1868-1944) and Dezső Jakab (1864-1932). The architect duo planned the town hall (completed in 1908) and two unrealized buildings: the Maros-Torda Country Court House and the Municipal Theatre building. The Culture Palace initially was planned as a two storey building, but mayor György Bernády persuaded the architects to add an additional floor (despite the fact that the construction has already started at that time). The local musical school had to move into the new building and the initial parameters proved too small for the school to fit in. The exterior and interior decorations are the work of the members of the Gödöllő Artist’s Colony. Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch realized the lobby decoration – similar to the English Pre-Raphaelite art and, because its simplified forms and strong contours, with the Japanese style woodcuts. Körösfői-Kriesch designed the 920×320 cm giant mosaic of the façade. The mosaic was realized by Miska Róth in his Budapest workshop. The Mirror Hall’s stained glass windows, designed by Ede Toroczkai Wigand és Sándor Nagy, were also manufactured in Róth’s workshop. The stained glass windows were exhibited in Budapest in 1913. Only after the exhibition closed, the windows were transported to Târgu Mureș in the autumn of 1913. In the right wing of the Palace the local music school (functioning since 1907) was accommodated, whereas the right wing has been home to the County Library since 1913. Additionally, in 1913 the Gallery and the language school also moved into the new building. The organ has been set up in the concert hall. Today, the organ is one of the largest in Central Europe. The organ is special, because it ‘survived’ all he renovations of the last century. Its original pipes still function perfectly: the most peculiar are the vox humana, which imitates the human voice and the Unda Maris, imitating the sea waves. The concert hall housed the city’s first movie theatre between 1913 and 1957, the first Romanian Theatre School between 1934 and 1940, the State Theatre between 1946 and 1973, the Fine Arts and Music Secondary School between 1949 and 1970, the Academy of Fine Arts between 1932 and 1949 and the County House for Guidance of Folkloric Creation between 1950 and 1999. The Palace’s second floor accommodates the Bernády Gallery and the collection of works by Romanian modern artists. This is where the visitors can admire mayor György Bernády’s office or visit the stained glass window exhibit.

[http://palatul-culturii.ro]

Pálffy House

The first representations of Baroque architecture appeared in Targu Mures in the second half of the 17th century. The Pálffy House, built around 1640, reflects an evolutionary stage that surpasses typical Renaissance architectural elements such as those of the oldest buildings of Targu Mures, the Köpeczi and Nagy Szabó houses.

The edifice was built by judge Tolnai János and sold to the Pálffy family in 1885, hence the name by which the building is known today. The building was renovated in 2006 and today it hosts the newly established Music School of the University of Theatrical Arts of Targu Mures.

Târgu Mureș Fortress

In 1492 Prince Báthory István ordered for a castle-fortress to be erected around the Franciscan monastery and church. A few of the original elements have been preserved, among them wall fragments on the Southern and Western sides, the tower on the Southern wing, attached to the furriers' bastion, and ruins of the South-Western tower, included nowadays in the tanners' bastion. The structure of these towers and the fact that they are square-shaped are indicative of a medieval type military architecture.

Six bastions were added during the reign of Bethlen Gábor (1613–1629). The furriers' bastion, erected in 1628, was divided into four levels, the vast interior space allowing for several craftsmen's guilds to function here. In addition to the furriers' guild after which the bastion was named, the locksmiths' and goldsmiths' guilds also had their headquarters here.

Each bastion has firing holes for cannons on lower levels and for hand-held weapons in the walls of the first and second floors.

The erection of surrounding curtain walls took until the second half of the 17^th century. The inside of the walls are provided with archways supported by posts that sustain the guard path that is on the same level as the firing holes. There may have been defense ditches on the outside which were covered in time as they were not used.

The fact that Transylvania lost its status of autonomous principality and became part of the Hapsburg Empire entailed a series of changes in what concerns military architecture. Modern, Vauban type fortresses were built in many Transylvanian towns such as Alba-Iulia, Oradea, Timișoara. The political changes in the principality were not without consequence to the fortress of Târgu Mureș. The houses inside the fortress were demolished to make place for the military headquarters and bakery. Following the restorations of 1962–1965, the walls and bastions reclaimed their initial form.

13^th Harmonia Cordis International Guitar Festival

The registration for classical and jazz guitar masterclasses is open.
You can access it here » harmoniacordis.org/registration

PRICES:
Masterclasses – Active participation 50 euro
Masterclasses – Passive participation 25 euro
Accommodation – Hostel/Campus – 20 lei/night/person
Meal – Lunch and Dinner – 25 lei/day/person

13^th Harmonia Cordis International Guitar Festival

free entry | intrare liberă | ingyenes belépés

7 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
medieval fortress of Târgu-Mureș | cetatea din Târgu-Mureș | Marosvásárhelyi vár
(in case of rain: Cultural Palace | în caz de ploaie: Palatul culturii | eső esetén: Kultúrpalota)

duo Tudor GLIGA – OROSZ Dávid (RO)
ROSENBERG trio (NLD) gipsy jazz

------
8 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
Cultural Palace | Palatul culturii | Kultúrpalota

duo Ana-Maria BIBESCU – Raisa MIHAI (RO)
Gabriel BIANCO (FRA)  
duo Melis: Alexis MUZURAKIS (GRC), Susana PRIETO (ESP)

------
9 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
medieval fortress of Târgu-Mureș | cetatea din Târgu-Mureș | Marosvásárhelyi vár
(in case of rain: Cultural Palace | în caz de ploaie: Palatul culturii | eső esetén: Kultúrpalota)

Girán Péter (HUN) flamenco
Nikita BOLDYREV (RUS) jazz
Radu Vâlcu quartet (RO)
   Radu VÂLCU chitară × gitár
   Răzvan FLORESCU percuții × ütős hangszerek
   Mihai BALABAȘ vioară × hegedű
   Andrei PETRACHE pian × zongora

------
10 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
Cultural Palace | Palatul culturii | Kultúrpalota

PAVLOVITS Dávid (HUN)
duo Olivia IANCU archlute – Claudiu LOBONȚ archlute (RO)
duo Giampaolo BANDINI chitară × gitár (ITA), Cesare CHIACCHIARETTA bandoneon (ARG)

------
11 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
Cultural Palace | Palatul culturii | Kultúrpalota

Tritonus Guitar Trio: MOLNÁR Levente, SZURGYI Gergely, VARGA Bálint (HUN)
Venti Chiavi Guitar Trio: RITTER Zsófia, KORMOS Balázs, TÓTH Álmos (HUN)
CSÁKI András (HUN)
cvartet × kvartett:
   PÁL Tamás vioară I × hegedű I, MARTALOGU Adél vioară II × hegedű II,  
   KARDOS Margit violă × brácsa, MOLDOVÁN Szabolcs violoncel × cselló

------
12 aug. 2018 • 19.00 (7PM EET)
Cultural Palace | Palatul culturii | Kultúrpalota

jazz night
Gabriel GUILLÉN (VEN)
PUSZTAI Antal  (AUT), Nikita BOLDYREV (RUS), BEKE István Ferenc (RO)
Mădălina PETRE voce × ének (RO), ENYED Károly pian × zongora (RO),
HADNAGY Attila contrabas × nagybőgő (RO), ASZTALOS Zsolt percuții × ütős hangszerek (RO)