Concert programs in Romania and Hungary have been bringing new life to rural and small-town synagogues — some no longer used for worship and some that still have small congregations.

In Romania, they have been spearheaded since 2021 by the Pantograf Association, an association aimed at supporting “the cultural and creative industries by developing diverse audiences from varying economic, social, ethnic and confessional backgrounds, and by supporting the artistic production and the international cultural exchange with Romania.”

In Hungary, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has since 2014 performed concerts in provincial synagogues “which have been abandoned or no longer serve their original purposes.” The aim, the orchestra web site states, “is to fill synagogues that were laid bare by the Holocaust, with life, music and culture once again.”

In Romania, the four-day 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫 (the Echo of the Synagogues) festival September 4-7 features concerts in synagogues in five towns in western Romania: the Neolog Synagogue in Arad, the Cetate Synagogue in Timișoara, the synagogue in Reșița, the “Beit El” Synagogue in Caransebeș, and the Neolog Synagogue in Lugoj.

It is a continuation of Pantograf’s  previous programs, which were launched in 2021 with an earlier series of concerts, Sound of Synagogues.  

Pantograf also produced a project called Stories of the Synagogues, a digital portal that includes stunning 3D digital tours of the synagogues in those five towns, as well as excerpts from more than 80 “testimonies” by Jews from the towns,  recalling Jewish life in these places as well as reflecting on the challenges facing their sharply dwindling Jewish communities today. 

The Echoes of the Synagogues repertoire includes new compositions by the violinist and virtuoso Alexander Bălănescu, who also will perform, along with Cantor Emanuel Pusztai. Admission to the concerts is free, and no prior registration is required.

PROGRAM:

Bălănescu’s Quartet & Emanuel Pusztai

Monday, September 4th, at 7 PM | Neolog Synagogue in Arad
Tuesday, September 5th, at 7 PM | Cetate Synagogue in Timișoara

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚̆𝐥𝐚̆𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮 (violin), 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (violoncello) and Emanuel Pusztai (voice)

Wednesday, September 6th, at 7 PM | Synagogue in Reșița
Thursday, September 7th, at 5 PM | “Beit El” Synagogue in Caransebeș
Thursday, September 7th, at 8:30 PM | Neolog Synagogue in Lugoj

The concert series is also part of the national cultural programme “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023” and is funded through the Grow Timișoara 2023 programme, implemented by the Center for Projects Timișoara, with funds allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.

It also falls under the umbrella of the European Days of Jewish Culture (EDJC).

Read our post about the Pantograf Association’s Stories of Synagogues portal

✡︎  ✡︎  ✡︎

Starting in 2014, the Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) has given a number of synagogue concerts a year, in synagogue buildings all over the country, mostly in synagogues no longer used for religious services. 

The series is a joint production by the BFO, the Chabad-affiliated Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), and the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ), Hungary’s main Jewish umbrella organization.

The orchestra’s Music Director Iván Fischer states on the BFO’s web site:

Synagogues still stand in many villages and small towns which have not had Jewish inhabitants for a long time. Some places are in ruins, while others have been turned into furniture stores or a gym. We visit these places, and give free concerts. People are curious, and the music entices them in. The orchestra plays, and afterwards a rabbi speaks about how things used to be, about how cohabitation with the Jewish community looked. With the beauty of our music and those stories we hope to bring the memories of the former Jewish community closer to those who now live near the building.

Watch a video from the first Synagogues Concert tour, in 2014:

So far this year, it presented concerts in May and June, in the recently restored Rumbach synagogue in Budapest, which is used for both religious services and cultural events) and the former synagogues in Tapolca and Kőszeg (recently restored as a cultural venue).

Last year it gave a dozen concerts, from May through November: in the Rumbach synagogue and also in former synagogues in towns such as Baja (where the synagogue is now a library), Balatonfüred (an educational centre), Kővágóörs (long abandoned but now used for Jewish events), Békés (a brandy distillery, shop, and display center), and Kunszentmárton (concert hall and cultural venue).

Read our post about the first synagogue concert series, in 2014

Read our post about a fund-raising concert for the series

See the list of synagogue concerts over the years