Musical Notes on the Gate

Thanks to a cold, the lawyer Károly Keresztes and the eponym of the emergency hospital in Covasna County, Dr. Kristóf Fogolyán, the inhabitants of Sfântu Gheorghe were able to enjoy the only concert held in the capital of Covasna County by the world-famous Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The event took place on 3 March 1927, Bartók played Mozart, Beethoven, and, of course, his works on the Bösendorfer piano borrowed from Mrs. Jolán Péter Kovásznai in the banquet hall of the Székely National Museum.

It was not the first time the 46-year-old Bartók toured Romania, but Sfântu Gheorghe was not among the planned venues. However, after the concert in Brașov, the artist came down with a fever and had to cancel his performance in Târgu Mureș. He was visited in his hotel room in Brașov by the delegation from Sfântu Gheorghe and persuaded to come to the town, where he would be treated in his home. The artist was recovering in Károly Keresztes's drawing room and, although he was still weak, at the suggestion of doctor Fogolyán, he accepted to give a concert for the benefit of the museum in Sfântu Gheorghe.

A commemorative plaque on the wall of the Keresztes House on Mikó Imre Street near Székely Mikó College and a series of musical notes on the gate commemorate this cultural event.

Samu Csinta