O incursiune jurnalistică în tradiția muzicală și coregrafică târgumureșeană

Abstract

A Journalistic Exploration of the Musical and Choreographic Traditions of Târgu Mureș
The study proposes an imaginary incursion into the atmosphere of Târgu Mureș during the interwar period. This time travel reveals a city full of music and dance, with diverse rhythms and instruments, for all tastes, in an artistic environment marked by the multicultural diversity of the area. The main source for this incursion into the musical and choreographic past of Târgu Mureș is represented by the local Romanian press of the period, which kept intact testimonies about the forms assumed back then by music and dance in the everyday life of the public. Two complementary directions of their manifestation emerge from the study of old newspapers. On the one hand, there are the official cultural events concentrated around traditional music and dances, often held in the Palace of Culture – the artistic heart of the city during the interwar period. On the other hand, we have the cultural entertaining events, such as the dancing parties, with local musicians, organized in the numerous restaurants and coffee shops of the city, which brought along the modern rhythms and influences from western music and dance. The evolution of these two directions of development into the public’s preferences reflects a process of changing mentalities, visible also in the offer of the Municipal Conservatory of Târgu Mureș, which extended its educational services during this time with choreography and theatre courses for children (these being added to the initial courses of musical studies), transforming this institution into a veritable cultural nursery.