Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ New Home
In many ways, a new era has started in the life of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups. The new home of the Art Groups is located in Jókai Street situated in Budapest’s 6th district, in the heart of the capital city. The history of the building is remarkable in many ways. One of the interesting features of the five-storey Art Nouveau-style building, which functioned as an official seat and apartment building complex, is that its cast-iron bars still bear the initials of the Association of Hungarian Commercial Travellers, which owned the building in the early 1900s. In 1938, the 240-square-metre ballroom and dance hall situated on the ground floor was converted into a cultural centre, cinema and gallery for hosting exhibitions and literary reading sessions. As of 2024, the building was named after former founder and principal conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Ernő Dohnányi, while the smaller concert hall on the ground floor, which also serves as a rehearsal room for choirs, was named after Ferenc Sapszon. The Great Hall, which functions as a rehearsal room for the Orchestra and a venue for the chamber music series entitled Variations, was designed to feature a special so-called house-within-the-house system: it is acoustically fully separated from the existing structures in all directions. The inner hall is a suitable venue for making sound recordings and radio recordings, for which all necessary technical equipment and facilities are available on-site. On the other hand, Ernő Dohnányi Music Centre is a perfect place for hosting the Art Groups’ chamber music concerts, performances for young generations and programmes for children and their families.
Address: 1066 Budapest Jókai street 4.
Transportation:
Tram: 4-6 – Oktogon
Metro: 1 – Oktogon M
Trolley: 73 – Báthory utca – Balcsy-Zsilinszky út
Bus:
6, 9 – Nyugati pályaudvar M
105, 210, 210B – Oktogon M
Parking:
Parking is possible in public parking lots or in nearby parking garages.
Winner of the Bartók Radio Music Award in the “Event of the Year” category in 2025:
Opening of the Dohnányi Ernő Music Center