Buda Castle Buda Castle, Budapest
The small, but utterly captivating Museum of Music History in the Buda Castle District will take you through the Hungarian music history highlights, Franz Liszt, Kodaly, Bartok. There are frequent concerts in the Museum, which can be visited free of charge with the museum entry.
Museum of Music History
The Museum of Music History (aka the Institute for Musicology), as its name suggests, tells the story of music in Hungary from the 18th century to the present days in several exhibition rooms through recitals, sheet musics and original scores. The museum is housed in a magnificent courtyard near the Fisherman’s Bastion and the Matthias Church.
All the exhibitions have a multimedia setting as well, therefore visitors are able to listen to the recordings of the exposed instruments making this place a great experience for anyone with even a slight interest in music.
A highlight of this museum exhibits the recording gramophone used by Hungarian composers Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly to capture the authentic folk music of many nations living together the Carpathian basin, influencing each other’s musical heritage (Hungarian, Szekler, Transylvanian, Romanian, Slovakian, etc.).
The unique and very impressive collection of original scores, programs, books and historical musical instruments are all numerically labeled, some in English.
The emphasis is on Hungarian music, which is rich in folk traditions and covers a wide spectrum from the rhapsodies of Liszt and the compositions of Bartok and Kodaly to Hungarian Gipsy music.
History of the Museum of Music History
The Museum is part of the Music Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The Institute was established in 1974 amalgamating the classical and folk music researches of the Academy. In 1984 the Museum got its new place in the 18th century Erdody-Hatvany Palace in the Buda Castle, presenting the music legacies of several outstanding characters in the history of Hungarian music, e.g. most recently, in 2014 Erno Dohnanyi’s Legacy – thanks to Seán Ernst McGlynn, Dohnanyi’s grandchild – was moved to Hungary from Florida US. The Hungarian composer’s special collection enriched the museum’s collection with beautiful musical exhibits, documents, tape recordings, letters and more.
Opening hours:
Tuesday: 10am – 4pm
Wednesday: 10am – 4pm
Thursday: 10am – 4pm
Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday: 10am – 4pm
Sunday: 10am – 4pm
Closed on Mondays, 23-26 December, 30 December and 1 January
Tickets:
Adult: 2000 HUF
Child / Student / Senior Citizens: 1000 HUF
Discounts for families and Budapest Card holders
Free for Children under 6 and ICOM Card holders
Free Entry on historical national holidays: March 15, Aug 20, Oct 23
50% Discount with Budapest Card
Address: 7 Tancsics Mihaly Street, Budapest, District I, H-1014
Telephone: +36-1-214-6770
Dear Sir/Madam,
I own a beautiful, Hungarian Mogyoróssy Gyula piano that I think would perfectly fit into the musical instruments’ collection of your museum. If you are interested to discuss about an acquisition offer, please contact me.
It is a half-tail piano made by producer and collector Mogyoróssy Gyula in Hangszergyár Budapest at the beginning of the 20th century. As you know, the factory had become the biggest one producing musical instruments in the 1930’s. It was closed after the World War II bombings.
The piano is functional and in great shape. I used to play on it back in my 8 years of piano studies, but then I chose another profession and I believe it deserves more than to just sit in an apartment. It is a wonderful instrument of high quality: massive mahogany wood, bronze plate, 88 ivory keys, 2 pedals (sustain & piano), round legs, complete & original components. You can review photos of it here: https://we.tl/fmAmEk4l8m
And a demo here: https://youtu.be/7pdzm0Wr170
Looking forward for your answer and, again, I think it would be a great addition to your music museum.
Thank you!
Irina Mihailescu
+40799994525
Irina.mihailescu@gmail.com
Hello Irina,
thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, we only manage online reservations. Please contact the museum directly.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Could you please advise me on how to contact a scholarly researcher in the Music History Department at the Music History Museum in Buda — someone who could advise me about the following image:
Military exercises in Esterhaza Castle courtyard (in conjunction with Prince Anton Esterhazy’s installation in 1791)
HUNGARY – JANUARY 16: Military exercises in Esterhaza Castle courtyard in Fertod. Detail. Hungary, 18th century. Budapest, Zenetorteneti Muzeum (Music History Museum)
I would be interested in obtaining a high resolution copy of this image (600 dpi) for use in a forthcoming publication.
Thank you for your assistance.
Professor Caryl Clark
University of Toronto
Dear Caryl,
thank you for your email.
Please email the museum directly on: email us at enquiries@momh.org.uk.
I hope they will be able to help you.
Hi,
You’re open between Thursday 7th of and Sunday 10th of June from 10 A.M. to 4. P.M.?
How many hours should we have to explore the whole museum?
Hello
Opening hours of the Museum of Music History:
Tuesday: 10am – 4pm
Wednesday: 10am – 4pm
Thursday: 10am – 4pm
Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday: 10am – 4pm
Sunday: 10am – 4pm
Closed on Mondays.
I would think 1-2 hours are needed to explore the museum.
Hello,
We would like to visit National Gallery and Museum of Music History . Can we buy tickets just for these two museums at the enterance?
Thank you.
Dear Guest,
thank you for your email.
Yes, of course, tickets can be purchased on the spot.
Hello , We are a group of 26 people and we would like to ask about the Museum of Music History on July 23th at 14:00 :
1: How do I book an appointment for my group?
2: How can we pay?
3: Our group consists of 22 students ( From Hong Kong ) , 3 teachers and a team leader. If we buy student tickets, what documents do we need to show?
Looking forward to your reply : kouxuan818@gmail.com
Best regards
Xuan
Dear Kou,
Thank you for contacting us.
We have sent you an email with more details.
Have a lovely vacation in Budapest!
I have an autographed photo of Professer A. Politzer from approximately 1907 with the following handwritten note to Dr. S. Ayers stating “With kind regards and remembrances of the happy days during your days in Vienna 1871. Professor Dr. A. Politzer 1907.
Dr. Ayers was a professor of medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio at the time this was written. Do you know of any visit from a Professor from Ohio in the early 1900s? Are you interested in acquiring this photo? I do not see where I can send a photo so if that is possible let me know.