Liszt Academy opens its doors even wider through virtual galleries
In addition to the online galleries and Street View panorama created in collaboration with Google Cultural Institute, the Liszt Academy has also put together its own self-developed virtual tour.
On 1 December, more than sixty cultural venues worldwide, among them the Liszt Academy, inaugurated their online galleries and Street View panoramas, inviting virtual visitors to partake in an interactive experience. As a result of several years of cooperation with the Google Cultural Institute, from 1 December anyone can take an artist’s-eye-tour of the Grand Hall, while three interactive exhibitions provide glimpses even into those parts of the building usually off limits to the general public. The first display covers the Art Nouveau building dating from 1907, the second examines the music of the concert centre reopened in 2013 after a major overhaul lasting three years, while the third exhibition shows the viewer the teaching activities carried out in the university, the only institute of higher education to be established by Ferenc Liszt. Using interior Street View shots it is possible to get an idea of the view from the auditorium seats or a box even before visiting, something that might be useful when it comes to deciding where to sit for a concert.
Visitors touring the display of the building can view the Aladár Körösfői Krisch painting Pilgrimage to the Fount of Art on the first floor of the Liszt Academy; zoom in to capture all the details, as well as hidden elements of the facade and Grand Hall.
Photos in the gallery on concert life reveal some of the cathartic moments of the concert hall and there are also links to Liszt Academy promotional spots, including Lisztery which won the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival as well as a Red Dot Design Award, reckoned to be the top accolade within the communications profession, not to mention the creative for the 140-year-old Liszt Academy crafted out of music notes.
The exhibition focusing on teaching features images recording the everyday life of the university, the most memorable scenes from opera exams, the best concert photos from the Live series, plus the musicians of tomorrow who attended the Liszt Kidz Academy.
“As we repositioned the Liszt Academy internationally in a self-evident way at the time of the reopening in 2013, we cast our vote – necessarily – in favour of the multi-tier publicity offered by the world of the Internet. The basic endeavour of our communications concept is the reshaping of the fundamentally ‘lean back’ position of our world and our audience. Just as we targeted younger age segments of the potential audience with the intentionally slightly provocative image spot Lisztery, so an openness towards particularly innovative technology comes as totally natural for us. The Liszt Academy Concert Centre, albeit operating with a relatively modest budget, is today mentioned in the same breath as the leading concert centres of the world: international communication plays a huge role in this. And when it is successful, we serve the university, the vital lifeblood of our work, well. It is an honour that the Google Cultural Institute chose us to be one of its virtual partners,” says Imre Szabó Stein, director of communications for the Liszt Academy.
The Liszt Academy virtual tour (finalized thanks to the four elements now supplemented) that launched in May 2014 is also linked to the project. The reconstructed library reopened in March. Original decorative elements have been restored, the archive in the cellar has been air-conditioned, and by roofing over the courtyard on the Dohnányi Street side it has been possible to create new administrative and social spaces. A research room is now available at the rear of the library and the furnishings have been enhanced with a brand-new book lift; parallel with all these developments, the cataloguing system has also been upgraded. Another new feature is the public space next to the Solti Hall, fashioned with the roofing over of courtyards. Pictures also show the exhibition Annie Fischer 100 showcasing photographs and documents previously never released to the public. Not far from this is extended classroom I, otherwise known as the Auditorium, from the windows of which it is possible to see the trees on Liszt Ferenc Square. Finally, we ‘climb’ to the 5th floor Cupola Hall, which occasionally hosts rehearsals of the Alma Mater Chorus.
On the virtual tour of the Liszt Academy, unlike the usual parabolic mirror solution, the material of a single view consists of a photograph taken from at least 14 different angles with the help of a panorama stand, meaning that the resolution of a given area can be as high as 145 megapixels. Three pictures at different exposures have been taken from every angle, and when these are combined they provide an experience (High Dynamic Range) similar to the real thing. The application runs on any browser, indeed it can also integrate with the gyroscope in mobile devices so that just by moving the mobile phone or tablet it is possible to ‘look around’ the Grand Hall, for instance. The virtual tour was made by Pan Nordpont Kft. on the commission of ORIGO Zrt., as part of the project entitled ‘Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, revived centre of European music higher education in Budapest’.