“Ionel Perlea” Memorial House

In the village of Ograda, in 1900, one of the world’s elite musicians was born. Ionel Perlea spent his early childhood years living in the house built by his great-grandparents in a family with four children. After his father’s death in 1910, he moved with his mother and siblings to Germany to live with his maternal grandparents. It was from here that his musical career was further shaped by his studies. At the age of 19 he gave his first concert in Romania, right after graduation. He was the conductor of the Romanian Opera and of the Radio Orchestra, constantly dedicating himself to conducting.

In the house where he grew up you can see the piano he brought from New York, together with the piano that belonged to his father, as well as other family heirlooms. One of the rooms of the house has always been dedicated to festivities; the conductor’s mother often brought in plays and famous lutenists for the children of the village to learn music.
Many photographs, posters and newspaper pages telling the story of her life hang on the walls of these rooms. In 1969, Ionel Perlea returned to Romania, where he gave three performances. The following year, in July 1970, he died in New York, where he is buried.