Town in Transylvanian Romania. It was known during Roman times as Napoca, and subsequently as Castrum Clus (12th century), Civitas (1337), Oraş (1407) and, under Austro-Hungarian rule, Klausenburg (Hung. Kolozsvár). The Romanian name Cluj was used from 1918, when Transylvania became part of Romania, until 1975, when the name Cluj-Napoca was officially adopted.
As the cultural centre of central Transylvania, Cluj, located on the Someşul Mic river, won European repute during the 16th century with its three faculties (1571) and the Heltai printing shop (1550), which published the collection of songs Cronica by Sebastyén Tinódi in 1554. During the 18th century Cluj had vaudeville and opera troupes (1792), renowned music teachers, some of whom came from as far away as Vienna or Budapest, and chamber music groups. In 1821 a theatre seating 1000 people was built; among works performed there were operas by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini and Verdi, as well as works by local composers, such as József Ruzitska (Béla futása, 1822) and Ödön Farkas (Izvorul zînelor, 1893, and Ispăşitorul, 1900). A music society founded in 1819 established a music school (a conservatory from 1837, the first in Hungary), which enriched the musical life of the town, and music printing, school music and performances by foreign musicians flourished in the 19th century. Among the virtuosos who visited Cluj were Liszt, Johann Strauss, Auer, Popper, Sarasate, Brahms, Joachim, Hans Richter, César Thomson and Ede Reményi; many Romanian musicians also appeared there, including Elisa Circa, Carl Filtsch, Ludwig Wiest, Matei Millo, Aron Bobescu and Mihail Pascaly.
During the 20th century musical activity expanded considerably with the foundation of the Romanian Opera House (1919), the Gheorghe Dima Conservatory (1919), the Cluj SO (1932), the Ardeal PO (1936–40), the Hungarian Opera (1948) and the State PO (1955). Among chamber groups are those of Károly Kollar, István Lakatos and Flor Brevimann, and the ensembles Ars Nova, Pro Camera and Capella Transilvanica. Other musical institutions are the Popular School of Music, the Music Lyceum (which has a fine children's choir), the High School of Choreography, and numerous folk song and dance ensembles and choruses. The Scientific Research section of the Institute of Folklore and the Dacia Publishing House are in Cluj and it is the place of publication for the periodicals Erdélyi zenevilág (‘Transylvanian musical world’, 1907–14) and Lucrări de muzicologie (1965–).
Since 1968 the Toamna Muzicală Clujeană (Cluj-Napoca Autumn Festival), an international event, has taken place annually with the participation of leading orchestras (Dresden SO, Czech PO), choirs (Dresden Kreuzchor), conductors (János Ferencsik, Lawrence Foster, Václav Neumann) and soloists (Sviatoslav Richter, Virginia Zeani); the main purpose of the festival is the performance of new Romanian music. Among the many composers associated with Cluj in the 20th century are Dima, Negrea, Toduţă, Max Eisikovits, Ţăranu, Jarda and Bergel. European tours made by the Romanian Opera, the State PO, the Chamber Orchestra, Capella Transilvanica and Pro Camera have helped to establish the musical reputation of Cluj abroad. In 1990 the W.A. Mozart Music Society, which organizes exhibitions and musicology symposia, was founded by Laszló Ferenc.
I. Gherghel: Viaţa muzicală în Ardealul de după unire: activitatea Operei române din Cluj (Cluj, 1939)
A. Buteanu: Teatrul românesc în Ardeal şi Banat (Timişoara, 1944)
Ş. Mărcuş: Thalia Română, i (Timişoara, 1946)
Ş. Lakatos: ‘Expoziţia de arhivistică muzicală’, Muzica, i (1951), 78
P. Brâncuşi and N. Călinoiu: Muzica în România socialistă (Bucharest, 1973)
I. Lakatos: A kolozsvári zenés szinpad (1792–1973) [Music theatre in Kolozsvár, 1792–1973] (Budapest, 1977)
V. Cosma: România muzicală (Bucharest, 1980)
VIOREL COSMA