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A House Reawakened
Altalena launches its New York Salon with Silentwoods Collective in one of Manhattan’s most remarkable private cultural spaces.
Hosted in the historic studio of Clara Aich, the house has lived many lives: 19th-century foundry, sculptural atelier, photography studio, opera salon, jazz club, gathering place.
Recently featured in The New York Times, the building once housed Rochette & Parzini, whose sculptural models adorned landmarks such as Grand Central Terminal and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
For decades, it has functioned quietly as an intimate artistic refuge. Altalena now begins a new chapter here — preserving the spirit of the house while building a living, international cultural circle rooted in New York.
PROGRAM
Liszt: Le Cloches de Geneve
Bartók: An Evening in the Village
Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Marosszék
Rezső Kókai: Hungarian Dances
Popper: Hungarian Rhapsody
About the talk: Neuroscience and Music Learning is a talk that uses three core concepts to help musicians understand how their brains work. First, that we are our neurons — billions of cells organizing into coordinated "flocks" that create our thoughts and memories. Second, that our brains are constantly updating and normalizing, which means practice makes permanent (not perfect) — we learn our bad habits and anxieties just as readily as our skills. Third, that we live inside our predictions, not raw reality — which explains both why we ruminate on mistakes and how expert practice works (comparing performance to an internal "blueprint").
Step into an intimate evening where science meets music.
A Global Cultural Club
Altalena Salon — New York is part of a growing constellation of salons across cities. Our long-term vision includes interconnected salons in Budapest, New York, Paris, London, and Shanghai. Members belong to one global circle. Access travels with them. This is not a concert series. It is a living cultural network connecting thoughtful, engaged individuals with artists and each other.
Collaboration
Altalena Salon — New York is launched in collaboration with Silentwoods Collective. Silentwoods Collective organizes workshops and events featuring professional musicians and artists with the mission to inspire hope, creativity, and harmony. This partnership bridges artistic excellence with community-rooted engagement.
Artistic and Executive Direction
Founded in 2014 in Bozsok, Hungary, Altalena was established by Hungarian pianist Alexandra Balog and is led under her artistic direction, together with Co-Artistic Directors Mihály Berecz and Dániel Dobri, who serves as Contemporary Music Director. The festival’s educational initiatives are overseen by Head of Educational Projects Barbara Toth.
Under her leadership, Altalena has evolved into a distributed global cultural ecosystem connecting artists, educators, and audiences across countries. The organization also runs festivals and masterclass series in Tuscany, Hungary, and France.
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