BUDAPEST: Rare technical tours of iconic examples of Budapest’s heritage of audio performance and production achievements will highlight the 132nd AES Convention. Scheduled for April 26-29 at the Novotel Budapest Congress & World Trade Center, the event will feature a profusion of Papers, Workshops, Tutorials, and Special Events designed to provide attendees with invaluable educational and networking opportunities. Among the Technical tours are:

Hungarian Parliament: Seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, and one of Europe’s oldest legislative buildings, is set on the bank of the Danube. This Hungarian landmark is an unforgettable destination. In addition to a private viewing of this exquisite ‘Temple of the Nation,’ the tour will also focus on the building’s sound and voting system, and in-house HD TV complex. Preliminary registration is required (limit 10 persons).

Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók Concert Hall: Designed by architect Gábor Zoboki, Hungary’s National Concert Hall invokes the feel of a Gothic cathedral. Located at the heart of the new Palace of Arts, its acoustic qualities were assured by Russell Johnson, a legendary acoustician with over fifty years of field research and participation in the construction of several major opera houses and concert halls. The Hall is particularly noteworthy for a rare isolation technique, which inhibits vibration and noise leakage. It is also distinguished by its unique variable acoustic reverberation chambers. This Technical Tour will be introduced by the architect. Limit: 25 persons

Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók Concert Hall – Studios: In addition to its primary role as a performance venue, The National Concert Hall serves as an extraordinary live room for the buildings in-house recording studio. This tour will cover the audio, video production/ post-production suites, mastering studio, spacious in-house live room, and duplex communications link between the recording and broadcast studios. The studio was designed to facilitate the production of TV and video recordings, as well as high quality dubbing and voiceover work. Both live halls are linked to the studio via a sophisticated Studer system. Programs mixed on-site can be transmitted to radio and TV stations via a mobile broadcast truck or over dedicated ISDN lines. Limit: 20 persons

Times, locations and details of these and other AES Convention Technical Tours are posted on the Preliminary Calendar of Events: http://www.aes.org/events/132/calendar/calendar.cfm

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Photo 1. Hungarian Parliament
Photo 2. Palace of Arts, Béla Bartók Concert Hall