The Banat Philarmonic has a long history in Timisoara's cultural perimeter, the first concert having taken place on December 8, 1871. Under Heinrich Weidt, two significant vocal-symphonic works by the Timisoara conductor were performed. The concert activity that followed was mainly focused (in the early days) on the a-cappella genre (from miniatures to large-scale scores such as G.P.da Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli) and chamber music. The conductor, organist, violinist, violist, violist, teacher and composer Martin Novaček (1834-1906) and his sons played an essential role in the creation of these and most of the chamber music programmes during the first four decades of the Philharmonic Society's existence. The Banat Philharmonic is currently housed in the former Capitol cinema.