Nora Romanoff-Schwarzenberg has been managing concerts in her home since 2014. She is the fourth generation in a family of musicians and grew up in a home full of people, with her mother’s violin students playing almost all the time. She is a reputed international viola player. Both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, she has performed in prestigious venues and festivals such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Salle Pleyel in Paris, DeSingel Antwerp, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Trame Sonore in Mantova, Podium Festival Esslingen, Heidelberg Spring Music Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and the Salzburg Festival. Since 2019, she has been a regular guest professor at the Royal College of Music in London. As an entrepreneur in the freelance scene, she is artistic director, organizer, and initiator of a variety of musical projects such as the PODIUM.festival Mödling, which promotes out-of-the-box chamber music events, and musik:befreit—a series of about 30 free concerts in public spaces in the city of Vienna.
Our conversation took place in October 2021, and it was updated in 2024 when I started working on the book about homemade culture.
Nora: Tell me about yourself. What do you do? What’s your mission in life?
JLS: Oh, that’s an existential question. I think on my gravestone it will be written „homemade culture” because… I have studied for more than ten years. Since 2014 I have managed a festival called HomeFest, and before that I organized many events in my home but also in other houses and flats in other cities and countries.
Nora: So basically any art that is happening in the living room? Or wherever in a home?
JLS: Yes. Kitchen… toilets. Mostly performing arts but also theater and music.
Nora: Beautiful, so you are at the right address with me.
JLS: Definitely. Where did you start? And… how?
Nora: I’m a fourth-generation musician. My mother is a violinist and a renowned violin professor, so I grew up with people playing music in the house. At the beginning of the 90s, my mother was teaching and hosting students who came from the USSR to Austria to study with her and lived in our house with their families. A few years ago, my ex-partner and now co-parent suggested trying this home-concerts thing, which began with sight-reading sessions with friends. He was the one who had a more entrepreneurial energy to give shape to this idea. We tried a couple of times just to invite people and have some music. This is how it started. The growth was extremely organic since I have a lot of musician friends and a rich network of international artists who caught on and always appear numerously, even for spontaneous events. Sometimes we would end up with eight or nine hours of music.
JLS: Eight–nine!
Nora: Yeah, so we start in the early evening. We are an Eastern-European household, so there will inevitably also be a huge amount of food and drinks. And a lot of music! Before the pandemic, we had roughly one concert a month in these dimensions. Later, it became an event that you’d do for a birthday party or a special occasion.
JLS: What was the biggest crowd that you ever hosted?
Nora: I would estimate between 60 and 80 people. When people didn’t fit in the living room, they would sit in other rooms. It could get pretty tight. During the pandemic, we also did home concerts for very small groups with tested people.
JLS: Do you have a format that you follow every month?
Nora: We have segments. Since my mother is a violin teacher, usually we start with the youngest kid performing, then the older students. Sometimes musicians or groups would approach me and ask for try-outs before a concert, or we just want to play a specific piece of chamber music with friends. This would be something in between a rehearsal and a concert—I call it a „rehearcert.” Georg Breinschmidt, who is very well known as a double bass player, came once just for fun and he liked it so much that he suggested coming with some of his bands—that became a tradition. Whenever he would have a new program, he’d ask if he could try it out at our house concerts. Coming back to your question, usually for a home concert I have a central piece and the rest of the program shapes itself around it. There are always some musicians who are more than eager to play. They are a guarantee for a fun night. This changed dramatically when my mother lost her ability to play due to an accident. It changed the whole thing because it is her home and she is a legendary artist. She has regained her ability to play partially, with great effort. She now performs through her amazing students.
JLS: The playground vibe is very important when people are trying things, and they enjoy doing it.
Nora: Yes—enjoying is the absolute word. My conclusion of all of this, for me personally as an artist, is that this format offers intimacy, proximity, and immediacy (in German we have the word „Unmittelbarkeit”). For professional musicians, it is a reminder of what the sharing of joy—playing—is all about. Because you have this closeness to the listener, you also have freedom: you are very exposed and very close, but at the same time perfection becomes unimportant and the shared experience becomes everything. It’s a form of communication that you cannot find anywhere else. It becomes something about everybody’s presence, you know?
JLS: Sometimes I do enjoy watching the faces of the people in the audience more than the artists…
Nora: For instance, there was a singer who is now a good friend. Andrej (co-parent) heard her in a concert and thought she was fabulous, so he invited her. She’d been living in Vienna for many years because of her husband but had little to no performances. A couple of people heard her that night. Since it’s also a networking situation, many connections happened for her. She also felt heard in that situation, which gave her the courage to be more proactive about her career and her performances—certainly also because of the reactions and encouragement she received in the house-concert environment. She is now pursuing an intensive career as a Wagnerian dramatic soprano. It’s really something that has a dynamic of its own and creates connections and appreciation.
JLS: How often do you manage events?
Nora: As I said, it used to happen roughly once a month. Often I wouldn’t organize these things way in advance, although there are people from other countries and friends who live outside of Vienna who come often. We had several people who became legendary regulars, traveling from their places just for a house concert at Romanoff‑Schwarzenberg’s. I post in a Facebook group or make an event; now there’s a WhatsApp group of roughly 300 people—musicians and the public. For example, if on Wednesday we decide to do a house concert, I announce it on Monday and ask: Who wants to play? Often it happens spontaneously. I just throw the info out into the hive and maybe ask some people to play… usually it ends in a crazy lineup. Sometimes I was a bit nervous about it because, of course, people want to come and enjoy everything. So, you feel some kind of pressure which I don’t enjoy. So I gave it up and realized that these events have a dynamic of their own. I can just let it go and let it be what it will be. Sometimes there were many people, sometimes very few; sometimes a lot committed but few came, sometimes the opposite. So it’s not structured, but a consistent phenomenon—organic and spontaneous. We never charged any money for it. Sometimes I passed around a hat and people donated some money just to cover the expenses of the food.
JLS: Who is the audience?
Nora: I insisted on people bringing non-musician friends to avoid playing for ourselves, always for the same friends and people. So I would encourage guests to bring along people from outside the bubble.
JLS: What did you feel about having unknown people in your home?
Nora: It’s not a problem—we are very open. When it was summer and hot, the windows were open, and the flat is on the first floor, so suddenly there were three strangers in the living room or in the corridor. Two of them were a German couple who were just passing by, pulled by curiosity. They felt invited, came in, and listened. There was another man who turned out to be a neighbor from across the street who was upset because the noise was annoying him. He realized the door was open, so he came to complain. At first, he was very grumpy, but then he said, “Well, this is nice.” He ended up enjoying it. When you feel like you have a mission of some sort, it becomes almost necessary that strangers come and get access to this because this atmosphere is so precious—you want to share it with as many people as the private environment can possibly handle. That’s how I feel about it.
JLS: In a few words, what would be the main features of the home events?
Nora: Except for students, most of the things are little or almost unprepared. It is a playground—people are trying out things; it really exposes the artists. In Vienna, when artists from different genres have something new, they ask us if they could try it here because they know it’s a good and open environment and always a good audience. And there is food! And drinks! And you can smoke! And you can play forever and nobody cares.
JLS: It is allowed to smoke at your events?
Nora: No, but we have a special place, like a bridge between two buildings, and that is the smoking area. It is very small and narrow but it is the place where the party usually happens. You know what I mean. I hope someday you will come.
JLS: Absolutely! I’m sure it will happen one day. What happened during the pandemic?
Nora: It was a regular thing until Corona hit us. Then one day, when it was lovely weather, I was having my coffee in front of the church where I went to school. I have been living in the same area all my life. I was there with my business partner in crime, with whom I also ran a festival outside of Vienna. She said, “This looks so nice, let’s have a concert here; let’s try to play in the arch of the church!” I wrote an email to the priest, which was actually the first time I contacted this community since I’m not a member of the church. I got a positive response from him at 2 a.m. that night. He said yes, of course—when do you want to try it? And this was in the middle of the first lockdown. He used to play guitar outside the window every Friday at 6 p.m., which was his way of staying connected to his community with music. I reconnected with an old friend, one of my mom’s students whom I had lost touch with, and thanks to that hunch I asked him to do a little Mozart duo in front of the church. Thanks to this we are good friends now. At the beginning we were nervous because of the legal situation but the priest was insisting, so it became a pop‑up situation. We started to play randomly—one person playing, two people, students—from the end of April/May 2020.
JLS: Somehow replacing your home events.
Nora: It turns out that the arch has beautiful acoustics and every time somebody played you could hear over the whole square. Immediately you have an audience. So basically, the formula is musicians in the arch + good weather = audience. We got some money from the district’s cultural funds so I could pay the musicians a small fee. In 2020 we had around 30 concerts and funding continued the next year; it became a thing of its own. I named it “musik:befreit,” which has a double meaning in German—“free the music” as well as “freed by music.” I managed these concerts on my own. It was overwhelming at the end because of the resonance and the rewarding response. I was granted a women’s prize from the district administration for my contribution to the culture in our area. With these concerts I really learned to value and enjoy the gratification of playing for all people, whoever is there.
JLS: Are you not afraid of making it too professional?
Nora: Good question. We had two concerts every weekend from mid‑June until the end of September. As with the house concerts, I had to curate it; I planned a lot of things but not all of them. A lot of things happened spontaneously. We had a children’s concert in the program that I didn’t plan. One time a concert was cancelled, and I got an email from a woman who complained since she heard about it on the radio and had planned, commuted, and when she arrived nothing was there although the weather was fine. I understood that I have a big responsibility. There is no huge PR or marketing; concerts are announced on the spot in front of the church, so basically they are for the community and for passersby. But there were old people who came because they had become afraid to attend indoor events. It grew over my head a little, but I caught up and now have a fantastic co‑manager, Damian Posse. At the same time it’s very easy and effortless to organize this; it doesn’t feel like work. These encounters between the private space and this pop‑up, spontaneous format—and for me, of course, a professional endeavor—are interesting. I believe that in some environments, like festivals that I’ve been part of, you need to control certain factors and then it is healthy to leave certain aspects open to the moment; after all, music is a living art form. In this case something really magical can happen and sometimes nothing happens, you know? Then you can simply hang out, having a drink together.
JLS: Do you work with musicians that you had in your home concerts?
Nora: Partly yes, but there is no piano there so my pianist friends are sort of excluded, though we did a couple of things that I would do at home.
JLS: Do you have many instruments in your living room?
Nora: There is an old grand piano and whatever instruments people bring. There have been a couple of situations when spontaneous jam sessions resulted, but that was when jamming‑friendly musicians were invited; sometimes I encourage that. Since the grand piano was moved to the long side of the room it really became a kind of music‑hall situation. The room is full of paintings and all sorts of decorative items like elephant figurines—it has a very eclectic and intense atmosphere, but enough space for a lot of people to enjoy!
JLS: Do you have a name for your evenings/meetings?
Nora: House concert at Romanoff‑Schwarzenberg. Sometimes I announce it in German, sometimes in English. When we manage them on a regular basis I just mark them by the month and the year. I’m very inconsistent—there are certain things that I do, certain things that I don’t. For instance, I’m not an archivist. I would like to keep a guest book to write down what happened or a printed program but the number of these concerts was huge—like 40–50 over the years. It’s a lot and it would have been nice but I’m too weary of pinning it down. It’s a good memory. It has happened and it’s gone; something else will happen in the future.
JLS: Did you record some of the events?
Nora: Yes, there are some beautiful pictures. We did some mobile videos and once or twice we did Facebook Live. The space is pretty narrow so if you put a camera in the middle of the people it will be in the way. And somehow it’s a bit against the vibe, you know what I mean?
JLS: Totally. I didn’t record anything in the first five years of lorgean theatre (my theater apartment) and then I was sorry about it. But I knew that in the moment when a camera person will be there doing a pro shooting caring about the lights, the sound, it will ruin the moment.
Nora: I also have a bit of a magical belief that the right person comes at the right moment. One evening a friend who is a hobby cinematographer with the right equipment came when we had invited a fabulous singer who likes to perform at house concerts. A video was created and captured the intimacy and beauty of that evening. But I’m not attached to the captures. We have some splendid memorabilia, like wonderful photos from the past years, but no real archive.
JLS: At the beginning of our conversation, you asked me about my mission and earlier you used this word. How would you describe your mission regarding this activity?
Nora: I have made it happen and keep on doing it naturally, which is so, so gratifying. I really feel like it gave me a sense of meaning, coming out of a family of artists. I’m involved in the entire “food chain” of classical music, from the top to the grassroots, and enjoy being part of the grassroots. This is something that was born at the house concerts. It comes from this atmosphere, from living in an environment where sharing and inviting people was natural.
JLS: I don’t know too much about Austrian hospitality but I think your kind of house events are not very common.
Nora: There is an old tradition of salon music. Usually it would be a wealthy, art-loving household that invited musicians to play, or avid amateurs (also an old tradition in the local culture) or musicians hosting other musicians. I know an American artist-manager who used to organize salons where she connected musicians and painters—invite one artist to perform and one to exhibit. It was quite a selected circle of guests.
JLS: In Vienna?
Nora: Yes. I grew up in an Eastern‑European bubble; our hospitality comes from there. When people enter this house they come to another planet. The openness and hospitality are quite unique, for sure.
JLS: In my research, I didn’t find other formats specialized in classical music.
Nora: Not here, but in New York and Berlin, a couple of years ago there were organizers—some young people who would manage house concerts for people who were interested in hosting musicians in their homes. So there are some organizations but what we created was organic, born from the environment that we live in.
JLS: All over the world people, mostly artists, are managing art events at home. It is incredible how widespread and unknown at the same time the phenomenon is. And how difficult it is to find these home-culture events.
Nora: Of course it is difficult for your research to penetrate people’s homes. How do you find out about them?
JLS: That was my problem since I started. How do I find out about events that are not advertised, addressed to a few people and sometimes happen just once or twice? There are a few initiatives like yours that are lasting for years. Mostly word of mouth is the only way—I found out about your house concerts that way.
Nora: We were on a trip to Napoli once and booked an Airbnb. It turned out that our hosts were big supporters of traditional Neapolitan theatre. They have a very specific genre of theatre which is performed in the Neapolitan dialect. These people organized a theatre salon in their house and we witnessed one of the shows. There was an actor who performed one or two monologues in two different settings using costumes and props in the living room. This was exclusively for the people who support this genre of art. They couldn’t do it in a big theatre so they did it at home; they love it and they need it. I haven’t experienced more than that in Italy but there the institutionalized art scene is in trouble as is the education, but people love their art and their music and their theatre. So they find ways to make it happen.
JLS: What do you get from the house concerts? What stays with you?
Nora: I have a strange relationship with my own ability to facilitate things; I detach myself a little bit from it. During the concerts sometimes I listen, sometimes I go to sit alone and listen from outside. I don’t know the reason. Personally, I get an immeasurable amount of joy and a feeling of completion and satisfaction because I do what I love: I play music and can share something that increases the happiness of everyone present. I feel incredibly lucky and fortunate. We can have the experience of a lifetime, completely unique, fulfilling and beautiful.
JLS: Is it easy?
Nora: Yes and no. It’s easy for people who enjoy doing this. For other people it would be a pain in the ass to manage shows or concerts in one’s private space without getting money, or I don’t know…
Nora: Yeah. But let’s say that we have this privilege that we can do this, and it works out just fine.
JLS: What is your perspective on it after so many years? What changed about having concerts in your home?
Nora: What has changed is that they really happen on their own. On several recent occasions, world-famous artist friends (Kian Soltani, Hyungki Joo…) reached out asking for a private stage. I’m asking people to contribute food and drinks so we have less work and can afford to have more events. I’ve changed the time to late afternoon so friends can bring their children. I have now decided to reinstall the regular house concerts. More than ever I feel that artists need these spaces as much as the public does, where the intensity and proximity to the music can be experienced together. It’s in the encounters, the conversations, the unique environment that we can offer that brings about an incredible sense of human joy; it’s essential to our sanity and relationships. I believe that it reaches farther than closed walls because fundamentally our doors are open. I hope to keep this sense and have it resonate through all other things I do with my musical profession and I’m very happy where it brings me. My now seven-year-old son Jascha’s first house concert was held when he was three months old; he is now beginning to play the piano. I will keep going with these events for as long as I possibly can!