What is the house of culture?

The  House of Culture Freiburg e.V. regards itself as an open meeting place for all those who desire to engage in the world of arts and who like to exchange their experiences with other art lovers.

 

The term of art has to be regarded as a general term comprising music, literature, performing arts and painting.

 

Having accrued from a small circle of of enthusiastic musicians the European art music between baroque and contemporary music is (still) forming its core. Nevertheless the House of Culture is furthermore regarding itself as an integrative part of a dynamic process of experience and creation of art and hence it is not limited to European classical music with regards to its focus.

 

With regards to the definition of the House of Culture the League of David founded by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) gives us the key for a deeper understanding.

 

 

Why?

 

Looking retrospectively at the tradition of musical and artistic exchange during its heyday in the 19th century it has to be stated that the performance of music and the experience of music and arts has been outsourced to a professional and partly commercialised business partially being characterised by a ritualised communication and behaviour between artist and audience.

 

The listener as preferably silent spectator of the artist who regularly emerges from the still practicing chamber onto the world stage escapes from his daily routine for 2-3 hours without having the possibility of a deeper exchange on an equal footing.

 

The experience of the world of music is only possible during the short time span while the drop curtain is open:

An unseizable world which appears equally appearing as well as inapproachable.

 

The House of Culture exactly fills this gap. In other words:

It brings art life back to a familiar and intimate framework within which artistic exchange becomes possible.

 

It tries to revive the tradition of house concerts and high-quality salon concerts (gatherings) which is vanishing more and more nowadays and which played a very important role in Europe during the 19th century.

 

It strives for the controversial discourse from which artistic reflection and maturing evolves. Its goal is to make art palpable and graspable within a small and intimate framework in which barriers between artist and admirers drop.

 

As an open meeting place for arts in general the House of Culture is also open during off-concert-dates for everyone who likes to exchange experiences and who searches for answers to questions, for everyone who likes to give suggestions and wishes to become part of the dynamic process.